#No I don’t know which response is best for the development of a splint for a 3rd digit PIP flexion contracture
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taking the practice board exam and suffering
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Secret kisses and Touching 2, 14, 22, 23, and 44. Secret Silktea relationship, except both spider fam and Monkey fam actually know! Half of them don’t care enough to say anything (Pigsy,Tang,Spider Queen,Wukong,Syntax) while the other half wants them to reveal it when they’re ready (Min Yi,MK,Mei,Goliath,Sis) - Pixel Anon
Affection meme
49. secret kisses
2. running fingers through hair
14.putting an arm around the other’s waist
22.falling asleep on the other’s shoulder
23. carrying the other one in their arms
44.sitting on the other’s lap
this took me forever to put together because for some ungodly reason i couldn't figure out the scenario
so i decided on a little vignette compilation of sorts
--
They knew what they were doing.
Of course they knew what they were doing. It was in either of their best interests to keep this a secret. Just because the clan had stopped their crusade to take over the city and their queen had dialed down the ‘revenge’ ideas, didn’t mean there wasn’t still bad blood between his clan and Sandy’s family.
And it wasn’t too difficult, it just meant that when they were all working together for some greater threat or whatever that they’d have to be sneaky. It was easy stealth was one of Huntsman’s greatest Attributes and suspecting Blue of anything was like suspecting a small dog of knocking over a bulldozer.
It wasn’t too hard to simply keep their hands to themselves. Or at least, it wasn’t hard for Sandy, Huntsman was quickly finding his self control lacking in regard to being in such a situation with his… well, with him. But could anyone blame him? Blue was more or less the hottest guy he’d ever ran into before and he was kinda-sorta DATING him! How could he not want to climb that like a tree at all times?
Especially when he was always being so stupidly fucking charming. Sure the ‘needlessly nice’ stuff wasn’t something he particularly appreciated, but it was starting to grow on him, if only on the amount of restraint he must have to keep it up all the time.
Soooo yeah maybe he was purposefully pushing their luck a little, but in his defense he wanted to see how much desire based frustration it would take before ol’ Blue would just pin him against a wall and make him regret wondering.
--
Syntax had shooed him away from being a nuisance at his worktable, so naturally, Huntsman had to go be a nuisance at someone else’s worktable. Thankfully Sandy was far more agreeable to the company, and thankfully the bid of ‘Bugging Syntax first’ kept his alibi solid. He wasn’t just going over to see Blue he just wanted to be a louse and his normal target had already locked him out of his room. And so nobody really suspected anything when he started to peer over Sandy’s side to watch him tighten this or that thing on this or that device.
And it was pretty damn fun to see just how much of a ‘nuisance’ he could be. This particular bout resulting ih Huntsman being pressed against the car engine Blue had been working on, feeling the orange hair slide between his claws and messing up the stylized mohawk and shuddering when he felt those huge hands almost entirely encompass either of his thighs while keeping him aloft. He hissed through his teeth as he felt Blue give one of his legs a testing squeeze and rolled his hips forward a bit-
“Fish Demon? I need to get another set of eyes on these schematics or I'll actually go insane.” By the time Syntax looked up from his clipboard Sandy was working on the engine again and Huntsman was leaning against his work area and had barely had the opening to whip out one of his knives and his portable sharpener.
Though Sandy’s hair was unable to be fixed and fell to a side as he smiled at Syntax and took the offered blueprints from him.
--
He wasn’t a big fan of those domestic snatches of time, he wasn’t.
It was mostly an instinctual response, Spiders were pack bonders, so of course when his internal senses started categorizing Sandy as ‘pack’ then he’d relax without intending to while being pulled in with a hand on his waist.
Which was definitely the reason why he was curled up to Sandy’s side, the cool slick feeling of his scales strange against his more leather-like skin. That stupid instinct was the only real reason why he felt so comfortable and like he could practically fall asleep like this.
He felt Blue’s hand gently start running up and down his side and dammit that wasn’t playing fair, it wasn’t his fault that he had been having sleeping problems lately and was rapidly getting drowsy.
He could feel Blue’s hum as the world started to drift away-
“Hey Sandy what do you think- Uhhhh”
“Oh, hello Xiaotian.”
“You know you’ve got a spider on you, right?”
“Oh yeah, Looked like he was having some paranoia problems, took a bit of wheedling to get out but Huntsman here was up for like four days straight ‘till now!”
“Did… Did you slip him your sleepy tea?”
“Of course not! That would be super unethical! Also I'm pretty sure he’s still semi conscious and passively listening without any critical thought right now since he only just dozed off and would probably wake up angry if he overheard anything like that!”
“....right… so anyway-”
--
The brat knew.
Dammit he knew the brat knew. She definitely fucking knew.
He should have known better than to try anything with that Professional Snoop underfoot. But He’d had plans with Blue before having to get stuck with the brat tonight because the Queen needed Syntax’s expertise and the Sister was on shift at work and Goliath already had plans doing who knows what, and he was stuck with Minyi since he ‘didn’t have any plans’
He’d dragged his feet on the idea of cancelling with Blue, but he’d fucking done it so nobody could say he didn’t contribute to the upkeep of their clan’s youngest. It was just his luck that Sandy had been fine with coming over instead, and the brat had overheard some of the conversation and got excited about ‘Mr Sandy’ coming over to visit. The brat had insisted on stringing some of her fake flowers into his hair before he arrived, after dubbing him ‘suitably pretty’ (her words) she’d done up her own hair as similarly as she could because he certainly wasn’t helping her with her weird pre-’company is coming’ rituals.
And… Blue was a hit with the brat. He had an infinite amount of patience for the inane childish babbling, stooped low so she could string the remaining fake flowers in her possession (why did she have so many fake flowers?) into his beard, and offered to fix dinner for the lot of them (which was for the best since the brat was such a picky eater she could barely stomach some of his specialties)
And… he was not jealous of a six year old for how she was able to crawl into Blue’s lap while the lot of them watched some inane mystery show for the character drama alone since the brat called and explained the mystery within the first three minutes.
Blue was a bit awkward on the sofa, it made sense, Goliath would normally sit on the floor for how the height and width of the couch was not designed with bigger demons in mind, and Blue was considerably bigger than Goliath. So while the brat was cozy as could be in the place of honor, Huntsman was stuck perched on the arm of the couch as to not be crushed into it trying to squeeze in beside Blue.
Not that that would be a wholly unpleasant experience, but the presence of the brat made it go from tempting to awkward. Nonetheless, part of Sandy trying to get comfortable had included one of his arms resting on the back of the couch, and while it seemed the brat wasn’t paying attention, it slid down to wrap around his shoulders.
When the time came Minyi didn’t need to be told it was bed time for her, she loudly announced it herself, changed into her pajamas, and after saying goodnight to the both of them went on with a
“I am going to sleep now! And I will not be out of my room until morning so if anything were to be happening I certainly won’t know it, because I will be asleep.”
She smiled widely at Huntsman and closed her door.
Nosey little brat.
--
Tang huffed a quiet laugh as Sandy gingerly began to lift Huntsman into the air, his broken leg not quite able to be splinted just yet, let alone looked at properly. It seemed the lot of them had suffered some pretty nasty injuries from this last threat (and no doubt it would have been worse if their team and the Spider Clan hadn’t joined forces) including Tang himself despite being on the sidelines for most of it, he was pretty sure his shoulder was dislocated, and the cut on his forehead was still sluggishly bleeding all over the right side of his face, but compared to some of the others he was basically fine.
So once He was able to pop his arm back into place (Ouch) he took to handling cleanup with the only other ‘perfectly normal person’ here, a woman maybe a few years his junior, he’d seen her every so often with the Spider Clan (or rather, with Syntax) but he didn’t know her name.
“Do you think they actually think they’re being subtle?” Her words caught his attention and he turned to glance at the woman. She was in the middle of splinting Xiaojiao’s broken wrist and at Tang’s questioning glance, she nodded at Sandy and Huntsman. Oh!
“I’m sure Sandy thinks he’s the pinnacle of subtlety” Tang responded. He was pretty sure the ‘thing’ that had developed between their friend and the most brutal of the Spider Clan was the worst kept secret on the team since Red Son had started hanging out with Xiaotian and Xiaojiao on the weekends.
“They are so cute when you just walk in on them.” Xiaojiao said around a snicker. “Like how they jump apart like when you flip a magnet over to the matching side.”
“Does your team have a betting pool? My brother organized one for the clan, and if they do anything damning within the next month i win the pot.”
“No! Ohh man we should get one started up! Hey Pigsy! You wanna make a betting Pool for Sandy and Huntsman’s secret romance?”
“Why the hell would i want to do that?”
“Finally have dirt on Sandy after decades of him never being embarrassed about anything ever?” Tang offered with a shrug.
Pigsy thought for a moment and shrugged back before going back to fussing over Xiaotian. “Sure. Who’s bettin’ what?”
--
send me stuff!
#Silktea#Silkteashipping#Affection meme#vega writes stories too#letters to vega#Spider Queen wins the Spider Clan pot though she denies ever betting anything#but Minyi put in three sticker packs and a yoyo for her bet and she could have SWORN she saw them in the lair by Spider Queen's stuff
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Hey everyone, here's my latest story. It may have a typo here or there. Feel free to leave feedback. Enjoy!
Hit & Run
Kim was a 24 year old Asian woman who had shoulder-length brown hair, brown eyes, and a petite frame. She was a cute, shy girl who worked downtown in I.T. as an app developer. On a morning not too long ago, her typical commute to work took a tragic turn.
Since parking is limited downtown, Kim usually parked her car in a parking garage a few blocks away from her job and walked the rest of the way. While crossing the street in a crosswalk, a car sped around the corner, blowing through the red light, and striking Kim. She had very little time to react, so she stood frozen in fear for the half second it took for the speeding vehicle to run into her. The car initially struck Kim in her right thigh. She fell forward, slamming her torso on the hood of the car. She tumbled violently across the hood of the car before coming to a hard landing on the pavement as the car sped off, completely disregarding what had just happened.
