Sorry I haven't been updating on Art but not much has changed; he is still in the splint, doing finger and hand excercises and going to physical therapy twice a week. Last night he had a great appointment (it was later so I was able to meet him after work). Up until now, the excercises he has been doing with his hand and fingers have mainly involved him taking his right hand and curling the fingers of his left hand down to the palm and holding it; he wasn't supposed to bring them down with his own strength and he wasn't supposed to extend the fingers more than forty-five degrees. Since it's been one month since his surgery his physical therapist said he can now start extending his fingers straight up with his own strength and bring them into a fist with his own strength. She didn't want him doing this before because it could put too much strain on the tendon and it could tear. She also told him that he will only have to wear the splint for another two weeks! Art was very excited about that. Now we just have to work on getting some of the strength in his hand back and not allow scar tissue to bind up that tendon. I had been massaging the area with vitamin E oil, but I had to stop because his finger is disgusting. Even the physical therapist said it was gross. Because his little finger and palm swelled and stretched the skin so much, that skin isn't able to go back to how it was...so it's peeling off. In huge chunks. I couldn't stand to massage the oil into his fingers because I couldn't handle the skin coming off and then, because the oil is sticky, sticking to my fingers. Ew. So Art's on his own until that stops. We still have to wrap his finger up to prevent any more scar tissue from forming and Art has to really work that tendon to make sure it doesn't get scarred over.

An interesting fact: Most people have two tendons in their little fingers; one that works the main joint, and another smaller one that curls the top two joints. Twenty percent of people are born without this smaller tendon and I found out last night that I am one of them! To find out if you are one as well, place your hand, palm-up, on a table (or counter or whatever) and hold your pointer, middle and ring fingers down. Then try to curl your little finger into your palm. Can you do it? Well, then, you are eighty percent of the population. If you couldn't do it, then you are in that special class of people born without that smaller tendon. Sure you can still make a fist, but you can't bring the finger in when it's isolated. I doesn't make any kind of difference, it's just interesting.