It scares me, how quickly the changes in my arms have come, and how quickly they seem to continue. I have almost no endurance when using my hands and what remains of my arm abilities. My whole body becomes exhausted after just a few minutes of effort, at which time my arms fail me altogether.
There have been a couple of incidentss lately that demonstrate this. The other day I was out doing some shopping, just for a few groceries, mainly things for a fruit plate; melons, pineapple, strawberries. I came home with my bags of goodies, came into the garage, and tried to open the door into the building. It was difficult, especially when the melons in the bags made a concerted effort to escape. Them suckers are heavy!!
After corraling my migrating melons, I made it through the second and third doors into my building. At this point the perigrinating pineapple and mirating melons once again made a bid for freedom. Once again I tugged on bags and pulled on pieces of fruit, getting things back into order on my lap. Then I went to push the elevator button. My left arm refused to move at all. My right arm, the one holding the groceries, was slightly better; it was able to lift slightly. Yet neither could reach the elevator button. So I stopped for a minutes, resting my exhausted muscles. After a few moments I was able to position myself such that I could transfer groceries to my left hand, then fling my right hand upwards enough to hit the button. Fortunately the buttons inside the elevator are easier for me to reach.
The next scary event was this morning. My HCA was slow; not terribly slow, just slow enough to lose about 15 minutes over the course of a 2 1/2 hour visit. She had to leave while my breakfast was halfway done. I went to finish it, making toast, getting poached eggs out of the pan, finishing and serving hash browns with garlic sausage. By the time I was done, I was so weak I could not pick up a coffee cup. Once again I had to rest.
When I was finally able to move both breakfast and coffee to the kitchen table, I was unable to eat after only a few bites. My arms would not lift at all, neither of them. I rested some more. I adjusted my chair to lean backwards, making it easier to get food to my mouth. I managed to eat the rest of breakfast. I finished, once again completely exhausted from the effort.
So I took a nap, a two hour nap. My arms are not fully recovered. They will never be fully recovered. But at least I can pick up my coffee cup now. So I drank my cold coffee, the tried to pick up my laptop. I made it, but it was real effort. This thing is getting serious now.
Same here, Richard - devastatingly rapid progression in the arms and hands these last few months. Tasks that were only moderately difficult a short while ago are nearly impossible now. Much harder to adjust to this because, as you say, "there's no wheelchair for the arms." Sucks to be us.
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