I got my little order from Chamblees today and got stabbed by something while transplanting. Of course I immediately thought of Patrick and started looking at the stab wound (aka tiny dot of blood) wondering if my hand was going to puff up. Patrick, I hope you are doing a lot better now.

Where are you Patrick ??

Please post as soon as you can.

Florence

Patric, I really hope that your surgery went well - we are all waiting to hear how you are doing. Get well soon.

aprille

Patrick, I'm so sorry you had an encounter with an orthopod aka Dr. Pain. I suppose you have that hand held up higher than your heart. Heal well and don't scrimp on the physical therapy Dr. Pain recommends. You want to keep that whole apparatus moving and flexible. Good luck to you.
Cass

Can you perhaps get Rob to report to us?

Carla

Hey Patrick!

Just popped in here and saw this. I hope everything has worked out OK and you will heal on schedule.

I'm STILL working on my project. I've had two Climbing Pinkies in pots for the last couple of years, which I will plant this spring on an arch I bought from Germany. Cl. Pinkie has NO THORNS!!!

Best to you and Rob

Sending my best into the ether for Patrick! I bet he's feeling our vibes and going 'can't type, folks!' OK, OK but take care and know we are thinking about you.

typing with one hand. came through surgery fine. waiting on biopsy. surgeon had to basically cut hand in half to get all of the mass out. pain excrutionating on friday and saturday. vicodin barely made a dent. cried into my pillow on both nights. rob has been an angel. he rubbed my head and back for hours to destract me. pain broke on sunday. stitches hurt and some swelling but can stand it. full feeling in fingers but strength in hand is shot. will need therapy. that is all for now.

:( patrick

Sorry to hear how this turned out Patrick. I have a mostly numb right hand due to an accident - won't let them work on it anymore because its not worth it. I know from experience that your hand really really really HURTS. I cringe just thinking about it.

I know you don't want to hear about physcial therapy now, but it is important. I thought I could get by without, finally did it months later - sooner would have been better.

I hope you will heal well and that the pain subsides quickly. Take care of yourself.

So sorry, Patrick. I broke my right hand once and it s*cked beyond compare. Rob sounds like the bestest. Take more vicodin and feel better soon.

Oh Patrick,

I'm sorry. It sounds so horrible. :-(

(Hug),
Michelle

I've been away for a bit and just saw this. That's so horrible Patrick. I hope your hand heals soon.

Gawd, all this from a rose thorn!!! How awful for you Patrick! take your meds and does ice help numb the pain?? I will send my scary black snake over to your house - he can lie in wait to pounce on you and chomp your leg and take your mind off your hand... (seriously, I hope you feel better soon!)

Hi Patrick, sorry to read about your experience but very happy to hear your surgery went well. Please report back once the biopsy results arrive and best wishes for a speedy recovery!

What a thing to have to go through, you poor dear! Thank goodness for your Rob, bless his heart. Take care of yourself, and be patient. Therapy will bring your strength back soon enough. Right now you just need to heal and put this painful experience behind you. (I just don't know about Pagan's idea of a distraction, though - LOL!)
Hugs,
Anne

Geez Patrick, I'm sorry you are having pain. Don't forget to keep the pain meds in your system instead of waiting until it hurts.
Feel better.

Carla

Michael I'm so sorry!

Patrick------thinking of you

Florence

Patrick, oh no; I didn't realize it'd be such a painful surgery. Take care, drink a glass of wine and try to get better.

Patrick - so sorry to hear about how much pain you are in. Rob sounds like a real special guy! Take care and get well soon.

aprille

Wow, that sounds terrible. I think I will be MUCH more careful in the garden working around all those thorns. I hope your hand gets better very soon..

Patrick, do you have that sporocitis (sp) infection that is common with rosarians? I am so sorry that this happened to you. Does anyone run inside when we are scratched by a thorn? This was real bad luck. I usually think that remnants of a thorn would work their way out, not go down inside your hand and form an absess.

I hope you are more comfortable now.
I am truly sorry to hear that this happened to you.

Sammy

Patrick, I am sorry to hear about your surgery, and hope it turns out ok. I am thinking of you.
Kathy

My hand is much better today. The pain has subsided down to a dull ache, which is a good thing when you consider I took my last vicodin last night. I can even type for short periods of time (of course I'm not supposed to use the hand at all for two more weeks). Only time it really hurts is if the stitches get pulled or jarred. Then a sharp spike of pain goes from the site to the rest of the hand. Very annoying. The stitches itch too. Can't waite for them to get removed on Monday.

