We can rebuild her!!

Andrew here for the first time on the Bowen blog. Why you may ask? Because Joy is not going to be able to type for a while. As most know by now, Joy had surgery this afternoon to repair the tendon she ruptered a little over a month ago (read below about the broken arm....evidently there was more to it than just a buckle fracture).

Short story is this, they were not able to repair the existing tendon as the injury is now too old and the muscle that is attached to the ruptured tendon has regressed too much. The alternative to a simple repair is a tendon transfer. Basically, the Dr. severed one of the two tendons that control the index finger, slid it over and attached it to the thumb. From what he indicated, the proceedure was pretty much textbook and he really could not have asked for a better result at this stage (short of being able to just sew back together the actual ruptured tendon).

Joy is doing well but very drugged up. The overall procedure was about an hour and resulted in 3 incisions. She is now on bed rest and is to keep the thumb immobilized for the next 48 hours. She will see a PT on Monday to switch from the surgical splint to a more permanent splint. From there, the fun begins with 2 - 3 PT sessions a week as Joy attempts to retrain her brain (think about it..... 1/2 the muscles you use to point your index finger at someone she will now use to give a thumbs up).

Your well wishes and prayers are very much appreciated and I want to take the opportunity to say 'Thank you' now for all of the meals, carpooling, etc. that have already been arranged. I also want to say how amazing Joy did through this. I knowit is/was a big concern of hers but she pulled through with amazing strength. At some point I am sure she is going to read this to see if I have made a complete spectacle of our family so with that in mind...

I love you Joy. Get better soon but in the meantime, relax and let some other people handle things for a while.