Well, I have had my first bout of health issues … at only 54, I'd hoped these would wait a while! I'm going to write about it mainly in case anyone else might have ideas/suggestions/experiences to share along these lines.

Without going into great detail, the bottom line (After several doctors, CT scan, MRI, etc.) is that I have a pinched or possibly damaged nerve in my neck, left side, around C7/C8 spine. It's caused me some upper-left (shoulder blade area) pain, plus numbness and weakness in my left hand. And as a keyboard player - I dreaded the possibility of losing some of the good use of that arm/hand!

For me, it's "ulnar" nerve side - that is, affecting "pinkie" and "ring" finger (medically, fingers 4 and 5). And palm on that side of the hand, and some of forearm. I can play keyboard OK (if I get thru the pain) but I have definitely lost some power, accuracy, etc. - and I can't "feel" the keys with those 2 fingers!

Short term treatment is "prednisone" pills to reduce swelling impinging on the nerve, plus starting physical therapy. Luckily, doctor said to keep playing (and using my arm) as long as I don't push it too hard - so that my muscles don't atrophy or get too weak. If this 'therapy' doesn't help, next possibility copy be cortisone (?sp) shots right in the area where the nerve is pinched. Last resort would be surgery but they aren't pushing for that at this time.

Well, that's my "saga" for now …
I''ll appreciate any info anyone may want to share related to this sort of thing …
Thanks,
Jim