@anet
I understand your frustration. With covid revving again appointments have changed somewhat with me too. They say they are shorthanded. I will be so glad when covid calms to a crawl.

If you can get your paperwork beforehand. Sometimes available online at their office website or they will let you pick it up or they can mail it to you. You will may need help like I did to fill it out and it is easier to do it at home.

Make sure you have written notes of your symptoms. .. and questions. I typed mine out on the computer and printed being I could not handwrite.

I am like Sue and have had thumb surgery. … it was almost 2 years ago. I actually had one at the right thumb base joint and another at the tendon at the joint below the nail (trigger thumb). It would catch and I could not move my thumb without assistance from my other hand. Writing became impossible. I'm still not sure why I did not have the surgeries at the same time.. maybe my surgeon just forgot about the trigger thumb… guess I should have asked more right before the surgery… but I thought she was doing it at same time.

I am 70 now and have always had an attention span problem. .. and now do not hear well. So now I haul my husband to appointments to help me. I had to go it alone because of covid rules in place on the trigger thumb surgery and I could not continue with physical therapy. I did well at home with videos.. balls, play dough with different size buttons hidden it for me to dig out. .. also squeezed the play dough. I worked with clothes pins and anything else I could think of the strengthen my hand. My hand did not go back to full strength and have not been able to do much crochet… just a small amount at a time.

I can wash and put away dishes without dropping them. I can fasten and unfasten buttons and zippers. My left left hand is weak and am having some thumb pain with it… I had to use it so much while recovering from the surgeries. I am now keeping up with exercises on both hands to keep the strength up.

I have osteoarthritis throughout my body… now bone on bone in one foot and think the same is happening in the other. Then there are other health problems..

Aging.. 🙄

If I can help you in any way just give me a holler.

ZeeGee