Small things matter. This lesson reverberated throughout my minor injuries this past year. A simple thumb sprain turned into an eight month recovery, with OT and painful injections. My middle toe is now sprained and I cannot bend the distal joint anymore. Small things matter.
Attending to small matters makes a big difference in the long run. As tedious as it was to perform the OT exercises and go to all of the therapy appointments, it was there that I learned methods to calm down the swelling and desensitize my thumb from the over-triggering of pain my brain was receiving. The small things like ice packs and heat packs, passive stretching and small movements allowed my body and brain to recover much of the function that was there before the injury. It felt like tiny baby steps, but they all added up to the necessary training for my thumb to be usable again.
Now for my toe, I’m starting to bend it passively to remind my brain that there are still muscles attached that control the movements of my top joint. Small steps. But they matter.
Life is Sailing 
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