Vivo en Bizkaia (y otros sitios tambien)

Had a couple of books delivered this morning by the City Link courier who was asking how my arm was.

The really nice thing is that he has been asking me about my arm whenever he delivers me various parcels over the last two and half years!

For the first few months I was in plaster I had a lot of stuff delivered as it was a little tricky buying things and carrying them home so he would often be knocking on my door and was impressed by my left handed signature.

This morning I was telling him what I had been up to and the latest installment in the saga and he again wished me luck. 

The kindness of strangers is something which is one of the better things in life. 

Finally went to see the surgeon today about my slightly problematic wrist and this is the outcome:

I thought I was going to be told that I had damaged some tendons in my arm / had an RSI type thing but that’s not the case. Basically my wrist is ‘knackered’ to quote the surgeon and a lot worse than it should be two years or so after an injury. Basically it has not healed properly and I have a bad case of arthritis which causes the pain. So a range of operations were discussed which included...

1. Cutting the nerves in my wrist that transmit the pain
2. Shortening the ulna to relieve the problem
3. Fusing my wrist so my hand stays in one position permanently which should alleviate the pain

At first Option 1 was most likely but after some further discussion and consultation in fact it seems like that would be a waste of time as would Option 2 so it is straight to Option 3 – Fusion. Apparently this is not done with gaffer type, glue or sticky backed plastic but involves an operation to have a plate inserted from my wrist across the top of my hand. Then – oh joy – six weeks in plaster! Then rehab (presumably about the same amount of time) and then about six months after another operation to take the plate out.

And yes my hand will be permanently fixed in one position so I am now open to suggestions as to what position it should be fused in. Winner gets to buy me a bunch of grapes. This is not a whole lot different from how it is now as I have to wear a splint most of the time anyway. But obviously I can take the splint off for darts matches and knitting. I will be able to take photos and type with my new fixation.

So anyway the NHS wait for this sort of thing is five months which is good cos it gives me five months (May or so) to save up some pennies for the three months when I will be one armed again! This does of course present all sorts of difficulties which I will not bore you with now – but will do when I see you!

I think everyone should have syndrome. I mean, how can one hold your head up at parties if you don't have a syndrome of your own? I ask you.

Anyway. My wrist continues to be a problem, in a similar way to the Titanic having a problem with a large bit of ice. Stuffed.

So off to my GP again and apparently I have Regional Pain Syndrome (or Complex Regional Pain Syndrome if you want to be picky). Unfortunately it seems to be called a syndrome because - here it comes - no one understands it!

Doh!

If you are interested here are a couple more links:

• Painmanagement.org 
• BBC Health 
  

Anyway basically its something you get after a serious injury and affects an area of your body surrounding the original site of the damage which at least explains why it hurts all the way up to my neck.

Oh and of course being a syndrome it doesn't seem curable. Which is annoying.

But then if I can't take a joke I shouldn't have joined should i? :) 

I think Regional Pain Syndrome could also be something that certain people from specific regions of the country may be afflicted with en masse. Think about it. Thousands of people from certain annoying regions of the country (this country, Euskal Herria, France, anywhere) who are just a real pain!

Every country has places which no one seems to like and maybe Regional Pain Syndrome is the reason.

Anyway I now have two lots of medication to take which should keep me going until I see my surgeon* in a few weeks who can give me the whole picture.

*Er, he's not just my surgeon. He has thousands of patients.  

Now this is just silly.

Having the usual continuing problems with my wrist but at least now I have an appointment with my surgeon for December.

This morning went for a walk to the shop at the end of the road for some milk. Sky was overcast and rain looked likely. By the time i got to the end of the road my hand and wrist was aching a lot purely in reaction to the weather.

By the time I had walked back here my whole arm was hurting.

What?

Four minute round trip.

And its quite mild here. The last British winter I experienced there was a three day period when I couldn't leave the house because the pain all the way up my arm into my neck was too much to deal with.

Long may the mild weather continue 'cos at the moment this injury it causing havoc with every aspect of my life. 

Second to last day of Aste Nagusia and although the weather was a bit dodgy met up with California Chica (aka Sarah) and Denmark Chica (aka Lise) and off we went to Muelle Arenal to watch the Basque Rural Sports.

And on the way back the thing I have been dreading since my last little trip happened. I tripped.

