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Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Fong-Kay!!

i had acupunture treatment last week for carpal tunnel syndrome and aural nerve damage in my hands. WCB's (that's Worker's Compensation Board, who are supposed to take care of workers injured by their jobs) bought-and-paid for specialist tells me this condition is not caused by 40 hours a week at a computer, that it must be the result of the few precious hours a week i manage to spend with my fiddle. as the problem has only reared its ugly head since taking on the 40 hrs a week desk job, i'm skeptical.... but i'm not keen on anyone slicing my wrists for me, and the drugs they tried me on sent me into a near-suicidal tailspin. I looked afield for aid.... and was reccommended to chinese angel of mercy.

treatment was on thursday. by saturday, i thought my hands felt rather better, so i closeted myself with my fiddle, a metronome, and some favorite jigs. the metronome gave me actual numerical proof that my hands are once again listening to my brain. so, when the irish band i play with rehearsed on Saturday, i was ready. i lead into the first jig on the playlist at a speed i haven't attempted in months. there were sideways glances among the fellows.... this was looking to them like a setup for a train wreck. but we shot through it like a polished canonball. after flopping back in their chairs, and wiping their brows, one of my beloved musical soul brothers said "whew!" gave me a big grin and exclaimed, "she's back!"

so the dreams of one day acquiring a very fonkay electric fiddle have been revived. this one's a Keebler.

5 comments:

susan said...

Glad to hear your hands are feeling better. I can relate since drawing is so important to me - a little arthritic in the knees but it hasn't worked its way up yet.

Very cool fiddles!

gfid said...

susan - thanks. i have another treatment this week. this creative thing built into us makes us fragile, i think. even the prospect of losing it bruises our souls.

clairesgarden said...

I had acupuncture years ago for back pain and it was very successful. I tried again recently but did not get on with that particular practitioner. working at the chirpractors has brought me into contact with some people who were told they needed 'back surgery' and they came to the chiro as a 'last chance' thing...and several years on have still not needed any surgery so it proves it works(maybe not in all cases I'm sure there are horror stories out there, how we hear them more than the sucesses!)
those electric fiddles look awesome!

Gary said...

'shot through it like a polished cannonball'... I love that! And glad to hear the hands and the heart are aligning.

gfid said...

claire - i've only been to a chiropractor once... and coincidentally, he was also an acupunturist. yes, i think there's a good deal more to medicine than our mainstream healthcare system would have us believe. doctors themselves admit it's not an exact science. .....i have a collection of pictures of funky fiddles. the next step is to find some in the real world, and try playing them.

gary - i was high for days after the cannonball. it's been such a long time since the hands felt like my own.... and the heart was growing weary. but i fear the battle's not over yet. that was a particularly good day.