Numb

Last Wednesday I got a new cast and they told me that I would probably not need surgery. Super-great news, right? This week I have lost feeling in the side of my thumb and have been playing phone tag with the nurses at my orthopedic clinic. On Tuesday they told me to call on Thursday if it was still numb and to elevate my arm straight above my head - I look like I'm raising my hand all the time. Today, they told me to call next Tuesday if it wasn't better. Then, I talked to a tenor in my church choir, who happens to be a doctor. He said that my cast is too tight and if it's not loosened, there could be permanent nerve damage. However, I know the doctor made the cast this tight in order to make the bones heal in a certain way to try and prevent me from having surgery.

So, my question is this - which will be worse, not having feeling in my thumb or having a metal plate put in my arm? I may not have a choice if I can't get an appointment until Wednesday. I'm sure that my nurses are great at what they do, but diagnosing the problem over the phone without actually seeing my arm or doing tests, and relying on me, a person with zero medical expertise, to relay information about my situation to them seems a little off to me. I just want to be seen by someone so I can have an actual, accurate diagnosis of what is wrong so that it can be fixed. Then my arm can heal correctly and I can retain feeling in my left thumb. Is that too much to ask? In the emergency room, the doctors basically told me that if it ever went numb to come back to the ER. So, why isn't my doctor concerned? What am I supposed to do until Tuesday?

For now, I can only hope that elevating it and not moving it will help at least a little, but as always, I remain skeptical. We'll see who's right on Tuesday.