My wrist was in fact dislocated

[Fuunycat]

I may have surgery because someone looked at my wrist and misread an x-ray. I knew it didn't feel right and was told it was soft tissue damage. Gladly because I am diagnosed with EDS, they sent me to see a specialist within the hospital who just looked at my wrist and then the X-ray and said it subluxed in at least two places. I was relieved at first as I was right, but now I am meant to be returning to uni, and I can't use my dominant hand to type. I have programs to do text-to-speech but can't use them in the lecture theatre

Thank for reading my rant

[cyberbarn]

It is so frustrating when clinical staff don't listen to us or even do their job properly. Thank goodness you saw someone who knew what to look for.

Have you contacted your universities disability support service? I wonder if they would allow you to record the lectures, or have a scribe? I know people think they are being helpful by saying just use speech to text, but as you say, there are some situations where that just doesn't work.

I am a post grad student working from home, but I share my study with my son so I can only use speech to text when he is not in the study. I am not sure my university understands that. I don't know what yours is like but at mine it is all about mental health problems, they never take into consideration physical problems.

As for dislocations, I had one of my carpel bones dislocate when I was in my 20s. I was working for an investment bank that paid for health care and sent me to a private physio around the corner. She was Australian and had very different techniques to English ones. I had a few sessions where she massaged it, and she got me a really good splint and gave me a few exercises to keep the joints moving. Then once day she was gently testing things by pressing a bit here, a bit there, chatting away to me, asking about my week. Then suddenly she sort of whiplashed my hand up then down really quickly, something went clunk, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. She had got the bone back into position!

So each time I went she was both keeping the joints moving so they wouldn't stiffen up, but also waiting for the inflammation to go down so that she could snap it back into position. It was magic, the pain was instantly gone!

I wish we had more physios like that!

Does your university have a medical school or allied health professional school? You might find they have a clinic for students at reduced rates and a much higher knowledge about things than your typical NHS physio.

I hope things settle really quickly for you, it isn't great starting off a new year like this.

[Fuunycat in reply to cyberbarn]

My university is excellent for recording lectures. It is more for note-taking. It is painful to type. I see a good physio, but because I was referred to a physio in a different area to where I live, he can't look at my x-rays. But hoping to get my care moved to a better hospital after talking to him. He thinks that I need local anaesthesia to get the joint in, so gonna wait for my second opinion

[Emaych61]

My elder son, who we think has HSD (as do I) broke his right elbow in his first term at university and he’s right handed. He was at a very high ranking university on a science course. He spoke to his tutor to warn him there was an issue and then did everything left handed. Everything took longer and he said the maths element in particular was a problem because that could not be done on a computer and being slowed down interrupted his flow of thought when it came to solving equations, but he did manage it.

Have a word with the the staff when you get back and explain the situation. You won’t be the first person they’ve come across to have had an injury which prevents the use of your dominant hand.

[Fuunycat in reply to Emaych61]

I have they already helping. It is just adding another layer of complication. I am already working again several learning difficulties so being able to write and type is important. I will get a letter to get extensions

[Emaych61 in reply to Fuunycat]

It is a problem. The way HSD seems to have affected my son manifests itself mostly with problems with proprioception and coordination (which is really how he ended up cracking his elbow) - particularly hand/eye. There’s no doubt there’s Hypermobility there as well: his elbows are very hyperextended, his ankles are known to be vulnerable and he’s had to have orthotic devices since his mid teens. So learning to write left handed was quite a challenge. But he was (always has been and still is) absolutely passionate about his subject area, so the determination was there. Plus he knew that I can write left handed (despite being right handed) albeit not with the ease of my dominant hand; that may have helped him as well given there’s no doubt he has inherited the HSD from me.

[Fuunycat in reply to Emaych61]

Yeah I have chronic shoulder dislocation so I can write with my right hand but it hurts. I am very impressed with determination. I think passion in genetics is the only reason I will get my degree.

[Fuunycat]

The wrist is in! I have to wear a past elbow cast for two weeks but it is in!!!