I still have a vivid memory of what happened that day. I was nine years old then and was preparing for my forthcoming exams when suddenly, lights went off making everything dark. I rushed to follow my mother, but stumbled upon a blunt object and fell down. The other moment, my whole world had changed. The years followed multiple plasters, numerous physiotherapy sessions as part of management of my right elbow dislocation.
At present, the MRI report revealed nearly three decades’ history of an old fracture of medial epicondyle with displacement which had led to compression of ulnar nerve against it with altered signal and increased bulk of the nerve. In medical terminology, I had an 'ulnar nerve entrapment syndrome'.
It began with numbness in my little finger with pain which progressed with time. Initially, the numbness was transient and usually occurred in the middle of the night or in the morning. With time, there was persistent numbness along with weakness of the hand. In fact, I was at the verge of development of 'ulnar claw hand'.
My family got worried as the condition was affecting my routine activities; like, I was unable to write with a pen or hold a spoon properly.
According to doctors I needed surgery, but the decision was tricky as the procedure required general anesthesia which could be harmful for the growing baby. I prayed to the Almighty in such vacillating state of affairs.
At last another surgeon was consulted who advised surgery under regional anesthesia. The nerve was decompressed and transferred anteriorly under 'supra-clavicular block'. I was conscious throughout the procedure but felt no pain. The surgical procedure took around three hours. The prognosis in such (nerve surgery) cases is very slow, as nerve regenerates with a velocity of 1 mm per day (i.e. 1 inch per month approximately).
Nine months have elapsed since then and my little finger has resumed back sensations, it is no more numb. I can type with my original speed, write without any flicker, and power of the hand is 80% of normal and I’m driving the vehicle since last two months.
A six inch scar mark on the medial side of elbow is a rememberance of past.
'Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear.' Ambrose Redmoon