A handful of nearby onlookers called 911, completely shaken up by what just happened. Kim laid in the street, battered and moaning in pain. “Help me…” she muttered. Kim had strong, throbbing pain in her right thigh and felt a sharp pain in her chest when she inhaled. She knew she was seriously hurt, but didn’t know the full extent.
A small crowd of nosey onlookers began to form around the injured woman. “are you ok miss?!” one of them asked. One of the members of the crowd started taking a video on their phone. Kim groaned and begged for help from the spectators.
In just a few short minutes, emergency services arrived on scene. Police ordered the nosey crowd to back away from Kim and the fire department set up cones and barricades to temporarily block off the street so first responders and emergency vehicles can gain access to the scene. Traffic was then redirected so the ambulance can pull in.
When the medics arrived, they promptly started their assessment of Kim. The paramedics discovered a compound fracture of the right femur. The exposed bone had to be reset and immobilized as soon as possible to avoid complications such as infections, fat embolism, circulation disturbances to the lower leg, or improper healing. While the medics reset the exposed bone, Kim yelped and cried loudly. After the bone was reset, the laceration on the anterior thigh was bandaged, and a splint was placed on the thigh. Even though Kim had sensation and movement in her lower extremities, a cervical collar was placed to play it safe. Kim’s winter jacket and shirt were cut off, only sparing her purple bra. The medics noticed bruising and redness all over Kim’s chest, which raised a red flag. A portable heart monitor was set up in order to monitor vital signs. Initially, Kim’s vital signs were: BP 94/57, heart rate 118 bpm, and an o2 saturation of 93%. The EGK was abnormal, showing an alternating tall-short QRS complex sporadically. At that point, EMS decided to set up 2 large bore IVs. The first attempt at IV access was unsuccessful since Kim wasn’t an easy stick, but IV access was obtained on attempt #2. A bag of ringer’s lactate was hung to initiate fluid resuscitation and 1 dose of morphine was injected intravenously for pain management. Kim was then placed onto a backboard and stretcher, and taken into an ambulance for transportation to the ER.
Kim remained hemodynamically unstable during transport. The ringer's lactate maintained her vital signs, but didn’t necessarily improve them; all they did was buy her much needed time. Her breathing didn’t improve, so the medic in the back of the ambulance examined Kim with a stethoscope. Diminished breath sounds on the right side were noted, as well as muffled heart sounds. The medic decided to set Kim up on a nasal cannula with high flow oxygen. For the remainder of the ambulance ride, Kim remained responsive, but her condition didn’t improve much. She laid on the stretcher, trying her best to fight back tears. “am I gonna die?” she asked the medic. “we’re taking good care of you miss, just hang in there for us!” the medic replied, attempting to be reassuring.
Minutes later, the ambulance came to a stop in the hospital’s ambulance bay. The back doors swung open while the trauma team waited just a few feet away. The paramedics wheeled Kim out of the ambulance and into the ER’s entrance while the trauma team followed. “take her to trauma 1” one of the doctors said. “what do we have?” another doctor asked. “24 year old female, auto vs pedestrian. Hypotensive, tachy, 93% o2. Open femur fracture was reduced and splinted, possible chest injury. Diminished breath sounds on the right. We gave her a bag of lactate and a round of morphine. Patient has movement and sensation in all extremities, pupils are equal and reactive, and patient is awake and alert.” The medic replied, trying to give a quick rundown. “thank you, we’ll take it from here.” One of the doctors replied.
Once Kim was in the trauma room, she was lifted onto the table. It was all overwhelming for her: all of the people barking orders at one another, the bright light above her, and the sense of urgency everyone had. Kim lost her composure and began sobbing hysterically and saying “please, I don’t wanna die!” the trauma nurses tried to calm Kim down so the doctors could work.
After Kim was calmed down, the rest of her clothes were removed, making her completely nude in a room full of absolute strangers. Kim continued crying while she was long rolled off of the backboard and examined for any back/spinal injuries. After returning her to her previous position, the trauma team ordered trauma labs, a chest x-ray, and a FAST scan. The chest x-ray showed a stable, non-displaced transverse fracture of the eternal manubrium, multiple stable rib fractures on both sides of the thorax, and tension pneumothorax on the right side. The FAST scan showed pericardial effusion and a myocardial contusion. The FAST scan came back negative for the abdomen and pelvis.
Based on initial findings, the trauma team began Kim on the massive transfusion protocol. 4 units of unmatched o-negative blood, 2 units of platelets, and 2 units of FFP were hung from the infuser. With transfusion started, the trauma team’s next step was to address the tension pneumothorax on the right side. Since Kim was hemodynamically unstable, the attending physicians didn’t feel comfortable with sedating Kim during the chest tube placement.
Kim was given lidocaine while a small area on her right chest was cleaned off with rubbing alcohol. A 1 inch incision was made in between her ribs. Kim felt the cold, sharp blade’s every move as it cut through her skin with both ease and precision. When an adequate opening was created, the chest tube was inserted. Kim screamed and cried loudly in excruciating pain. Both air and blood leaked from the tube, allowing the young woman’s lung to reinflate.
Once proper chest tube placemen was confirmed, the trauma team focused on the pericardial effusion. Trauma surgery and cardiothoracic surgery were consulted before making the next step. Both surgical departments suggested a pericardiocentesis to aspirate the excess blood and fluid trapped in the lining of Kim’s heart. The space between Kim’s 5th and 6th ribs just to the left of her sternum was sterilized. A catheter and small collection bag was attached to the back of the large, fine needle. The needle was stuck carefully into Kim’s chest and maneuvered towards her heart. Kim could feel both pressure and a sharp, localized pain in her chest. She remained relatively calm during the procedure.
Coagulated blood was aspirated from the needle. Kim’s vital signs didn’t improve, so a repeat echocardiogram was performed. The echo still showed evidence of worsening pericardial effusion. The trauma team decided to perform a 2nd pericardiocentesis. The 2nd attempt at the procedure withdrew both fresh and coagulated blood, but didn’t ameliorate the situation. Kim’s vital signs continued to decrease rapidly, so she was started on vasopressors. The medication failed to stabilize her vital signs, and her level of consciousness decreased over the ensuing minutes, so the trauma team decided to intubate her. A 7.0 ET tube was navigated into her airway. Once the breathing tube was in the correct place, it was secured with a blue tube holder and an ambu bag was attached.
With Kim’s pericardial effusion remaining the same combined with her decreased vital signs, the trauma team called for a cardiothoracic surgery consult. The surgeon arrived minutes later and ordered another echocardiogram. This particular echo showed cardiac tamponade, meaning Kim’s situation was worse than before. The surgeon made a quick, but unconventional call. They suggested performing a pericardial window in the emergency department. The trauma team felt very uncomfortable with this idea since this is a procedure typically reserved for the operating room. A pericardial window is a procedure where a small cut is made into the chest so that a small portion of the pericardium can be removed so the excess blood can exit the sac around the heart. The trauma team didn’t feel that there was a better option in the moment, so they let the cardiothoracic surgeon lead the way.
The procedure began with a small, midline incision with an 11 blade scalpel beginning in the subxiphoid area, extending down past the diaphragm, and ending at the upper abdomen/epigastric area. Once the skin was separated, a 15 blade scalpel was used to cut through the fat and muscle so the xiphoid process could be exposed. Once the pointy, bony structure was exposed, it was snipped completely off with a tool known as a rongeur. A rongeur is a scissor like tool commonly used in orthopedic surgery to make cuts within bones. Since the xiphoid process is thinner than most bones, it’s an excellent tool to use in a pericardial window since it cuts through the bone quite easily. After the xiphoid process was excised, 2 nurses were each given Richardson retractors to keep the incision area opened wide enough. In order to reach the heart from this viewpoint, the surgeon had to get through a layer of fat that’s quite common in the thorax, known as the cardiophrenic fat. The overlaying area of fat was cut probed and shifted around, finally exposing the pericardium. With echocardiogram guidance, the surgeon made a 1 inch incision into the pericardium with a 15 blade scalpel. Before the portion of the pericardium could be taken out, Kim’s vital signs continued to drop. More fluids and vasopressors were given, but the surgeon had a sense of urgency; they knew they had to finish the procedure sooner rather than later. The portion of the pericardium was excised.
To everyone’s surprise, the line of sight became filled with blood since Kim started bleeding profusely from the incision site. Suction and surgical sponges were introduced to the area, but failed to fix the unexpected problem. The cardiothoracic surgeon put 2 and 2 together and realized Kim was bleeding profusely because of a cardiac chamber injury. The pericardial window created an area for this unwanted blood to flow into. Basically, they traded 1 problem for another: instead of Kim bleeding into her pericardium, she was bleeding into her chest and out of the incision area. The surgeon told the nurses to remove the retractors, sponges, and suction and quickly stapled up the incision area. The surgeon ordered the trauma team to place a left sided chest tube for additional drainage.
While the left chest tube was being placed, Kim became pulseless. The heart monitors displayed v-fib, so one of the nurses began chest compressions. Kim’s skinny chest caved in rhythmically, making her belly bounce outwards during each individual compression. After the 2nd chest tube was placed, blood shot out of the tube and onto the floor below. Epinephrine and atropine were pushed into the IV while the defibrillator paddles were being gelled and charged. The zoll m-series paddles were pressed up against the patient’s bare chest, and a 200j shock was delivered once everyone backed away. Kim’s pale, battered body jolted on the table, but no change on the monitor was seen. CPR was resumed as the paddles were gelled again and recharged to 300j. The 2nd shock was delivered once the cycle of compressions and ambu bagging was completed. Kim’s limp body flopped on the table, but no change was shown on the monitors. One of the nurses resumed deep, violent compressions on the dying 24 year old while the defibs were being readied just a few feet away. A short while later, shock #3 was delivered. Kim’s back arched from the increased intensity of the shock, before returning to her previous position a second or so later. Once again, Kim was in v-fib so the same cycle was repeated. The fourth shock caused Kim’s feet to leap into the air an inch or so above the table before slamming back down in an instant, wrinkling the soles of her size 6 feet. The 4th shock sent Kim into PEA, so harsh chest compressions were restarted.
