Missing in action - now I am back

Hello dear Steemians,

I was missing in actions for some time now but I am back with loads of ideas of what to write about!! I also couldn't fail to see the changes that were introduced to the platform while I was gone. Cool stuff :D

This is going to be a bit of an excuse post about why I was not very active on the platform for the past couple of months.

First of all, one beautiful sunny, frosty, winter morning I went running... And I would love to say that something funny or adventurous have happen to me but the truth is that I slipped on ice, fell and broke my left wrist. The doctor that was examining my X-ray simply shook his head and said "this looks like a nasty breakage". Then he gave me two options: 1. a cast that will immobilize my arm all the way up to my collarbone and the wrist bone will grow back most likely deformed; option 2: a surgery within next couple of hours that will include rearranging pieces of wrist bone back into what it should look like and attaching an external stabilizer so that the wrist is fixed in place. Very mad at myself for being clumsy, I choose option 2... I received a pair of pajamas and 5 hours later I was in a surgery room.

Here is how my wrist looked like right after I broke it.

When I woke up from the anesthesia I had this bulky device on my hand, that prevented me from moving my wrist in any direction. I also was immediately called a "Robocop" by my family and friends. (Apparently the stabilizer from the front looked like a pistol). The doctor said that the alignment of my bones is good and that there was some broken tendons as well but they should be fine after some time. Then he gave me couple of exercises I should start doing as soon as possible and I was released from the hospital.

I wore a dressing at all times so the stabilizer was hidden underneath but I took this picture when the nurse was changing my bandage.

As a right handed dominant person, I have never realized how useful my left hand is. The worst were the simple everyday tasks like zipping a zipper, putting a winter hat on my head, tying hair, flossing not to mention opening bottles, jars or any container that required to be twisted. So I engineered thousand of ways of how I can do these things. The one I was most proud of was making myself a cup of nice coffee. :)

Now, I finally have wrist stabilizer removed and I went through couple of months of intensive rehab. At first my wrist was completely stiff and bending it in any direction was impossible. Now, I am able to do majority of everyday tasks and the only thing that reminds me of my recent injury are 5 little dot-like scars that mark spots where screws were drilled into my arm. Super happy my life is back to normal!!

The surgical screws that I kept as souvenirs.

Another thing that kept me preoccupied was a notice that my PhD viva has been scheduled so I had to prepare for any question the examiner could have. In the end I spend 4 years on doing research closed in a lab and I wrote a book about it so I didn't want it all go to a waste by failing the 2-3 hours interview with the examiners. This means I had spend long hours reviewing all of the articles I cited in my thesis once again, looking for justification of my reasoning and explanation for weak points.

The day of my viva I had a brief talk with my supervisor that kept me uplifted. I entered the examination room and hours later I could start titling myself a PhD. I am super happy to finish with degree but also a bit sad that I can no longer title myself a student. In the end, after all this years of avoiding it I have to start a real adult life.

Cheers!!

Suzanah