Jiji and the Realization that Something was Wrong

Over the years Halloween has become one of my favorite holidays, just for decoration purposes. I could totally do without the trick-or-treating.

With that being said, I was finishing up my Halloween decorating and realized that I wanted, needed, to crochet Jiji from Kiki's Delivery Service for my Halloween decorations. The husband and I had found the most wonderful little black bird's cage for cheap and it immediately reminded me of the scene where Jiji had to pretend to be the stuffed cat while Kiki had to find the actual toy that had fallen out of the gold birdcage it came in.

So I got to work and made up the pattern to this sweet, little guy:

So sweet!!!

All ready in his cage, dangling from our ceiling.

I made him in an afternoon, stuffing his little body with those tiny plastic beads that you find in beanie babies to weigh him down. 

However, after my short spurt of crocheting, my hands were incredibly worse than they were before. I began to drop things, because my grip had gotten so weak. On top of it all, I sat down to read a book and found that I couldn't hold it. At. All. I was devastated. Who would have thought that a little 9" kitty could push me over the edge of my carpal tunnel syndrome? Well, he did. 

But it was a blessing in disguise, really. I approached the husband and told him my plight and we made an appointment to see the specialist the very next day. 1 week later, I was under the knife and had my palms sliced open a nice inch and a half to release my carpal tunnels. 

The recovery was BRUTAL. I couldn't use my hands for a long time afterwards. It hurt to open doors for about a month post surgery. I couldn't open jars for a LONG time. And if anything pulled my thumb joint down, I would scream in agony during the first 6 months after the surgery. 

But that is all in the past. I feel so much better. I can write thousands of words a day (I started writing books!), I can hold books as I read without any pain or numbness, and I can crochet! I never realized how bad my carpal tunnel was until the end. I have definitely learned to not put things off, especially things that affect my quality of life. 

And this year, when I pulled out my little Jiji, I gave him a silent thanks for pushing me to get the help I needed. It gave me my life back. Thanks again, little friend!