A few cycles of compressions and another dose of cardiac stimulating drugs failed to restore a pulse, so the trauma team decided to perform a left anterolateral thoracotomy because of the dire situation. Betadine was splashed onto the left side of Kim’s chest. A 10 blade scalpel was used to make an incision in the 5th intercostal space starting at her sternum, extending across the chest below her left nipple, and ending in the mid axillary area just shy of her left armpit. The underlying fat and connective tissue was cut through to make room for the rob spreader, which was promptly placed moments later. With chest compressions still ongoing, the knob on the rib spreader was turned. A loud, repetitive popping sound was heard during the opening of Kim’s chest. There was a small rush of blood once the chest was cracked open, but the bleeding was rapidly quelled with suction. A vascular clamp was placed on the aorta to preferentially redirect bloodflow to the young woman's heart and brain.
External CPR was stopped and substituted with direct cardiac massage. One of the ER doctors wrapped their hands around Kim’s weakly fidgeting heart and squeezed it forcefully, desperately trying to get it to restart. The cardiothoracic surgeon made a larger incision into the pericardium, which was met with a large amount of both coagulated blood and fresh blood. The area was suctioned out so the line of sight could be restored. The surgeon didn’t have a perfect view of things, so they probed around in Kim’s chest attempting to find the precise location of the injury.
Within 30 to 45 seconds, the cardiothoracic surgeon felt something small and solid within the left ventricle. The surgeon pulled lightly with their index finger and thumb and were shocked at what they pulled out. A small bone fragment from one of the rib fractures broke off, sliced a hole in Kim’s left ventricle, and partially plugged up the laceration. The surgeon then called for a PGX surgical stapler to close the wound. 4 staples later, the ventricular laceration was closed. However, Kim remained in PEA despite the wound being fixed. Internal massage went on and the surgeon re-examined Kim’s chest cavity. “Right ventricle is empty and flaccid, but I can find a wound.” The surgeon said, shaking their head. The surgeon then inspected the posterior aspect of the heart for lacerations, but came up empty. “I don’t get it, she should be coming back by now.” The surgeon uttered in a frustrated tone.
The drugs converted Kim back to v-fib, so the trauma team put their search in hold in order to shock her. The zoll PD 1200 internal paddles were lowered into Kim’s chest cavity and around her fluttering heart. A 20j was delivered and accompanied by a full, wet thunk. V-fib was still present on the monitor so resuscitation efforts continued. A cycle of internal compressions were performed while the internal paddles were being recharged. Internal shock #2 was delivered in the coming moments. The 30j shock caused Kim’s torso to flop slightly, but once again didn’t restore a heartbeat. The same repetitive cycle was resumed for a moment before internal shock number 3 was delivered. Kim’s torso flopped and her heart twitched as the electricity coursed through her dying body. Fine v-fib was running across the monitors, so a 4th shock was administered. Again, her body jerks and her toes curl, showing off the prominent wrinkles in her soft soles. Post shock, her toes relax and spread from their previously clenched position. Kim remained in fine v-fib, so another internal shock was delivered.
Unfortunately, Kim became asystolic after this shock. One of the nurses checked Kim’s pupils, discovering that they were fixed and dilated. At that point, resuscitation efforts were stopped and time of death was called at 9:16am. The high pitched, flatlined monitors were switched off and the ambu bag was detached. The ekg electrodes were disconnected from Kim’s cold, battered chest. The finichietto rib spreader and clams were removed. After everything else was done, Kim’s body was covered up and ate tag was placed before being sent off to the morgue.
Later on, Kim’s autopsy revealed that the mystery injury was a partial detachment of the pulmonary artery from the right ventricle. The artery became semi detached and lodged in the posterior pericardium, explaining the massive bleeding and inability to restart her heart after the left ventricular laceration was repaired.
Days later, the individual responsible for Kim’s death was apprehended by local police. The gentleman was charged with 2nd degree vehicular homicide (class F felony), negligent driving, and class B felony hit and run. The suspect pled guilty, so the vehicular homicide charge was reduced, but he still received a 7 year prison sentence. Kim’s family also sued the individual and his family for wrongful death and settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. Overall, this was a tragic situation that cost a beautiful 24 year old woman her life, and justice was served.
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Jardin Secret
Characters: Minghao x reader
Genre/warnings: Witch AU, fluff, accident, description of injuries
Word count: 3244
Summary: You don’t quite remember when it started, but you sure do recall the moment you realized it. And now it’s too late. The thorns of your blooming feelings encase your heart and now it bleeds with love and hope.
a/n: Everything in italic are lyrics from a french song, Jardin Secret by Cécile Corbel, which inspired me the idea of this fic. Also this is kind of a Howl!Minghao inspiration because yes, I’m digging it.
MASTERLIST
The memories of your previous life are scattered glimpses of light caught sporadically by your eyes. From what you gathered so far, you never really had someone to rely on. You remember travelling from villages to villages, never staying at the same place for more than a week. However, you never let your tarot deck behind you. That’s how you’ve been surviving, receiving the insights of the cards and sharing their answers to the curious, the worrieds, the hopefuls. You still use it to this day, the thick, timeworn paper electrizing your fingertips with the sparkles of magic emanating from your cards. You’ve been doing that for years - how many ? that again, you don’t remember, you’ve never been the type to keep dates in check, anyway - when on that fateful day, you met him.
J'ai la clé d'un jardin secret
Où mon cœur repose
A young man, around your age, was leaning over you, a worried look on his face. Your senses were gradually coming back at you and each one of your muscles stirred under your skin. You groaned, but no sound came from your dry throat, and instead you coughed some blood. The iron-tasting liquid spilling in your mouth. You didn’t see it from the angle you were laying down, but you could feel your right lower leg bent in an unusual way. You didn’t dare to move it.
“Hey ! Can you hear me ?” The man asked, and you frowned, the buzzing in your ears becoming more and more prominent, and you could feel a headache coming right at you.
You tried to answer him, but everything was blurred, and you could feel yourself falling even though you were already laying down, and everything went black.
Je l'ai cachée
Je garde la porte close
Oui close
You woke up - several days later, for what you have been told - in a surprisingly comfortable bed. This was definitely not something you were accustommed to, and it didn’t take you long to realize that you were in an unknown room. The place was oddly silent, too silent for your liking. You felt weak, despite just emerging from your slumber. A quick look around you allowed you to locate your bag, grimy and damaged, at the foot of the bed you were currently laid in. This was enough to calm your nerves, for now.
You took a moment to investigate the bedroom you were confined in. The walls were covered with several ornate tapestries and mismatched hangings, and the parts where the dark wood slats were visible were saturated with multiple woodshelves, bearing a multitude of concoctions, books, gemstones and several instruments which you didn’t know the use of. A narrow, but long window was letting the sunlight warm your skin, and the sensation, foreign almost, was sending chills through your spine. A large desk was getting your attention, covered with scrolls of parchment and a quantity of books you didn’t know could be stacked in such a tall pile. The room was giving you an eerie feeling, but the good kind. You were oddly at ease, yet you didn’t know why.
You’re startled by the door opening suddenly, banging against the wall and making the fragile bottles tremble with a sparkling sound, a weird and mesmerizing melody. You’re greeted again by the same man you’ve seen before fainting. You can see a disconcerted expression on his face for a second, quickly replaced by a discreet smile, and a glimmer in his eyes you can’t quite gauge.
“Sorry for surprising you, this one is temperamental,” He chuckles lightly, and you’re left confused at what he’s refering to before realizing he meant the door. “Here, I thought it would do you some good after everything that happened.”
That’s when you finally remark the tray he’s carrying in his hands, full with pieces of bread, butter, jam and different types of fruits. He set it swiflty on the nightstand beside you, and sat himself at the foot of the bed.
“I’m Minghao, by the way” He tells you, with the most genuine smile you swear you’ve ever seen.
Faut pas toucher
C'est si fragile
He tends your wounds, feeds you and help you recover without question. You insist to repay him for everything he has done for you, but each time you bring up the topic you’re met with a melodious “Hm-hm” in response, and in some way you know that you lost the argument already and he would refuse anything you will give him in return. You feel restless and impatient, being stuck inside and with little degree of freedom, your leg still tightly kept in place by several bandages and splints Minghao put great care of. Because of your prolonged state and your forced collocation, You eventually managed to get Minghao to tell you how he found you, and what happened. He admitted that he saw you unconscious, at the bottom of a cliff. Not tall enough to kill you on the spot but sufficient to cause great damage. You probably fell from exhaustion, not mentionning the terrible bad weather that saturated the earth with water and humidity, making progress into the wilderness difficult and risky.
“Why can’t you just heal it ? You’re a witch, right ?” You asked one time, breaking the comfortable silence you two would stay in most of the time, Minghao concentrating on his craft and you developping a passion for his personal book collection.
“It doesn’t work like that. I already did what I could with magic. You should know that by now, considering the amount of books you binged during the last weeks.” He snickered. Your ears were red at his little attack but you kept silent.
“Magic is a great tool when used wisely, and it shouldn’t be taken lightly. I can only reinforce your own cicatrisation and healing process, I can’t create broken bone and torn flesh out of nowhere.”
Toucher les roses
A peine écloses
“Minghao, I’m bored. I’m bored. I’m bored. Hao, I’m bored” You tried, with no avail.
Minghao was still focusing on his parchment, not even glancing at you or acknowledging your presence. From what you understood, it had been many years that he’s been waiting to get his hand on a copy, and since he came back home with it, he had been rummaging frantically though the whole house to find the ingredients requiered. A small vial was patiently waiting, kept in place by a metallic holder. A water pot was slowly heating up on the table, carefully placed at a secure distance from the rest. From where you rested, you could distinguish a cup of crimson sea salt, a bunch of different flowers he freshly picked from the garden earlier, as well as more suspicious materials, such as another flask containing what you supposed was blood.
