I am granting more freedom

My right hand felt good yesterday to be free. As I type this, my right hand is helping asides from being restricted to use the pinky. Also, the right hand ran the trackball today. My left hand is most gracious for the break (bad ironic pun indeed). I certainly will not leave home without placing the brace back on and I am most certainly careful of overly exerting the freed hand. I can do without the brace for a period of time, but I will not risk angulating the fracture by a re-fracture while it is in the delicate fusing stage...


Quoted from Wiki

The natural process of healing a fracture starts when the injured bone and surrounding tissues bleed. The blood coagulates to form a blood clot situated between the broken fragments. Within a few days blood vessels grow into the jelly-like matrix of the blood clot. The new blood vessels bring white blood cells to the area, which gradually remove the non-viable material. The blood vessels also bring fibroblasts in the walls of the vessels and these multiply and produce collagen fibres. In this way the blood clot is replaced by a matrix of collagen. Collagen's rubbery consistency allows bone fragments to move only a small amount unless severe or persistent force is applied.

At this stage, some of the fibroblasts begin to lay down bone matrix (calcium hydroxyapatite) in the form of insoluble crystals. This mineralization of the collagen matrix stiffens it and transforms it into bone. In fact, bone is a mineralized collagen matrix; if the mineral is dissolved out of bone, it becomes rubbery. Healing bone callus is on average sufficiently mineralized to show up on X-ray within 6 weeks in adults and less in children. This initial "woven" bone does not have the strong mechanical properties of mature bone. By a process of remodeling, the woven bone is replaced by mature "lamellar" bone. The whole process can take up to 18 months, but in adults the strength of the healing bone is usually 80% of normal by 3 months after the injury.

Several factors can help or hinder the bone healing process. For example, any form of nicotine hinders the process of bone healing, and adequate nutrition (including calcium intake) will help the bone healing process. Weight-bearing stress on bone, after the bone has healed sufficiently to bear the weight, also builds bone strength.

Eh, the smoking issue has not subsided. Damn my weak will power, I must try to quit again to speed up the healing process. My Hat is off to the body for working around nicotine to rebuild the fractured metacarpal at a seemingly quick rate for my age. But there are still months to go yet, and that has to be respected as I really do not wish to reverse the entire process. Imagine that, more negligence on my part. Speaking of which, it is time to put my right hand back into solitary confinement.