Coloring Books and CMC Arthritis: Helping a Local Artist’s Hand
This past December I got a cryptic message in the mail which lead to me working on a local artist’s hand. This weekend he dropped off a picture he had created of our home in exchange for hand CMC PRP therapy. The story is a great example of synchronicity. Let me explain.
A Message from Who?
Given what I do I get emails and messages from random people all the time. This one came in December and was unique. It was a handwritten card from a local artist named John Aaron with a hand-drawn image of our home on the front. In the card, he wrote that he had been suffering from CMC arthritis of his left hand for the past year and surgeons had told him the only option was a tendon interposition surgery. He included images of his x-rays. He didn’t like the sound of taking a tendon from his wrist, removing a bone there, and stuffing the tendon in that space. The fact that he was an artist who worked in multiple media all of his life including clay made this decision all the more difficult. Meaning, at times, his left hand was as critical as his right for his work.
How he found our house was also interesting. After being a potter most of his life, his left-hand problems had stopped his ability to work with clay. However, being a driven creative, he took up drawing again as an outlet (something he could do with his right hand only) and had the idea to draw historic homes. He was literally wandering the streets of our neighborhood looking for more homes to draw when he chanced upon ours and thought it looked “Norman Rockwellesque”, so he put down his easel and began to create. Little did he know that drawing our house would later solve his problem with his bum hand.
The connection between our house and John’s non-functional hand began when he sat down to show a friend his drawings. The friend was a patient and knew where I lived, so when he got to the drawing of our house, he asked John if he knew who lived there. John said that he didn’t know any of the inhabitants of the homes he drew, he just drew them. His friend told him that the doctor that lived there may be able to help him avoid surgery, as that doctor had helped a woman he knew with a similar problem. Hence my hand drawn card that arrived around Christmas.
After a few months of my wife reminding that I needed to contact this artist, I finally reached out and we set up an exam. He had moderate to severe CMC arthritis (the joint at the base of the thumb), so I agreed to treat him. In exchange, he would do a larger picture of our historic house. Basically a trade of his skill for mine.
Our Home’s Medical History
Our historic home in Boulder, Colorado has some fascinating medical and science history. It was built in 1890 and its second inhabitant was a great, great grandson of Benjamin Franklin, William Duane, Ph.D. After being head of the new phjysics department for a few years, Dr. Duane left Boulder and the University of Colorado in 1903 to become a research fellow in the Paris lab of Marie and Pierre Curie. He later became one of the fathers of modern nuclear medicine at Harvard and Mass. General, opening a radium clinic there.
The next inhabitant of our home after Duane was William Page Harlow, M.D. who moved to Boulder in 1903 where he became Professor of Medical Diagnosis and Dean of the University of Colorado Medical School. He was instrumental in building the then brand new CU medical school in Denver and was rumored to have a hematology lab in the basement.
Treating John’s Thumb
The treatment I used for John’s thumb was one that we developed at Regenexx a number of years back. Basically, while stem cells are sometimes needed, high-dose platelet-rich plasma and platelet lysate work well. In that procedure, I used high-resolution ultrasound and a tiny needle to inject platelet lysate around his median nerve in the wrist and then used the PRP to inject the lax ligaments around the CMC joint and into the joint itself. For info on this treatment, see my video below that features Dr. Pitts at our Colorado HQ performing this procedure:
The Trade and John’s Result
After treating his thumb, I didn’t hear from John for a few weeks, but he did get in touch with my wife recently and asked to drop by the finished hand painted picture of our house. That image is above. He also has done a whole coloring book of historic Boulder homes.
More importantly, yesterday he showed me that for the first time in a year, he can use his hand. He lifted up a chair to demonstrate, showing me that just a month ago he couldn’t do that without severe knife-like pain. He made a fist, which was impossible before the treatment. Basically, he has his hand back, without the huge surgery!
The upshot? I thought John’s journey was fascinating. He’s doing very well with his coloring book that features many historic homes and his hand now works again. All because one day he walked by our house and liked the vibe and began to draw. Amazing how life works sometimes, huh?
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NOTE: This blog post provides general information to help the reader better understand regenerative medicine, musculoskeletal health, and related subjects. All content provided in this blog, website, or any linked materials, including text, graphics, images, patient profiles, outcomes, and information, are not intended and should not be considered or used as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please always consult with a professional and certified healthcare provider to discuss if a treatment is right for you.