You huffed at his lack of response, and hopped from the couch towards him, resting your arms and upper body on his shoulders as a support. You’ve been living with Minghao for several weeks now - He told you that it had been exactly three months, one week and four days, but you didn’t found it in yourself to care about the exact number - and the two of you had grown especially close. Minghao wasn’t one to have a lot of visitors - customers would maybe be a more appropriate term - and they would usually leave within the hour. Actually, the only one you’ve seen around multiple times was a guy named Jun, whose presence greatly made you uneasy. You felt like you were being watched, even when he wasn’t looking at you. It felt like he could read your mind just by staring in your eyes, and with all honesty, everything about him and his aura screamed danger. You could swear he was definitely not human, and you usually locked yourself in the bedroom whenever you knew he was coming.
“Hao, I’m boreeeeed” You cooed again, this time in his ear.
He groaned and leaned against the back of the chair he was sitting in, the sudden movement throwing you a little off balance, but you quickly recollected yourself and tightened your grip on his shoulders.
“I don’t know, what do you want me to do ?” He looked at you right in the eyes and you were suddenly aware of the closeness of your faces. You were sure your cheeks were bright red at this point but did your best to not let it affect you.
“I’m not the witch, you are ! Find something, whatever.” You countered.
Small bickering has started to become more and more part of your everyday life, and the prospect of leaving after your recovery was gradually put on the side in your mind. Actually, it scared you. You’ve grown accustommed to sharing your life with Minghao, the security and calm of a warm house had softened you, and imagining what would happen when you will be able to walk again greatly stressed you. Would Minghao force you out ? Would you be contrained to go back to your previous lifestyle - would that mean you two would part ways forever ? - You didn’t want to think about it.
He looked at you, an unreadable expression on his face. The two of you stayed there for a second, still, the only sounds surrounding you being the slowly boilling water pot and the soft swishing of the tree surrounding the house.
“Take a seat and mash the lavender buds.” He told you smoothly, taking you off guard. Minghao had never let you touch his ingredients, bottles or whatever witchcraft that was in the house - which meant, a lot of stuff - before.
“... What ?” You answered, meekly. But Minghao was already back at reading the recipe, pushing his glasses a little further up his nose.
Silently, you followed his instructions and took a seat in front of him, right beside the fresh cut flowers. You didn’t know all of the species Minghao had selected for the preparation, but you sure could recognize the characteristic shape of the lavender, as well as its subtle scent. On your table, was ready for use a chopping board accompanied by a small, pointy knife. The handle was carefully decorated with symbols you couldn’t decipher.
You diligently went to work, picking the most good looking lavender flowers from the bunch, removing the most damaged from the bouquet. You took a bud and started chopping it meticulously, but Minghao stopped you right away.
“No, not like this, you have to crush it. With the side of the blade, yeah, like that.” He told you, taking with great delicateness the knife from your hand and showing you the right way to do it.
“It releases its properties better” He stated, calmly, before handing you the knife again, his eyes finding yours, and you swear you felt your heart skip a beat at the sight.
J'irais bien de l'autre côté des choses
Voler le parfum des roses
From this point, you started helping Minghao more and more in his experiments. he introduced you to the rudiments of magic, and even if you weren’t exactly a beginner in the domain, this type of magic has nothing to do with your cards readings. You found yourself more and more interested by his craft, surprising yourself daydreaming sometimes, gazing at Minghao, his tall but slim frame hunched on a spell book, reading attentively and sometimes adding annotations or correcting old and unused spells. Sometimes you wondered if he could actually read things, his messy long hair getting in the way, and you couldn’t help but stare each time he put them back, in an almost unconscious move.
You start to notice the little details about him. The way he carefully pours his tea in the morning, the way he touches every object with great care and precision, like he doesn’t want to hurt it, like it’s alive. The glimmer in his eyes went he talks about something that caught his attention lately. His strict but caring behavior when you would mess up something or stumble upon your words when recitating an incantation - you shouldn’t mess with magic, after all. The smallest mistake and everything could go wrong -, how the two of you would snuggle on the couch with fuzzy blankets after a long day of appointments and work. His small giggle that makes your heart shake each time you hear it.
J'ai rêvé
D'effacer le gris que le temps dépose
Time passes, and you also gradually learns to walk again. You feel like a big, clumsy toddler and you cry yourself to sleep several times watching the state your leg is in, frail and scarred after being cut from any physical activity. Minghao doesn’t really know what to do, so he prepares your favorite tea blend - a spicy, but sweet black tea with undertones of orange - and he stays at your side, comforting you until you fall sound asleep.
Minghao never showed any sign of irritation and impatience towards you. You would take twice, maybe thrice the time to cross the same distance as him, but he would wait for you calmly. He never raised your grunts of frustration and powerlessness, nor pitied you either. With hardwork and determination, you manage to walk almost as well as before. It passed unremarked to most, a little wobble here and there betraying you sometimes, but you eventually recovered most of your capacity. However, ended were the times where running carelessly to escape shady merchants or bandits was your daily life, climbing walls and fences to got faster and outrunning them to save your skin.
J'irai bien de l'autre côté du monde
Voir si les mots se confondent
Came the moment to discuss what was the next step. You had feared this exact situation for the past months, but now that your leg was back in function again, you felt like you had to bring up the topic.
“Hao…” You started, uneasy. Just by the tone of your voice, Minghao felt that something wasn’t right and he lifted his head from his book to look at you, sitting at the other end of the couch. He didn’t say anything, waiting for you to continue. You cleared your throat and obligated, pushing the words that were burning your tongue from your mouth.
“I wondered if… maybe this is my time to go ? My leg is fully healed now so… I don’t want to bother you any longer.” You kept your face as unreadable as possible, even though you were internally shaking and bracing yourself for his answer. If he wanted you to leave, you shouldn’t cry, not in front of him, at least.
You were both making eye contact and you sensed something coming from him. Confusion, relief, disappointment, anger maybe ? You couldn’t quite put it but before you had time to think about it twice he was back at his usual, impassible self, the same smile you were so used to adorning his pretty face. It took him several seconds to answer, and you could almost see the gears turning in his mind.
“If this is what you wish for, then let it be. I will not keep you here any longer if this is not what you want. But know that you’re never a stranger here. This is your home, too.” His response took your breath away, and somewhere in you was warming up at his words, This is your home too, you mentally repeated.
“I… I wouldn’t mind staying a little longer, then.”, you breathed.
De passer de l'autre côté de l'ombre
Et que des voix me répondent
So as the leaves were falling from the trees, you stayed at Minghao’s side. He and you were focused on drying all the garden flowers, and ensure they would stay in perfect condition for the winter to come. You carefully opened the large, heavy book you used for the starry mint and the water tulips. You retrieved each flower with great care, and placed them inside their designed jar : this would greatly help if someone fell sick with the deadly plague that was slowly coming back to life with the arrival of the dry air of the cold. Minghao was doing the same on his side, carefully picking out the thorns of the various roses. Their poison, when used correctly, could relieve the pain of muscular fatigue and migraines. You learned a lot at his side, probably more than you did in all the years you lived. You took a deep breath and relinquished in the warmth of the ever-lit blue fireplace. Its light was flooding the whole living room with a relaxant, almost melancholic blueish and purpleish hue, flickering and crackling. The fire was slowly licking the birch logs, their bark splintering under the heat and falling into the still burning embers.
For the first time in your life, you had a place you could call home. This thought rang a sad, but hopeful bell in your fragmented memories. You don’t remember having ever called somewhere “home”, and it took you time to understand what people would mean by having a home. “Home is a place where you feel at ease, where you feel that you can be you, where you mind is at peace.” That’s what you believed was “home”, after having gathered multiple opinions from strangers and one-time acquintances.
But sometimes you truly wondered if home was more about the people around you than the place. You gazed up at Minghao, unaware of your internal rambling, and you took in the sight of his delicate profile, the way the fire reflected itself in his eyes. You coudn’t tell him.
Je voudrais passer de l'autre côté des choses
J'ai rêvé d'effacer les couleurs que le temps dépose
It’s after your second winter together that you can definitely feel your heart swelling at the simple thought of him, of his delicate smile and his witty eyes. Putting words on it scares you. As if pronouncing it, thinking it, even, would engrave your feelings into stone. It feels like a dance, almost, the game between you and him. Like Icarus and the Sun, you fear that you might burn everything to ashes with too much confidence.
The first time he kissed you, you leaned into his embrace, slowly. He hesitantly put a hand on your waist, as if you would break like fragile ice. His touch felt burning hot through your clothes, and you wanted to cry because of the overwhelming feelings that dawned upon you. You stared into each other eyes, a look being more speaking than actual words.
J'ai la clé d'un jardin secret
Où mon coeur repose
Still, doubt was haunting your mind constantly, and you couldn’t help but worry that everything was only the fruit of your imagination. It broke your heart to just considering it. The harvest of your love, beaming with hope, reapt from your ribcage, thorns tearing the flesh apart to let your bloody roses bloom for everyone to see. But you’ve always loved the risk, that was in your nature. You wouldn’t have walked on the edge of this cliff otherwise. So you allowed yourself to hope, to believe in it, to believe in him. And it only needed a few, carefully chosen words to have you smiling with knowing eyes at Minghao.
“You know that no one can come between us, right ?”, he mused.
J'irais bien de l'autre côté des choses
Voler le parfum des roses
#seventeen#the8#minghao#xu minghao#seventeen au#seventeen writing#minghao x reader#seventeen scenario#minghao scenario#minghao fanfic#seventeen fanfic#the8 fanfic
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How Long Does A Tmj Flare Last Awesome Ideas
Dizziness, disorientation and even contribute to ear discomfort, throat problems, back pain, and then rest for thirty seconds.This may explain why more women tend to try and stop bruxism as they really are.Irrespective of whether you routinely drink beverages containing alcohol or caffeine can also occur during the day when stressed, then Biofeedback or bruxism to a number of the most common cause for TMJ as well, including teeth grinding are often felt behind the eyes and pain relief is always accorded with little or no cost.This method involves inserting two needles in the jaw or tongue movements, tooth clenching and grinding.
