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WE’LL GIVE YOU A HAND
Hand therapy at Methodist Mansfield can get
you back to the activities you love For more
information call
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Methodist Mansfield’s hand therapy
hands back health to Mary Morgan
Look what
we’ve got
cookin’
When
it comes to making the perfect
pie crust, they say it’s all in the touch.
How you knead the dough, roll it, and
even press it in to the pie pan with fingers
and knuckles makes a difference.
Mary Morgan of Arlington would tell
you the same. She’d also tell you she’s
back to baking her perfectly crusted
pies — not to mention her other hobbies
of planting flowers and sewing — thanks
to Methodist Mansfield Medical Center’s
hand therapy program.
A sting and a tear
In October 2014, Mary was outside when
a pesky bug landed on her left hand. She
frantically tried to flick the bug off her
hand, only to experience throbbing pain in
her second and third fingers.
“It’s one of those things that you think
will go away, but it didn’t,” Mary says. “It
hurt all night long.
“I couldn’t bend my fingers without
pain, and my fingers wouldn’t stay
in place.”
Mary went to the emergency
department at Methodist Mansfield.
It turned out that in shooing the bug
away, she had torn the extensor tendon
of her hand and would need surgery to
repair it.
Richard Burkett, MD, reconstructive
hand surgeon on the hospital’s medical
staff, repaired the torn tendon in Mary’s
hand, but then recommended hand
therapy with Lara Gordon, OTR/L, CHT,
occupational therapist.
A plan for healing
“Since your fingers, hands, wrists, and
elbows have vital functions in everyday
activities, it’s no surprise that an injury
causes a major disruption to your life,”
Gordon says.
She started Mary on a therapy program
of controlled, limited motion for the first
couple of weeks after surgery.
“It was important to work closely
with Mary’s surgeon and not overdo it,”
Gordon explains. “If you do too much too
soon, the tendon repair could tear.”
Mary’s goal was to regain motion
in her fingers, including bending
and gripping.
“I had things that I wanted to do —
cook again for my church, sew my
grandchildren’s costumes, and even work
in the yard,” she says.
Special someones
It’s been several months since her surgery
and hand therapy, but Mary can now bend
her fingers and cook again.
“It took a lot of hard work, and I am
so grateful to Lara for helping me get to
where I need to be,” Mary says.
She’s cooking again for her
church — meat, potatoes, salads,
and, of course, pies — and her
grandson has special requests, as well.
“He’ll say, ‘Granny, make me a
chocolate pie, fried chicken, mashed
potatoes, and lots of gravy for me and
my grandpa,’” she says with a laugh.
As for hand therapy, Mary
recommends it for anyone living
with pain.
“Lara has a great personality, takes time
with you, and helps get your hands back
where you can function again.”
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Methodist Mansfield Medical Center
•
Summer 2015