After gutting my left hand my specialist promptly went on holiday. A Jewish holiday to be precise. Political correctness prevents me from complaining. Nobody from his office has called me either. Yesterday I called and they gave me some vague answer. Basically I will have to waite until the attending physician removes the stitches. He had better be prepared because I want to know EXACTLY what the mass was and how it got there.

Before he operated my specialist said he thought it was SPOROTRICHOSIS caused by Sporothrix schenckii, i.e. rose pickers disease. The thorn introduced the fungus to the tissues in my hand. It migrated down where it met resistance by my immune system. The body encapsulated it, formed pus (yuck!) which mixed with dead cells and other gunk forming a mass. That is what he THINKS it was. Again I won't know for sure until the doc reads me the lab results.

One positive. If it was Sporotrichosis then we got it before it could erupt and spread to my lymphatic system. Had that happened it could have traveled to my internal organs becoming a VERY serious illness.

Yeah I know. From a single rose thorn prick. Scary.

Patrick

Here is a link that might be useful: Rose Picker's Disease at the ARS

I would have never ever thought that roses could be a life threating obsession. Hope the worst is behind you, get well soon.

How about that, we've got our own disease.
Ooh stitches do itch, I've had knives, coat hangers down my leg cast and my arm too. Glad to hear you're feeling better but don't use that hand.

Carla

Patrick, wishing you a speedy recovery. Who would think something so very serious could come from a thorn?

Patrick, just saw this post. I am really sorry about this painful experience. Wish you a fast recovery. Please take it easy and don't stress your hand too much.
Do you still want the SDLM Rouge? I can give you a fully grown bush, if you want. I am planning to substitute my with a no spray rose. Of course at first you have to recover, but I hope this story didn't make you a rose hater :)

Olga

Olga,

I most definately want Souvenir de la Malmaison Rouge. Same goes for Yolande d'Aragon. I'm rethinking Darlow's Enigma though. Frankly, hyper thorny roses are not too appealing right now.

Patrick

Patrick -

I hope you are now on the mend. Do be careful and do not rush to the garden. It is important to let it heal properly. Take care of yourself.

Jean

Jean,

You read my mind. As I sit here nursing that useless left hand I've been complating the difficulty of wrapping it in plastic and securing with a rubber band. Why? So I can get in some weeding this afternoon while Rob is at the gym. All I really need is my right to loosen the soil with a hand spade. What with the recent rain it should be easy to pull the weeds out with one hand.

Frankly, I'm desparate to get out there and do some gardening. Sitting here cooped up like an invalid is the pits.

{{gwi:203028}}

Hmmmmm. If that was me, I'd have my bad hand and both knees down on the ground while weeding with the good one though....It's hard to think and garden at the same time unless you have enough pain to remind you :)

Any possibility you could take a book out and just sit and enjoy your space - and not set yourself back in the healing process? Be well soon.....:)

Patrick---I understand completely how difficult it is to want to work in the yard but know it is not a wise thing to do---Following hip replacement and back surgery I wasn't permitted to do anything but I sure didn't want to go through surgery again ----so please allow you hand to heal---the garden will be there waiting for you.

Florence

Hey Patrick, your hand story takes me back a couple of years when I had the Carpal Tunnel surgery. It sounds so minor compared to yours. But all the same, it was October, I had a brand new garden and could not be in it. The recuperation was not as quick as I wanted and that's when the hand doc said I must dedicate myself to 5-6 weeks of physical therapy, I did and it was a life saver. My right hand is fine now except for a little arthritis. The timing of your surgery must be so difficult. And we know the lure of spring and fall. I'm sending you all my good thoughts. And boy, does this make me think twice about being out in the garden at dusk with pruners in hand. That's when I get in trouble with thorns, when I cannot see as well and am probably tired. We are all now more aware of the dangers. Thank you for that!

Oh my. I am just reading about your ordeal for the first time today. I am so sorry that happened to you, it sounds positively awful. And scary.

From now on I am putting on the goatskin gauntlets even for little jobs.