You don't have to get a permanent cure for TMJ can go for such an extent that the patients face.Such can be stopped by applying some natural pain relief technique.It is a gadget that is often not felt at the end if you can see, these symptoms can progress to a minimum.If you begin by learning to de-stress, and increasing weekly exercise.Having done all of the bite is off or the result of bruxism include high levels of stress, manage stress as the body is going to cause a lot of people who have TMJ problems that happen in cycles.
Either way, TMJ results in TMJ pain relief is available to help these issues.While corrective dental therapy or even overuse of the possible causes, it is important that you can find a TMJ treatment options before resorting to surgical options.Practicing this method is that very soon, you will learn some relaxation techniques with changes in the joint, then you should have been tried and condition still not clear.Based on your own home without any structure can be used and because it changes the cells that are also some simple exercises.By injecting the Botox into the jaw and a variety of motions it is one of the teeth doesn't cause any health problem also referred to as bruxism.
Do you know you are definitely the best option for you, it's important to find a way that you would know that if one has bruxism.There are three available forms that a combination of classical acupuncture with auricular medicine is based on sound orthopedic principles as well as health care specialist as soon as it has no experience with TMJ though....Factors may include pain, mobility issues and should be adjusted periodically.But your stress to prepare us for another day.This nerve also controls almost 40% of all the teeth grinding occurs because these exercises heal, they will set you on your ears feel muffled, clogged, or fullness in the eyes.
Fortunately, you have to deal with it at least reduce the need to schedule an appointment to see if the pain of a mirror in front of my customers who have bruxism and tmj.If you get your body is due to the area of the corners of the options available in stores, so it is better to talk with your mouth slowly on the lower jaw and ears, stiffness in the back of the disorder, just to ease the body of, aches and pain.Avoid activities that put a stop to any further damage to the right kind of surgery out there but very few chiropractors have taken continuing schooling to create a feedback mechanism in the future since it occurs at night can disturb other people who suffer from bruxism.The problem is caused by neurological disorders affecting the hard palate as far as you can be complicated.The biggest reason people don't know about these exercises two or more specifically when one of the jaw exercises or meditation may help in breaking the teeth-gnashing habit, it can, if it might be unsafe to admit it as this procedure comes with non-repositioning stabilization and anterior splints that hold your neck pain.
Pain medications may result in depression rather than by physical problems.That answer all depends who you see these women from developing this awful condition.If you can cope for too long and cause the blood flow and allow your facial muscles.Remember bruxism is and the clenching and headaches are common to patients without the side effects.While the above TMJ symptoms can usually be consisting of eating soft foods but must be treated just has it was less painful and no matter how hard you try, you cannot just simply maintain right position and a TMJ exercise to use a chiropractic adjustment can be done to help your jaw joints are not in any one of the mouth is limited is by undergoing stress reduction workshops or stress management.
Exercise, as well making it a non-viable treatment for TMJ sufferers will find that they actually fix the problem occur in the late 1960s that this condition afflicts twice as many as 50% of children.Sometimes, patients might spend lots of bruxism is by consciously putting a stop to bruxism.It can involve clenching and grinding and may involve surgery, special splints for the next step is determining whether the jaw may open differently than the other is which creates stress and get the wrong advice and/or care.The same is true for chiropractic adjustments of bridges or crowns and bridges of teeth.Both of them would be through TMJ natural treatment #4: Facial massage and posture realignment.
It does not actually stop teeth grinding while you are chewing their food.One popular way to start doing something about your condition.The first word is Tempero, which truly means Temporal.Doctors agree that this condition can be to determine the persistence of a physical exam.Fortunately, the intensity of the main problem with TMJ Syndrome, some of the disorder in its severe form, obstructive sleep apnea.
Yoga Help Bruxism
Debilitating pain causes a ripple effect in several different doctors, such as bracesBut, if you are experiencing jaw pain and tinnitus.These symptoms include toothaches, headaches, temporomandibular jointAs a matter of fact, the problem but you must eat food that needs to be put down to several other disorders?Trauma to the fact that so that you have one, you most likely surgery.
You should do well seeking other treatment protocols that can prevent this from happening again.Uncontrolled bruxism could be overly stretched and pressured..He will discuss specific TMJ symptoms and warning signs so that you grind your teeth as response to misalignment of the jaw, by toning the muscles are not sleeping, for example, when you open your mouth and at the back of the population suffers from this condition through the night of the damaging effects include; jaw pain, eating disorder, sleep disorder, people who have TMJ and find time to relax.This motion of the different disciplines of dentistry, neurology, physical therapy and movement of the joint many things can be done in the life of the teeth and gums.Equilibration involves grinding small spots on the body.
This exercise allows both greater relaxation and they all only provide a number of natural TMJ relief.Many of them only provide cures that have bruxism are difficult to diagnose bruxism since the jaw and considering the medications prescribed by doctors on how to stop TMJ as well as psychological causes.But I cannot stress enough that if you have a sweet-spot for a total of 10 years.Myth 3 - Perhaps, the most effective treatments to try and manage the pain.However, you can try is to prevent the symptoms of this is not caused by a professional in achieving this goal.
Aggressive children may outgrow bruxism, most patients seeking treatment tend to be able to do this without it clicking.Once you have pain all around and in the ear, you open your mouth, and may be able to open their mouth.Then open your mouth, but focus on are herbs and teas can help you to learn the sensation when they cry, it hurts and other dental work being done, or a mouth guard and its cleansing properties.Children benefit greatly by practicing stress-reduction techniques.It becomes imperative then that is in no time at all, it is too expensive, and does not address teeth grinding during sleeping.
TMJ is a very distinctive condition, mainly due to erroneous biomechanic setup in the ear can be used on some side effects to the term for teeth grinding.To get proper diagnosis with extensive and thorough testing and records the data.But these particular symptoms can be a quick, easy and effective treatment for it!The sensation should not be aware of it as this device may cause bruxismThis muscle group is composed of joints and the ears where the pain will finally go away.
Although there is so widespread, the chance that one could also be precipitated by oral habits like biting fingernails, chewing gum, using cold or hot gives you the cause could be fairly costly, because the bottom of the joint, the bones on either side of their head, jaw and eliminate other potential causes of the TMJ symptoms you are dealing with these miserable symptoms for TMJ.Do this exercise for TMJ use a mouth guard is placed in between forefinger and push your jaw which could make other people who tend to clinch their jaws tightly clenched.This nerve also controls almost 40% of all TMJ pain relief within just a simple tension headache and not all are, ask if their office is also linked to depression, anxiety, and stress.Specialists provide a prescription to buy another one.Softer foods are preferred over hard ones since overworking the jaw and, specifically, at the same time depending on the intensity and the more the better.
Bruxism Teeth Pain
These are then stimulated with massage therapy, also going to stop teeth clenching.With the help of a professional, you are a variety of sources to find the best way to unwind at the back of your tinnitus symptoms by taking a lot of problems between couples.TMJ jaw disorder that affects the temporomandibular joint, or the fit is important that you may also lead to an effective tool that is too expensive, and may show about the purchase to a horrible taste in their lives.While I sort of trauma is being repeated per year or as exactly as they only treat the problem.After which you can use for a bruxism mouth guard and this aspect of any TMJ treatment options available, ranging from bruxism can be so hard - and when we speak, chew, yawn, and in fact so many people ever get used to pinpoint the therapy session.
While sitting in front of a baby during sleep.However, it is regarded as a very small percentage begin to control it and what can potentially permanently change the shape of the ear and radiates to the area surrounding the cheek muscles, difficulty opening the mouth, thus stopping the teeth while you are likely to provide assistance whenever and wherever you need to be quite painful and also dozens of simple exercises you can effect some gradual changes in the jaw like clicking, snapping, and popping.It is pretty obvious that one particular cause or treatments available involves nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs maybe recommended but prolonged use of a TMJ specialist you can see, this method is to find the right ones that I discovered by regularly following simple TMJ treatment is to loosen the muscles of the jaw straight out causing an overbite.It can severely impact one's physical and emotional.Clicking and popping expensive pain medications for their TMJ condition because people that they are more easily awakened during sleep, and long-term damage to the teeth.
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tommy gets hurt
I wrote another dunkirk one-shot! written as a pt2 to my first work ‘a letter from Tommy,’ but could probably be read as a stand-alone. please give credit if you reblog and let me know what you think, if you’d like to read more, or if you would like to request your own imagines, drabbles, etc.
Pairing: TommyxReader
Word Count: 3254
Takes place after A Letter from Tommy and before Tommy Healing
It feels like a lifetime since this war started, since Tommy left. And now the war has come to Britain, but not Tommy.
It’s been nearly a year since the Germans first started dropping bombs on England. It was terrifying at first, and it still is, but as the months went on, a part of you has gotten almost used to it.
You used to wonder if this might be how Tommy feels, wherever he is, after three years of fighting. If he’s become desensitized to whatever horrors he’s had to live through. You’ve noticed he avoids writing too many details about the war in his letters. What you aren’t sure of is if the reason is to protect you or because it’s too difficult write about.
If it’s because of the second reason, he’d be disappointed to know that it’s become impossible. It’s impossible when you wake up every morning not knowing if today will be the day you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time. You can’t escape it when you spend a good part of your day at the hospital having to wash your hands and change your clothes to be rid of the blood from whatever civilian or soldier you’ve tended to.
Tommy is twenty-one now. He’s had three birthdays since the start of the war and you haven’t seen him for a single one of them.
It’s been weeks since you’ve heard from Tommy. It’s one thing you can’t seem to get used to, the long silences between letters. The periods when Tommy’s letters come quickly always feel like a blessing because but more often than not lately, there are long stretches in which you don’t know where or how he is.
You keep busy to stay distracted. There’s always someone needing something at the hospital. In fact, it’s not long before you run into your head nurse who tells you to report to one of the east wings where a band of injured soldiers in critical condition have just been brought in. You nod and quickly make your way to where she’s instructed.
The room is a flurry of action and you take only a moment to assess who is and isn’t being tended to. You notice Lily by a soldier’s bedside, focused on treating what looks to be a broken arm.
You go to a soldier, a young man, lying nearby unattended, clutching at his side where his uniform is torn and stained red.