But this time the camera lens snapped in half. Not my wrist. Which was a pleasant change. Last time the Nikon bounced and I didn´t. Good job I switched to Canon.

Interestingly enough this went as I had been planning several times a day for two years. I tripped on some steps and, instead of instinctively putting my right hand out to take the fall (this would be VERY BAD) I instinctively pulled it back and somehow managed to stay upright. Well, uprightish.

But this meant that the camera over my left shoulder dropped onto the shiny new concrete of Muelle Arenal and the lens snapped in half.

(Technical Geek Note for Mike: To be exact the connection between the x 2 converter and the 80-200 zoom snapped, the back plate of the 80-200 zoom is knackered so won´t fit on any camera, the x 2 converter is in several bits and on checking later the 1D Mk 2 has probably got a buckled lens coupling so no lens can be attached to it). 

Non Technical Geek Note for The Rest of You: The white lens in the picture above costs around 1,800 pounds. And it dont work no more. And won´t work until it goes to see Mr Camera Doctor in London.

"Gosh! That´s a bit of a bother!" 

Photograph © 2006 California Chica. All Rights Reserved 

[Editors Note: It´s OK, I am not really screaming, just playing up for the camera. It´s a joke photo! ]

On looking at this photo later my first reaction was of course, ´My - don´t I look slim! 

Sarah and Lise hear the news of my latest mishap.  

Anyway Lise and I wandered off to Cafe Boulevard for coffee and a chat about her recent whistle stop tour around Spain, all because she wanted to see the Rolling Stones live. Long story.

After doing some shopping and having a mere 10 minute siesta it was back out again at 7 (World Time, not Lise Time) for Basque Dancing in Plaza Nueva.

At eight it was off to Plaza Arenal and time for me to introduce Lise to Toro de Fuego. Great fun! By this time we were both sporting high quality €2 blue Aste Nagusia bandannas like everyone else. It´s the thing to do.

After that we went for kalimotxo (cheap red wine and coke if you have not been reading recent entries) in Arenal then walked up to Etxebarria Park which overlooks Bilbao for the fireworks. These are launched from the park so not only did we get to watch a pretty impressive display of fireworks right over our heads but we could also feel the concussion from the explosions too.

We also talked about where we would be spending Christmas, with southern Spain coming out top. But as Lise would find someone to talk to if she was stranded on a desert island by herself I think she will have a wide variety of options and invites from all over Spain. Actually she will probably be in Denmark, me in Brighton, but you never know, it might yet be a Bilbao Christmas.

Of course Lise will probably celebrate Christmas on December 26th as she tends to turn up late. 

Then back down to Arenal for more kalimoxo and a falafel bocata.

Then, kalimotxo in hand like true Bilbainos, we wandered back to Plaza Nueva at midnight, this time for  some Celtic music by a very good group until around 1.10 am when Lise was asleep, I was wide awake - so we wandered off home. ¡Chicas!

The streets were again packed with tens of thousands of people having a great time and no trouble at all. The police looked pretty relaxed and didn´t seem to have much more to do than control traffic as all of central Bilbao is pedestrian only during Aste Nagusia.

One of my best days in Bilbao.

Apart from the camera thingy... 

In class with T3 and CC today I somehow touched my right wrist (the knackered one) with my thumb. Unfortunately I managed to somehow touch the nerve in my wrist which, presumably as a result of my little trip or the subsequent two operations, is rather nearer to the surface of my skin than it should be.

Result was that all of a sudden I was gasping with pain and wanted to throw up. It made my eyes water too. Literally.

I have had a lot of difficulty writing recently (which I usually only do when studying) and usually swap over to my left hand (sort of, its a bit spidery) half way through class. Today was a little more drastic as it was such a small thing I did with results out of all proportion.

Anyway after a short break to gather myself (and take some Nurofen) class started again. T3 seemed to spend a lot of time drawing maps on the board (nothing to do with me) and we had our usual discussion about food. Odd that. Nothing to do with CC of course.

CC also very kindly offered to write my notes for me or copy hers. I have taken her up on this offer before but was a bit confused when she kept on conjugating the pluperfect tense of the Spanish verb "Sheesh!". I think it might be reflexive. 

