While clicking Holly's leash, things got out of hand. I heard a snap, then I was unable to flex my thumb. It could have been any action that caused the rupture, so poor Holly can't be blamed for this.

About a decade ago, I ruptured a tendon in the last joint of my ring finger and didn't do anything about it, thinking that it would heal on its own. This time I knew that it was important to get it seen to ASAP. Within a week, I had surgery.

I learned that I had a vestigial (extra) tendon, or Palmaris Longus muscle, that could be used in my tendon reconstruction surgery. I opted for a nerve block, which took some time to do. By not having a general anesthetic, I was awake for the surgey. My wonderful surgeons even allowed me to have two peeks at my own inner workings! Then the shields, er curtain, went back up. Yes, I realize that particular view is not for everyone, but I found the whole procedure fascinating. Needless to say, I'd rather not have gone through it, however it needed to be done.

Fortunately, the tendon ruptured in my wrist, so the incision was minimized. My tendon was fraying like some old rope that a mountain climber had no choice but to use. The surgeon removed the offending sharp bit of bone in my carpal tunnel in order to prevent it from fraying my newly repaired tendon.

The afternoon of the surgery, I was thrilled to see that I could once again bend my thumb! I now have some gentle thumb exercises to do every hour. The rest of the time I must wear a (hot) splint to protect the thumb. I plan on getting back into the pool with my splint, once my incision heals, which it almost has done. For the time being, I'll be letting things slip through my fingers!