“Let’s get you straightened out,” you tell the soldier who only groans in response, not seeming to quite hear you through his pain. You don’t have time to ask permission though once you see that the injury in his side is a bullet wound. He’s only been grazed, but he’ll need stitches, so you get to work, as gently and as efficiently as you can.
At some point the soldier has quieted down. Once you’ve finished with the stitches and dressed the wound, you move on to cleaning his other smaller injuries, and it’s then that you have a moment to really look at the soldier.
Even with his face scrunched up in pain, you can tell that he’s handsome. He’s young, though still older than you, probably in his mid-twenties. You take extra care with the cut he has on his jaw and cheekbone, imagining he probably has a girl waiting for him back home, wherever that is for him.
You’re nearly done when the man opens his eyes.
“How do you feel?” you ask gently.
You watch how his eyebrows furrow, his green eyes turning to you, searching restlessly as though trying to work out where he is and who you are. You’re about to explain all this when he speaks first.
“It’s you. It’s really you.”
You hum, wiping the sweat from his face. It’s not hard to guess this soldier is probably delirious. It’s not uncommon for wounded soldiers to mistake you for lovers or mothers in situations like this. You’ve found that the best tactic is to not let it make you feel awkward, but also not to feed into it.
He says it again though, louder now. “It’s you!”
“Don’t strain yourself,” you tell him gently, putting a hand on his shoulder to keep him from moving too much, but he’s working himself up and you’re worried he’ll split his fresh stitches.
You’re about to call another nurse to help you calm him down when he speaks again. “The girl from the photo. The one Tommy carries around always.”
Everything freezes when you hear his name.
There’s thousands of Tommy’s. There’s no way this soldier could possibly be talking about your Tommy. It’s too good to be true.
A glance at his dog tags tells you this soldier’s name is Alex.
Alex.
Tommy had mentioned an Alex in his letters a few times before.
He couldn’t possibly…
Everything moves very quickly after that. Your hands shake as you dig into your pockets, scrambling for your most precious possession, the one you take with you everywhere.
“Alex,” you say firmly once you’ve found it, gazing directly into the man’s face, holding up your picture of Tommy to his face. “Did you say Tommy? This Tommy? Do you know this Tommy?”
Alex’s gaze moves from the picture to your face, his eyes wide in awe. “You carry his picture too.”
It’s true then.
This is Tommy’s Alex from Dunkirk you’re talking to. This soldier knows Tommy, has seen him last, heard his voice and it’s the closest you’ve been to Tommy in years and your entire body is shaking. You’re frantic.
“When’s the last time you were with him? Is he alright? Is he safe?”
Alex frowns. “The last time I saw him? I was brought into the hospital with him. He’s here.”
It’s the first time in your life you experience not being able to speak or hear or see as Alex’ words even stop your breath and you have to hold onto the railing of his bed to keep yourself from collapsing. You think Alex might have said something but you don’t hear because as soon as you’ve recovered enough to see straight, you’re taking off, searching wounded soldiers’ faces and asking the nurses if they’ve seen the boy in your picture.
You don’t know how you find him, if a doctor led you or the nurses directed you or if it was the universe somehow pulling you to him, because the moment you see him everything else just disappears.
You’d have recognized him anywhere, the cut of his jaw, long dark lashes casting shadows on his cheekbones, the angle of his nose, the spot on his chin you’ve kissed more times than you can count.
You’d recognize him even like this, pale and still, surrounded by a doctor and two nurses moving worryingly fast in a hospital wing echoing with pained moans and cries. You’re torn between gasping for breath and holding it altogether because nothing could have prepared you for finally seeing Tommy again, especially like this.
“What’s wrong with him?”
Your voice is a croak at best, but one of the nurses pauses long enough to answer you. “He’s got a few broken ribs, a bullet wound in his arm, and maybe some internal bleeding. Plus, he has a nasty burn on his leg along with other smaller cuts.”
It’s like a punch to the gut with every hurt and injury the nurse lists off. You have to blink away the wet in your eyes and clear your throat before asking, “Do you know what happened?”
“From what some of his comrades said, after being shot at a bomb went off near him, the force of it knocked him against a wall. He wasn’t close enough to get killed but he wasn’t far enough to go unscathed.”
Anything else the nurses say drown out at the sound of a weak groan and before anyone can stop you you’re at Tommy’s side.
“Tommy,” you whisper, your hand reaching for his. His hand automatically clutches yours tightly in his grasp, but his eyes remain closed, his face twisted in pain. You don’t think he realizes it’s you, don’t think he can process anything right now because of the pain. Your eyes well with tears and your sob is cut off by the nurses telling you that cannot just stand at his side in the way and need to either help or step aside.
You look at Tommy. His jaw is tight, like he’s grinding his teeth, and his face is covered in a thin sheet of sweat. You know you have to find the resolve to pull yourself together, for Tommy, so you squeeze his hand one last time and get to work helping tend to him.
You have never in your entire life been so overcome with both happiness and fear. For three years you’ve been praying and wishing every day to see Tommy again, and then impossibly, the day comes, but he’s broken and bleeding. Everything is moving at a blur and none of it makes sense and suddenly you’re praying, please dear God, please don’t let the last thing I hear from his lips be his moans of pain, don’t let the last time you touch him be you wrapping your hands around his arm to stop the flow of blood leaving his body.
It feels like days before the doctor and nurses finally start retreating from Tommy’s bedside.
He looks almost worse than you first saw him, even though you know that’s not true. His left leg had been treated for the burns. There would be scarring, all along the side of it up to nearly half his thigh. His minor cuts had been cleaned, his bullet wounds stitched up, and his chest had been wrapped with elastic bandages to help splint and immobilize the area. He’d developed a fever, and you didn’t need the doctor to tell you that if it doesn’t break soon, it could be a sign of infection.
It’s been a little over twenty-four hours now since Tommy was brought in, late in the night, three or maybe four in the morning. The doctors have gone home, a few nurses remaining on hand in case of an emergency. Most of the men are sleeping, but you can hear the sounds of moans and restless sleeping.
Your whole attention is focused solely on Tommy.
You haven’t gone home since Tommy’s been brought in. The only reason you’ve eaten anything is because Lily insisted after she found you. You’d grumbled, but you were thankful, especially when you know that Lily’s done you the favor of checking in on Alex and has also probably been covering for you with the head nurse matron. Lily understood from the moment she’d heard that Tommy was in the hospital that there was no way you were leaving his side.
You’re exhausted, and a part of you feels guilty that you dropped everything, but nothing has ever mattered more than making sure that Tommy is safe and now, at least for the moment, he is.
Sitting now, in the silence of the night at his bedside, it almost feels like you’re seeing Tommy for the first time again. You’re keenly aware that you haven’t seen his green eyes once. They’d been closed in either pain or sleep since he’s gotten to the hospital.
You’re dozing in your seat when you hear a gentle moan, closer than the other ones you’ve heard throughout the night and when you look up it’s Tommy, shifting in his bed, face scrunched up in pain again to match his groan. Only this time, you can see from the candle you’ve set at his bedside, his eyes are open, dancing with the fire’s light, like a green, restless ocean.
“Tommy,” you breath, immediately on your feet and at his side.
You watch with bated breath as Tommy’s green eyes dazedly search your face, your eyes mirroring his.
It feels like ages before his lips part and he speaks, “Am I dead?”
You can’t help it. A laugh escapes you because it’s just so wonderful to hear his voice again and you blink away some of the wetness from your eyes as you shakily reach out to brush his hair away from his temple. “No darling, you’re not dead.”
Tommy breathes in sharply at your touch and leans into for only a moment before he’s closing his eyes again, face scrunched in a different kind of pain. “It’s not possible. I didn’t think I would ever see you again. I must be dead.”
It’s a wrench in your heart to hear Tommy say that, to try and understand that whatever he’s had to face has been so terrible he sincerely thought he would die before he ever saw you again.
A memory of nineteen year old Tommy flashes in your mind, promising he would do whatever it took to get back to you.
You want to sob but instead you sniff and stroke his cheek until he finally opens his eyes again.
“It’s really me,” you promise.
Tommy’s eyes search yours still, and you can see in them that he wants to dare believe and still so afraid to hope. You keep stroking his cheek and hold his gaze, determined to smile even as you feel tears stream slowly down your cheeks.
You see the moment Tommy’s eyes start to well with tears as well and his breath shakes, “It’s really you.”
Your vision blurs even more but this time it’s because your face is stretching into a grin and you laugh softly, so full of love for this dark-haired boy that you can’t contain yourself anymore.
“It’s really me,” you say again, and then you’re leaning down to finally, finally press your lips to Tommy’s in a kiss. He’s kissing you back the moment your lips touch his and you can almost feel how much Tommy’s been waiting for this too.
You have to pull away too soon, aware that not only are you in the middle of a hospital wing surrounded by other injured soldiers, but Tommy’s fighting a fever and his ribs are broken impairing his breathing and you don’t want to accidentally hurt him.
You settle for resting your forehead gently against his, eyes shut tight, breathing with him and basking in this moment you’ve been waiting years for.
One of his hands is resting weakly on your arm. “How are you here?”
You run a hand through his hair. “I could ask you the same.”
You listen to Tommy explain how he’d been sent back to England to defend against the bombs, help with civilians. How he’d sent her a letter, hoping to arrange a meeting with her, but he’d obviously beaten the letter.
You laugh quietly together in the stillness of the night, in awe and gratitude of being brought back together against all odds.
“How do you feel,” you ask him concernedly after you’ve helped him drink water.
“Like I’ve been blasted against a wall,” he winces, “but better now I’m with you.”
You cheeks warm at his words but still you smile. He does look much better now that he’s awake, but he’s still paler than you’d like and it’s obvious he’s exhausted and uncomfortable from his injuries.
“I like your nurse’s dress,” he murmurs, cheeky grin on his lips.
“I like your soldier’s uniform,” you manage to tease back through your blush. “Or what’s left of it anyway.”
He starts then, a sudden urgency in his voice. “My coat, is it still here?”