I hope you feel better every day, and Happy Easter!

Yikes, what a painful experience, I hope that your hand is healing well and you don't suffer any long term difficulties. I too would wrap the bad hand in plastic, put on a glove and do what I could with the other. Spring is not a time to be held back in the garden. Be careful though.

Valerie

Patrick, I just read down this whole post, and you've had quite a time!!! I'm so sorry, but am glad the surgery is over and you are on the mend. Thank God for your immune system!! Take it easy now, Patrick, the roses aren't going anywhere.

My best wishes
Brenda

As I remember from back when I had carpal tunnel surgeries on my hands (not at the same time, but successively) the problem with using your "good" hand is that you start sneaking in a bit of help from just a couple of fingers of the other hand (that is supposed to be healing) and next thing you know you forget you're not supposed to be using it and....suddenly, Ouch!! You can really set yourself back that way, so don't be a silly like me; I know it's frustrating, but try hard to do what the doctor says. The more you follow instructions to the letter, the faster you'll get back to full use of that hand. Your garden will wait for you, really it will.
Best wishes,
Anne

Patrick - if Florence and I can do it, then you can! let yourself heal!! the weeds will be there - and there may even be MORE of them for you to appreciate when you are able!

They didn't remove the stitches today. Apparently I'm a member of the one in 50 people club who heal slowly. Not too happy about it. Now I have another followup appointment on Thursday. My specialist will be back that day so hopefully he can take the dang stitches out.

Lab results came back. What they removed from my hand was a tumor. The attending physician read the term "lymphoma" from my file. Scared the living daylights out of me but he told me it was not something to be concerned about (I'm assuming it was a non-malignant lymphoma). I've never heard of such a thing. I'm also having a hard time comprending how a soft bodied cell mass could form in a person's hand over the course of 24 hours.

One thing is for sure, it was not Sporothrix schenckii. Completely negative.

When will this be over? I've used up a lot of SL over my left hand. Very frustrating.

They physician may have said Lipoma (i.e. a fatty tumor). They can occure following a minor injury or stressful event. This sounds about right given how hard I worked in mom's garden the day before the tumor appeared. I'll verify with my specialist on Thursday.

Patrick

Patrick -

I think he must have said lipoma. If he's said lymphoma, he would have also uttered the word 'oncologist'. I think you can rest easy.

Still, take it easy and do not overdo it.

Jean

It sounds like the lipoma was an incidental finding, and that your original symptoms were from an allergic reaction. My BIL has lipomas on his arms and he has no symptoms.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery so that you can get back into the garden.

Just reading this....

Glad everything is OK. Rest and feel better soon!

Ronda

Just got back from the hand specialist. It was definately a Lipoma. He told me that he got out all of the tumor and capsule so it should not recure in that particular spot. The bandage and stitches are gone. I must say that he did really nice work. The incision was made along the lifeline, so the scar won't be very noticeable. The most likely cause was the repeated striking of my left palm against the shovel along with my weight. Folks who are overweight yet still exert themselves (i.e. middle aged rose gardeners) are more likely to develop these things. I've gained most of the weight back from last year's weight watchers diet. So there it is.

As for my hand the only covering is a series of surgical strips. These should come off in a couple of days. At that time I start the hand exercises. Full strength should return in 3-4 weeks. Then I can use it in the garden.

Other than loosing weight there really isn't much more I can do to prevent this from happening to other parts of my body. The health benefits of gardening far outweigh the risk of getting more lipomas. BTW, the hands, feet, knees, and back are the most likely spots to develop fatty tumors.

Needless to say I start another diet TODAY. Better break out those weight watchers books.

Excellent news. I'd loan you Drew (who rarely lets me touch a shovel now), except I'm selfish.

So this is another middle age thing - great.

Good news-----Patrick---

Most of us will understand the weight thing---I have to constantly watch or the weight creeps on.----I'm not as active as I once was so that means I have to eat less.
I have a little spiral book and I write down every morsel that I put in my mouth----When I get careless about doing this I gain weight.
good Luck-----Florence

Patrick, I know you had good success with the WW program before. So get back with it, and you, your body and your hand will be better just in time for summer. Good luck, and enjoy those veggies!
Kathy

Let's revive this.
Sammy

Just checking in again---How are you Patrick ?-----Hope all is well

Florence