Hi there - Ali's mum here
Just wanted to ask some advice before our next trip to the hospital on Tuesday of next week
Alison's RSD spread to her arm about 6 weeks ago after a fall getting out of the bath
Within a few days the hand was locked in a fist and she developed the dreaded burning pain
Her Pain Management Team looked at ways of releasing her fingers but could not as spasms kicked in each time they tried and as time has passed her nails are digging into her skin
Yesterday I had a phone call from the hospital asking if there was any change in the hand and inviting Alison to go into theatre on Tuesday in order for the hand to be opened, nails cut, cleaned and splinted under anaesthetic
Has anyone experienced something similar - what should we expect...?
From what I can gather from earlier discussions, the hospital are reluctant to place all of the lower arm in a splint as Alison still has limited movement in her wrist which they do not want to stop - they seemed to be talking about a splint accross her palm and extending down her fingers to try and open the hand that way
There is a question about how long this will stay on and whether it will be removable - the latter worries me as we were given a "night splint" in the ER but once it was taken off it was impossible to get it back on !!!
If we go for a fixed splint which will stay in place for at least a few days this also concerns me slightly as Alison has recently learnt how to push her wheelchair using her fist...giving her more independance. Splinting may hamper her ability to get around under her own steam and take us back a step in her current levels of independance
Also, Alison can still move her thumb enough to grip her crutches - even though her balance is really bad at the moment (I basically have to walk behind her and support her all the time). We have tried gutter frames etc but they have not been sucessful so crutches are the only method of keeping Alison walking at the moment - especially important as I am noticing her good leg is becomming weaker
I am worried that a splint placed on her hand may hamper her ability to use her crutches and that we may be causing problems in another area by trying to fix the problem in the hand
If anyone has experienced something similar I would love to hear from you with your thoughts on whether or not you felt that splinting was helpful.
Our Hospital Team has only dealt with about 20 children over the past 4 years with this condition so any information which would help both them and us would be welcome
Thanks
Andrea