Doctor Visit Follow-Up

Today was Braden's appointment with the hand specialist, and things couldn't have gone better. Basically we were told that for this particular break, he did a great job of doing the least amount of damage that he could. Good job, Braden! The main concern was that the tendon might be completely disconnected, but that wasn't the case. He has to wear his stack splint (a hard plastic cradle for his finger that holds the tip in the exact correct position) 24/7 for at least the next 4 weeks. At that point they'll x-ray it again and see how it's doing. If it seems to be doing well, he'll just have to wear the splint at night for 2-4 more additional weeks. In the meantime, he gets out of doing dishes, so life for him is good!

Spending time with him in doctors' offices these past few days has been quite entertaining, as time with him anywhere usually is. Braden embodies the phrase "he marches to the beat of a different drummer," but luckily he's actually quite charming! He and Evan both are very quick-witted and have wicked senses of humor. Combine that wit with his ADD tendencies, and you have a fast-paced all-day comedy show. Both Thursday and today, even though he's in pain, were no different.

So Thursday night when we were waiting (endlessly) in our little stall in the emergency room, he had me constantly cracking me up. After we'd been there awhile, he made the comment that his finger would be healed by the time someone came to look at it. From there his routine continued on, launching into his "Achmed the Terrorist" impersonation, dangling his legs at weird angles as he sat on the edge of the hospital bed. As people walked past, he would stare pointedly at them and then back at me saying "Infidels!" Words cannot capture how well he can do this voice or how funny it was. There was much more, but my poor, tired brain can't remember it all!

Today was the same. The specialist we saw is actually a plastic surgeon who happens to be one of two hand specialists in the area, so you can guarantee that Braden had fun with that concept. To say that the office was deserted is an understatement. It was VERY quiet... We arrived a few minutes early to fill out the medical history paperwork. As I read him the questions, he would answer, almost always with a smart-alecky remark. Eye problems? He looked at me with one eye facing forward and the other swiveled off to one side. "Does this count?" And on and on it went. Finally we got down to the last section: Psychological. We both cracked up when we got to the question about "unusual thoughts." Are they ever NOT?

Then in to Exam Room 3. He was instructed to remove the wrapping that held the splint on so that the doctor could check it out. After we finally were able to release him from that particular bondage (man is that self-stick wrapping good stuff!), we couldn't see a garbage can anywhere in the room, so he just left it in his lap. Even though there couldn't have been anyone else in the entire office complex, we waited at least another 10 minutes or so. Braden decided that the doctor and nurses must be hidden out somewhere watching Grey's Anatomy.

The doctor eventually came in to meet with us and went over the ex-rays that had been taken on Thursday. He explained what he was looking for in the tendon and what course of action we would be taking. After his spiel, he looked at Braden and asked if he had any questions. Braden looked at him soberly for a long moment, and then said "Just one. Do you have a garbage can?" as he held out the wrinkled, dirty leftovers from his bandage. Even the doctor laughed.

I cannot remember when I've had such fun in a waiting room. I'm thinking I can rent him out for other people to take to their appointments. We could set up a little stand at the front entrance to the hospital where people could purchase his time for 30-minutes to an hour at a time. Hey, I need to find some way to pay for all this!

March 2, 2009