I’m now wearing a wrist splint. The cast came off at my last visit to my orthopaedic doctor.

Is that progress? I’m not sure. I was told my wrist fracture was healing but there was osteoporosis around my metacarpals, the bones that are in my palm and give it its shape[1].

Anyways, at just over four weeks into the healing process, the doctor gave me the option to opt out of the cast to a brace. He said while it wouldn’t be like a ‘night and day’ effect on my osteoporosis, it might help. I wasn’t sure at first or even now, at times. Mainly, because this was/is my first fracture, and I didn’t quite know what to do/how to decide.

That said, there have been enough family members who’ve had their fair share of broken bones. My mum broke her arm. My husband, his leg and ankle. Sister number 2 and brother number 2, finger. Sister number 3 and niece number 3, hand. Nephew number 4, thumb and grand-nephew number 1, foot. I helped my mum and husband. I empathised. But, it’s not the same, is it?

I pondered, dithered. Weighed between waiting for my wrist bones to heal optimally in six to seven weeks in a cast or wear a brace and get the fingers moving a bit to maybe help with my osteoporosis. After the ‘yes’ to the brace, I asked what brace I should be in. Any brace. Really? Yes. Any brace that can be bought from sports retailers and/or pharmacies. My husband Googled Sports Direct, Decathlon, Caring and Big Pharmacy. There were some choices, but it was hard to tell if they offered sturdy support. So how?

The cast removal was a tad scary. The sight and sound of the rotating saw reminded me of chainsaws and lumberjacks. I was on high alert, and kept thinking and hoping the doctor knew what he was doing. I did get nicked near my middle finger. Hmm. The split cast then had to be held together with surgical tapes as I was in ‘no-man’s brace land’ having not yet found a brace for my hand to transition into.

The doctor then gave us a letter to get a wrist splint from the hospital’s physiotherapy department. Earlier, he had mentioned that the department might not have a wide range of braces to choose from. Thankfully, it did. The physiotherapist strapped my hand and explained that the middle of the three straps was the one to tighten. Also, how to clean and dry it.

On the Thursday of my appointment, my husband and I left home at about 8.30am and returned around 2pm. Although expected to be long, as hospital visits usually are, the process felt like a circuit, with checkpoints, ending at payment counters.

I had an outpatient appointment at 9.20am. It didn’t matter as patients were seen on a ‘first-come-first served’ basis. Upon arrival, I took a number and waited to register, and confirmed I was a self-paying patient. I collected a form with many stickers, and brought it to my doctor’s counter. One of the nurses instructed me to get my wrist X-rayed. I thought, wrongly, that this step could have been bypassed as I could have gone to X-ray myself. Nope. I needed a form from the doctor’s counter to hand over to the X-ray department.

Retrospectively, it didn’t matter because the X-ray was quick. The wait to see the doctor was long, the consultation, hurried. We had to wait again for the doctor to remove the cast. Another wait for the letter to physiotherapy. And, another wait, albeit shorter, to pay my medical bill.

The walk to the physiotherapy department warmed me up as I was feeling cold. This was followed by taking another number to register and confirming I’m self-paying, and waiting to see the physiotherapist. The final wait was to pay for the brace. Yay.

During the many waiting phases, I mulled over the consultation especially the information that was shared or lack thereof, with my husband and me. I was underwhelmed.

I say that because I have no medical knowledge to gauge how my fractured wrist compares and heals against other bone maladies. I don’t know what I should or shouldn’t do. I’ve seen casts and braces, never inspected them, never worn them. I don’t know what to buy or not. Sleeve, wrap or rigid? Or how I should accommodate a heavy cast hugging my forearm. Or whether I should keep adjusting the three straps on the brace for a better fit and/or to avoid bruising and swelling, which I experienced.

I Googled. I found useful information and instruction from reputable clinics, hospitals and certified therapists on casts and braces, plus exercises for fingers and wrists to help prevent stiffening. I wish I had Googled earlier, like many others, who also got little guidance.