Have spent the rest of the day trying not to use my right hand and trying to ignore the fact that my wrist seems to be slowly degrading. And it wasn´t very high grade either.

However there is not a huge amount I can do about it for the moment apart from not using it as much as possible. So that´s me out of the upcoming pelota championships. Doh! 

As I have spent the last three weeks (four weeks? time flies when you are having fun) pretty much being reduced to one hand again I decided to get a trackball for my computer. Now I have always disliked the idea of trackballs which is odd because they are pretty inoffensive things and they are just upside down mice. Or meeces. This is all on the basis that part of my current problem was due to using my computer. I wouldn´t mind if i was using it a lot but I am not.

Corte Ingles had one trackball which looked pretty useless so I hopped on the metro out to Ansio near Barakaldo where they have the megaparks. My first stop was PC City which had no trackballs at all! What? 

Next stop was Surcouf which had quite a few and I managed to find one which fitted neatly into my hand, especially as my wrist won´t rotate all the way (oh if you are bored with reading about my wrist then why not go and look at the Big Brother site!).

Anyway this trackball which is a Logitech Cordless Trackman Optical is fantastic! Brilliant!

The main benefit - which i had not thought of - is that by placing it on the edge of my desk my forearm is not in contact with the desk and I think this is what was part of the problem. Yes it is not quite as accurate as a mousey but trading a little mouse accuracy for a lot of pain seems to be a good deal as far as i am concerned.

And I slept for six hours straight last night from 2 - 8 instead of my 4.30 am routine. Only difference i can think of is that my arm doesnt hurt at night so much so I sleep better. We shall see. 

The frequency with which it starts to pour with rain here just before i am about to go for a walk is becoming uncanny.

Entries on here restricted for the moment as back to left handed single finger typing. 

Am adding a new section in Photographs to document my photos of Basque traditions. Sorry for short entries but right hand use severely rationed at moment :)

OK enough of the hand and arm puns in blog entry titles. This morning I went shopping for a gadget to sort my hand / wrist / arm out. Not permanently of course, those gadgets are called Time Machines, but a wrist brace of some sort to provide it with some extra support and some protection as well.

California Chica made the observation that i might have something along the lines of RSI which would make sense as my right hand / wrist / arm is permanently weak and typing (like this!) might have an adverse affect (effect?) on it.

So anyway there are lots of shops in Bilbao where you can buy everything from wheelchairs to crutches to, oh all sorts of dull stuff. But on my previous foray about six months ago I could not find anything that was (a) the right thing or (b) the right size.

This time however I struck lucky and managed to buy (for only a mere €14) a wrist and hand support in a fetching flesh pink (yeuk!) which has a steel splint inside it and straps around my palm and wrist and forearm. Last time I wore one of these was about 16 months ago in order to try and force my wrist back to where it should be.

This time I do not need that (and have adjusted the splint so it is not doing any forcing) but the whole contraption is really good. Gripping things is not ideal (never is with a piece of metal in your palm), nor is typing or anything really useful but it does seem to have reduced the pain to a reasonable degree and will of course be a great talking point at parties.

Went to Donostia-San Sebastian with California Chica this afternoon to make the best of the weather (80 F +) and wandered around for several hours and the gadget seems to be working well. And also when I am typing the steel splint inside protects my wrist from being damaged by the desk. CC also pointed out that the splint can also be sold at the scrap metal place across the street if I get hard up for a Euro or two...

Donosti (as it is known here is Pais Vasco) was very nice, I think this was my fourth visit but for CC her first. Neither of us was impressed by the sand from the beach that filled the streets of Parte Viaje and our eyes.

As driving is very restricted for me at the moment we went on the autobus which takes just over the hour and is a nice way to travel. This costs €8.65 one way. I noticed that the toll for a car for the same route is €6.80. The cost of petrol probably makes the cost the same in a car, the usual overheads of insurance and routine maintenance make it a more expensive option in a car and if you take into the cost of buying a car then it just does not make sense to use (have?) a car for journeys in between towns here. The roads are very good, brand new and well maintained.

And of course full of mad drivers!

And yes of course I make this observation in an attempt to make me feel better about not being able to drive at the moment. Duh! 

Anyway enough of all this wrist business, the last few entries have begun to sound like this is a medical journal. It was sunny today and I went somewhere nice!