Informative, Theme Prompt, Writing Exercise, Writing Prompts

Mental Overload

Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for This Week’s Writer’s Workshop
Prompts hosted by our friend, John Holton.
We’re given several topics and asked to write
one or two of them. I’ve chosen #3 which asks:
What’s taking up the most mental space for you right now?
Here goes!

Image by Me & Copilot

What’s taking up the most mental space for you right now?

This is an easy one, something that’s been an ongoing problem. The answer is “my hand”.

You may recall I had surgery in November 2025 to remove a lump on my wrist. It was supposed to be a simple fix; it wasn’t. Since the surgery, I have pain and extremely limited mobility in my ring finger and pinky. I can wiggle them but they cannot be fully extended and are virtually useless.

After meeting with the surgeon, it’s his opinion I have a condition called “stuck scar” which occurs when bands of scar tissue form after surgery, causing skin or muscles, to stick together, limiting movement and causing pain. A stuck scar can also be the result of an internal stitch accidentally attached to a tendon during surgery.

Unfortunately, the only way to definitively determine what’s causing my problem …. and fix it …. is through another surgery. It’s the surgeon’s opinion that this procedure should not be a big deal but that’s what he said last time.

I’m scheduled for surgery on Friday, February 20 …. almost three months to the day since my first procedure. I have posts scheduled for publication after Friday but my comments here and on your sites may be iffy. Please bear with me; maybe I won’t even skip a beat!

NAR©2026

This is “Too Much On My Mind” by The Kinks

This Week’s Writer’s Workshop Prompts – February 10, 2026

Everything on The Elephant’s Trunk was created by me, unless otherwise indicated. If there’s something you would like to use, ask me; if I think it’s appropriate, I will usually agree. Thanks for your consideration. NAR©2017-present.

38 thoughts on “Mental Overload”

    1. It’s troubling, for sure, dear Ivor. Not at all what I was expecting but this is what I’m facing. All I can do is go forward and hope for the best. The doctor knows how I feel about this and I believe he’ll get the job done this time. Lovely to hear the great Gary Booker and Procol Harum this evening. Thanks for the vid, my friend. 🥰🎶

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  6. Oh, Nancy–I am sorry to hear this. I am guessing stuck scar is like frozen shoulder–adhesive capsulitis. Hopefully, the doc is right and this should fix it. But, you know, I have a real problem with ‘should.’ **So tell me, doc–is this gonna fix or not? And none of this ‘should’ stuff!** I’ll be thinking about you on Friday. ❤️

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    1. Thanks, my friend! ❤️ It’s disappointing, for sure. Short of beating a guarantee out of the doctor, I have to take him at his “should” and hope for the best. He knows I’m not happy so I expect he’ll be extra-cautious this time.

      Cold shoulder is bad enough; I’ll pass on the frozen shoulder, thanks! 😂

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  16. Oh Nance so sorry the surgery on your hand wasn’t successful- I really hope the next will fix things. You are very resilient and optimistic which goes a long way – I’ll be sending a little prayer on the 20th 🩷

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