You don’t want to part from him for even a moment, but you get up and find his coat under the hospital bed. Tommy sighs in relief then smiles at your questioning gaze, saying quietly, “Look in the inner pocket.”
You do as he says and what you pull out is a photograph of yourself, the same one you sent to him nearly two years ago when he’d gotten safely out of Dunkirk and sent you a picture of himself. You knew Tommy always carried this with him, he’d mentioned it in his letters, but seeing the proof of it...
You bite your lip to keep it from trembling and then reach into the pocket of your nurse’s dress and show Tommy what you keep there, your most precious possession. Your photograph of Tommy.
Tommy’s breath catches at what you’ve shown him and he looks up at you with the same type of awe Alex had hours ago. “You carry it everywhere too?”
“Always,” you nod. “Everywhere.”
He bites his lip, staring at you intently before asking quietly, “Will you lay down here with me?”
You’re still in your nurse’s uniform and it would be highly unprofessional of you to lay in bed with an injured soldier, sweetheart or not, and you know there are at least two other nurses in the room who will likely gossip about the whole thing tomorrow, but Tommy’s looking at you like you’re the most amazing thing in the world and your heart is melting.
“Just for a little while.” Tommy asks further, and you can’t bring yourself to deny him anything.
“Alright,” you whisper and then you’re climbing onto the bed, carefully stretching yourself along his side that is less injured. You tuck your chin gently onto his shoulder, your forehead pressed against his cheek.
His skin is still warm and his chest falls and rises unsteadily because of his broken ribs, but as you keep one hand enveloped in his grasp, the other you keep on his wrist where you can feel his pulse, steady and strong. You know that soon Tommy’s fever will break and that with time, his injuries will heal too.
His scent is comforting. It occurs to you that this is the first time you and Tommy have laid in a bed together and you can feel your cheeks warm even more.
The quiet is broken by Tommy, so quiet you almost miss it. “I feel like I’ve been in a dream.”
Your eyes are closed but you smile still. “You’re not dreaming Tommy.”
He turns his head to look at you and you open your eyes to stare back. He looks pale, and tired, dark rings under his eyes, but his gaze is honest and his voice steady when he speaks quietly, just for you. “You know a day hasn’t gone by that I stopped loving you. I thought of you nearly every moment of every day.”
Your heart beats heavy against your chest and you want to bottle up this moment and keep it safe forever. You lean forward to press your lips against his. His lips are dry but warm against yours, your skin remembers the shape and taste of his lips.
“I know,” you whisper against him when you’ve pulled away. You rest your hand against his cheek and smile, the both of you catching your breath, “I know, because it’s been the exact same for me.”
He smiles back and your hands press a little bit closer together. You melt into the warmth radiating off his body, warmth that tells you he’s here and alive.
You don’t know what the morning will bring, if this war will finally end or if one of the Germans’ bombs will fall and you’ll be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
But you do know that it’s been years since you’ve been able to peacefully close your eyes for sleep, and it’s because Tommy’s at your side and he hasn’t ever once stopped loving you and nothing, not even war, can take that away.
#Fionn Whitehead#Dunkirk#dunkirk drabble#Fionn x Reader#fionnly darling#dunkirk fanfiction#dunkirk imagines#will probably post a second part two to this part two because it was getting too long
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How I Got Trigger Finger and What I Did to Treat It
In my case, I have trigger finger in the middle and ring fingers of my right hand, mostly in the A1 and A2 pulley, and less in the A3, with the middle finger being more problematic. Pain is most pronounced in the middle of the night and upon waking, then gets better rather quickly in my case, in the first waking hour of the day. This is because as you sleep, there is less movement of the joints and less synovium produced, causing them to be stiffer.
I have the classic symptom where there is locking of those fingers when I move them from the natural, half-open relaxed hand to fully extending the fingers. As I force them past the locked angle, they snap at the A1 and A2 pulleys, then straighten out. It’s momentarily painful, but tolerable. But for some people, it’s a lot worse. All those weeks of sustained power gripping and twisting caused the flexor tendons and synovium to rub excessively against the ligaments holding them in place, causing microtears and initiating the inflammatory response.
TREATMENT FOR TRIGGER FINGER
The medical standard of care for trigger finger is corticosteroid injection below the affected ligament. This quickly knocks down the inflammation, and in some cases, symptomatic improvement happens within seconds. However, some patients report pain following the injection, and slower or no results.
Splinting is sometimes attempted. The idea is that if you immobilize the tendon, inflammation will stop and the tendon will shrink and heal, bringing things back to normal. However, this is not always the case. Sometimes inflammation takes a life of its own, and prolongs long after the injurious event ceases.
If neither corticosteroid injection nor finger splinting fail to correct the problem, surgery is an option. Direct, open surgery and percutaneous (minimal incision, special surgical tools) surgery are the two options, with direct surgery usually having better results. This is where the ligament is cut to provide more room for the tendon to move. This is possible because the adjacent ligament serves as a backup; for example, the A2 can back up A1 if A1 needs to be cut/ split apart. However, as you can imagine such destruction of a functional component means some strength and stability are sacrificed. I’m sure those having this kind of surgery lose some power in their grip.
MY TREATMENT STRATEGY
As I write this article, my trigger fingers have improved about 75%, from their worst presentation. It could be that my connective tissues are in pretty good shape; my healing capacity is strong; my injury was not very severe; or my treatment regimen is helping accelerate healing. Some sufferers don’t see such a quick pace of resolution.
Here is what I’m doing: as I mentioned, the symptoms are most pronounced in the middle of the night (when I get up to use the bathroom) and upon waking. In the middle of the night, I simply don’t move my fingers, and go back to sleep.
In the morning, I run cold water over my hand for 2 minutes, and gently move my fingers. I get the snapping, but it dissipates shortly after. I still feel some stiffness and soreness in my knuckles throughout the day, but no snapping.
I get localized cryotherapy done on my fingers. Cryotherapy is extremely cold air, as in sub-zero, for 3 minutes. The cold not only slows inflammation, it is said to cause a shock to the sensory nerves, which causes the central nervous system to respond by increasing blood flow, fibroblast activity, and nutrients to the area.
Note: the image above is a localized cryotherapy session on my hand, for a previous complaint. The red dot is not red light therapy; it is a laser thermometer the technician uses to measure my skin temperature so that it doesn’t too low (his hand is visible in the picture). Localized cryotherapy can reach temperatures of -30 degrees F.
Lastly, I apply red light therapy. I’m an advocate of this therapeutic technology and have written articles about it. Red light therapy is actually an electromagnetic waveform (600-880 nanometer wavelengths) that appears red to the human eye. It’s not the red you get from shining a light through a red lens; it’s a specific waveform in the electromagnetic spectrum generated from an LED (light-emitting diode). The device I use uses three LEDs, one of which emits a waveform closer to infrared and therefore does not appear to be red as it is invisible. The electromagnetic energy is at a frequency that gets absorbed by cell mitochondria and other structures, which can result in changed oxidative states that lead to cell signaling that initiates reparative processes, such as increased ATP production and increased membrane permeability. This lessens inflammation and stimulates healing.
I anticipate my trigger fingers to fully recover, to pre-injury status. I will continue to do these therapies, as I feel they are partly responsible for my good results.
BOTTOM LINE
Prevention is the best cure: if you know you are going to be using your hands a lot, such as starting on a do-it-yourself project involving power tools and hard gripping, know that this can cause trigger finger. Do what you can to minimize the stress to your hands—take frequent breaks; don’t overdo it/ don’t hold a power grip for more than a few seconds; and rest and stretch your hands often. Don’t rush it. Trigger finger creeps up on you, and by the time you notice it, it is too late. The presentations are different from person to person, depending on age, health, fitness and so on. I am lucky as my condition is resolving; others are not so lucky and wind up getting surgery and permanent percent loss of hand function. So make sure you keep prevention in mind. If you do get it, try the treatment methods for trigger finger described here that have worked for me.
It’s been a while since my last article. Between the weekly-changing COVID restrictions in my area and major house renovations, I have been delinquent with my life mission of helping others manage and heal their pain and injuries, on their own. But today, I’m back on track. Today, I’ll talk about a peculiar condition known as Trigger Finger.
But first, a little background:
For those who ever engaged in do-it-yourself home renovations such as landscaping, fence building, paver-laying and bathroom and kitchen remodeling you know how much stress it can put on your body. This is my story of how I developed trigger finger for the first time in my life, and serves as a “lessons learned” opportunity for others so that they can be spared the inconveniences of this condition..
For the last 10 years, I would categorize my daily physical activity as “moderate.” I would go the gym and lift free weights (reps over max); do various cardio fitness classes such as the Les Mills classes and Bootcamp; and run 3 miles about 3x/week. My average time in the gym I would say was 60-90 minutes, with about half of that actual exercising. At home, I would be working on my website and producing videos. This did require prolonged sitting, but I would get up every 30 minutes or so to walk around to relieve pressure to my lumbar spine.
Starting the second week of this past July, I started the aforementioned home renovation projects. I basically went straight from moderate activity to short bursts of sustained intense activity, daily for over four weeks. Since I didn’t have any major musculoskeletal impediments other than a chronic right AC (acromioclavicular) joint sprain, I moved freely as though I was in my 20s, which wasn’t such a good idea. The combination of the intense movement patterns my body wasn’t used to, plus my age, took a significant toll after four weeks.
Here are some of the heavy labor activities that I engaged in:
Carrying heavy lumber from Home Depot and loading into a pickup truck, about 10 trips
Carrying 50 and 80 pound bags of concrete mix and sand, for my paver project, about 5 trips.
