In 2014, Christine (not her real name) started her job in the operating room (OR). She knew immediately that the OR was where she belonged, and she’s been an OR nurse ever since.
Christine had been a nurse for nearly 10 years before her Carpal Tunnel Syndrome developed.
In 2018, at age 29, she began experiencing pain, tingling and loss of feeling in her left hand. She would have to continually shake her thumb, index and middle finger to restore sensation.
Her symptoms worsened after a long day spent grasping small items like surgical instruments with her thumb and index finger.
It got to the point where she was struggling to handle instruments at work. Her sleep was also affected as the pain led to intermittent sleep most nights.
Finally, during a procedure at work, when passing an instrument to the surgeon, she saw with horror that there was nothing in her hand. She had dropped the instrument on the floor without even realising it.
At this point, the pain was not only affecting Christine’s work, but her ability to play music. A self-taught pianist, she would often spend two hours practising, putting extra strain on her left hand.
As a child, there was always Paul Mauriat, James Last and Richard Clayderman playing in the background in her family home, courtesy of her mother’s love for music.
Little Christine thought, “I have to figure out how to play this” as she tinkled with her mother’s piano keys.
Just like her first step into the OR, she knew immediately she had inherited her mother’s passion for music. She can’t imagine not having a song in her head or music throughout the day.
Once Christine realised the insidious pain was affecting both her performance at work and her hobby, she knew she had to seek medical treatment.
She broke the news to her brother and husband. Although sad that this had happened to her, they rallied around and gave her their full support.
A nerve conduction test confirmed the diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome in her left hand. Christine sought advice from her doctor and chose to operate. If left untreated, there was high potential of permanently losing function in her left hand.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome surgery involves cutting the ligament above the carpal tunnel to take pressure off the median nerve, which extends along the middle of the arm and forearm to the hand.
After the surgery, performed under local anaesthesia, Christine was discharged later the same day.
The results of the surgery were nothing short of miraculous.
Christine slept through the night for the first time in months. After a few weeks of recovery and physiotherapy to rebuild her muscle strength, she has regained most of her grip strength and range of motion.
She is now successfully fulfilling her nursing duties and also playing her beloved piano.
For Christine, being an OR nurse and a musician are two sides of the same coin.
Music gives her a creative outlet to relieve the stress of the typical work day. Music will always be a fun hobby, but it’s just as important to her as her professional work.
Christine is sharing her story to encourage people to take quick action if they notice any symptoms like tingling, numbness and pain in their hands.
She urges people not to delay in consulting their doctor. She’s very grateful to the doctors who treated her because they have given her back a quality of life that she was about to lose.
TELEME Healing Life Stories is a collection of inspirational stories of how ordinary people triumph over their health conditions and recover to lead a healthier life after that. Feel free to email [email protected] to share your story.
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