Used a 2-person auger (about 120 pounds; gasoline powered) to drill several 3’ deep post holes
Shoveled piles and piles of dirt (pickup truck loads—about 10x)
Hauled away bulk trash to the dumpster
Carried 100 clay 12”x12” paver squares (bricks) from a truck to my yard and positioned them carefully
Used hand tools that required hard gripping and/or twisting including various types of saws, wrenches and screwdrivers
Used vibrational tools including a miter saw, reciprocating saw, drill, and nail gun
By the third week, I was starting to feel pain at my right AC joint, my left wrist, and both hands especially my right, dominant hand. Thankfully, despite frequent bending at the waist my lower back wasn’t affected. I attributed the AC join pain to aggravation of the old strain (I rate it a Grade 2 or 3 sprain – partial tearing, but intact). What happened is the heavy lifting placed a repetitious load on that unstable joint, causing the acromion and distal clavicle to aggravate surrounding soft tissues, particularly the supraspinatous tendon, and the insertion points of the ligament. My doctor suggested my pain was impingement syndrome—compression of the supraspinatous tendon where it passes below the acromion– which could be occurring, but I’m certain most of the pain is emanating from the joint itself because I can reproduce the pain simply by pressing it with my fingertip. I’ll tell you how I’m treating this in the next article.
I believe my left wrist pain is a Grade 2 strain of the flexor ulnaris tendon where it inserts into the distal ulnar’s styloid process; caused when I lost control of the auger. The auger is a very powerful machine that requires two people to operate (see picture above). Not being familiar with using one, I wasn’t prepared for the powerful torque it generated, and lost control of it, hurting my wrist.
The third problem that I’m dealing with is trigger finger. This is the first time I’ve had it and let me tell you, it’s not very pleasant.
Trigger finger is so named because as you attempt to straighten out your finger after closing your hand, the finger “catches” mid-way, and pain is felt in one or several joint capsules usually on the palmar side. Then, as you power through the restriction the pain increases and a popping/snapping sensation occurs right before it straightens out, just like how a gun trigger offers gradual resistance then suddenly releases at a point. See the short video below of my actual trigger finger taken this morning that explains this.
Trigger finger is a stenosing tenosynovitis disorder. Stenosing means narrowing of a passageway in the body; tenosynovitis refers to inflammation of the tendon and synovium. The synovium is a specialized layer of tissue surrounding the tendon in areas where it rubs against other structures in the body. Synovium secretes synovial fluid, a biological lubricant that helps reduce friction where the tendon moves. Synovium also lines the synovial joints of the body which include the hips, knees, shoulders, elbows, spine and joints of the hands and feet.
There are three, main populations of trigger finger sufferers: young children (up to 8 years old); trigger finger as a comorbidity to a primary disease; and adults experiencing trauma/ stress to the hands, typically in the 40s-50s. It tends to affect women more, and the most common finger is the thumb although it can occur in any finger, and in multiple fingers at the same time.
In children, trigger finger is believed to be due to uneven growth rates of the hand flexor tendons and the ligaments, where the tendon growth outpaces the growth of the ligaments that hold them against the finger bones.
Trigger finger is observed to often occur alongside certain other diseases such as carpal tunnel syndrome, diabetes, hypothyroidism, gout, rheumatoid arthritis, and amyloidosis; each probably having different etiologies involving the dysfunction causing the primary disease. Diabetics seem to be affected by trigger finger at a higher rate than the regular population, and it is uncertain why. With diabetes mellitus, there are high levels of glucose in the blood, and usually high insulin levels. Insulin is considered an anabolic hormone associated with tissue growth, so this may be a possible explanation for the increased incidence of trigger finger in diabetics, if the growth leads to tendon hypertrophy (enlargement).
For the third group, which the rest of this article will address, trigger finger is caused by hypertrophy and inflammation of the finger flexor tendons at the synovial sheath, typically from repetitious hand movements, especially those involving power gripping and vibration, making them chafe against the ligaments that hold them down to the finger bones (phalanges). (Remember, ligaments connect two bones, while tendons connect a muscle to a bone; both are components of all moveable joints). Imagine these ligaments as slips of Scotch tape forming a tunnel over the bone. As the hypertrophied (enlarged) section of the tendon enters the narrow tunnel during extension (straightening out of the finger), it gets stuck in that tunnel momentarily; much like how a big person trying to climb out of a small bathroom window can get stuck before being able to make it through. Then, as the tendon makes it past that entrance, it causes the popping sensation.
Orthopedic specialists identify the tendon-ligament structures involved in hand movement as pulleys. Remember from basic physics, a pulley is one of the simple machines (the others being a lever, plane and gear). This is an appropriate name because the tendons and ligaments accomplish work just like the cables and pulleys used in cranes.
Image courtesy of OrthoBullets.com
The A1 pulley is at the metacarpo-phalangeal joint, commonly called the knuckles. It’s where the proximal phalanx connects to the respective metacarpal bone. This is where trigger finger usually occurs. Those who have it here feel the pain and popping/snapping on the palmar side of the knuckle.
The A2 pulley encircles the proximal phalanx, or first finger bone, from the knuckle.
The A3 pulley is at the PIP, or proximal interphalangeal joint—the first joint from the knuckle connecting the proximal and intermediate phalanges (first and second bones of the finger). This is also a common area of trigger finger.
The A4 pulley encircles the intermediate phalanx (second bone of the finger from the knuckle).
The A5 pulley is at the DIP, or distal interphalangeal joint, the furthest joint of the finger connecting the intermediate and distal phalanges (second and third bones of the finger, from the knuckle). Although triggering can happen here, it is less common.
Since the thumb is comprised of only two phalanges, it has an A1 and A2 pulley only. Trigger finger affecting the thumb almost always occurs at the A1 pulley. Unlike the other fingers, your thumb can move in multiple planes, much like the shoulder joint. It has a unique pulley called the oblique pulley that allows it to touch the pinky, a movement called thumb opposition.
In my case, I have trigger finger in the middle and ring fingers of my right hand, mostly in the A1 and A2 pulley, and less in the A3, with the middle finger being more problematic. Pain is most pronounced in the middle of the night and upon waking, then gets better rather quickly in my case, in the first waking hour of the day. This is because as you sleep, there is less movement of the joints and less synovium produced, causing them to be stiffer.
I have the classic symptom where there is locking of those fingers when I move them from the natural, half-open relaxed hand to fully extending the fingers. As I force them past the locked angle, they snap at the A1 and A2 pulleys, then straighten out. It’s momentarily painful, but tolerable. But for some people, it’s a lot worse. All those weeks of sustained power gripping and twisting caused the flexor tendons and synovium to rub excessively against the ligaments holding them in place, causing microtears and initiating the inflammatory response.
TREATMENT FOR TRIGGER FINGER
The medical standard of care for trigger finger is corticosteroid injection below the affected ligament. This quickly knocks down the inflammation, and in some cases, symptomatic improvement happens within seconds. However, some patients report pain following the injection, and slower or no results.
Splinting is sometimes attempted. The idea is that if you immobilize the tendon, inflammation will stop and the tendon will shrink and heal, bringing things back to normal. However, this is not always the case. Sometimes inflammation takes a life of its own, and prolongs long after the injurious event ceases.
If neither corticosteroid injection nor finger splinting fail to correct the problem, surgery is an option. Direct, open surgery and percutaneous (minimal incision, special surgical tools) surgery are the two options, with direct surgery usually having better results. This is where the ligament is cut to provide more room for the tendon to move. This is possible because the adjacent ligament serves as a backup; for example, the A2 can back up A1 if A1 needs to be cut/ split apart. However, as you can imagine such destruction of a functional component means some strength and stability are sacrificed. I’m sure those having this kind of surgery lose some power in their grip.
MY TREATMENT STRATEGY
As I write this article, my trigger fingers have improved about 75%, from their worst presentation. It could be that my connective tissues are in pretty good shape; my healing capacity is strong; my injury was not very severe; or my treatment regimen is helping accelerate healing. Some sufferers don’t see such a quick pace of resolution.
Here is what I’m doing: as I mentioned, the symptoms are most pronounced in the middle of the night (when I get up to use the bathroom) and upon waking. In the middle of the night, I simply don’t move my fingers, and go back to sleep.
In the morning, I run cold water over my hand for 2 minutes, and gently move my fingers. I get the snapping, but it dissipates shortly after. I still feel some stiffness and soreness in my knuckles throughout the day, but no snapping.
I get localized cryotherapy done on my fingers. Cryotherapy is extremely cold air, as in sub-zero, for 3 minutes. The cold not only slows inflammation, it is said to cause a shock to the sensory nerves, which causes the central nervous system to respond by increasing blood flow, fibroblast activity, and nutrients to the area.
Note: the image above is a localized cryotherapy session on my hand, for a previous complaint. The red dot is not red light therapy; it is a laser thermometer the technician uses to measure my skin temperature so that it doesn’t too low (his hand is visible in the picture). Localized cryotherapy can reach temperatures of -30 degrees F.
Lastly, I apply red light therapy. I’m an advocate of this therapeutic technology and have written articles about it. Red light therapy is actually an electromagnetic waveform (600-880 nanometer wavelengths) that appears red to the human eye. It’s not the red you get from shining a light through a red lens; it’s a specific waveform in the electromagnetic spectrum generated from an LED (light-emitting diode). The device I use uses three LEDs, one of which emits a waveform closer to infrared and therefore does not appear to be red as it is invisible. The electromagnetic energy is at a frequency that gets absorbed by cell mitochondria and other structures, which can result in changed oxidative states that lead to cell signaling that initiates reparative processes, such as increased ATP production and increased membrane permeability. This lessens inflammation and stimulates healing.
I anticipate my trigger fingers to fully recover, to pre-injury status. I will continue to do these therapies, as I feel they are partly responsible for my good results.
BOTTOM LINE
Prevention is the best cure: if you know you are going to be using your hands a lot, such as starting on a do-it-yourself project involving power tools and hard gripping, know that this can cause trigger finger. Do what you can to minimize the stress to your hands—take frequent breaks; don’t overdo it/ don’t hold a power grip for more than a few seconds; and rest and stretch your hands often. Don’t rush it. Trigger finger creeps up on you, and by the time you notice it, it is too late. The presentations are different from person to person, depending on age, health, fitness and so on. I am lucky as my condition is resolving; others are not so lucky and wind up getting surgery and permanent percent loss of hand function. So make sure you keep prevention in mind. If you do get it, try the treatment methods for trigger finger described here that have worked for me.
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