little_green_lamb

Megalopyge opercularis caterpillar

From the Wikipedia page: The pain has been described by patients as similar to a broken bone or blunt force trauma.

Yikes!!

Great point about concerts and artists. I quit working as a classical musician because there was not enough heart left in the industry. I always thought of music as something that can speak to people's hearts. Did your husband become a professional musician after his time in music school? What instrument did he play?

Court reporter here. My favorite trick is to keep my keyboard and mouse around belly button level. I’m a classically trained cellist and keep my keyboard in my lap which sets me up to apply some of my cello-playing ergonomic know-how. That may or may not work for you depending on your chair height, arm length, etc.

Big picture:

Fingers do the least amount of work and should just be lifted and dropped, transferring power from bigger muscles (keep fingers in a curved, relaxed position so they’re resting but at the ready); and,

You want to avoid having a mountain or a valley shape at your wrist. When there is no dip or bend in your wrists, then you don’t break the flow of muscle-power coming from your back into your hands, which is a huge help in avoiding repetitive use injury. Try to make it possible for an imaginary drop of water to flow from your shoulder to your knuckles.

Be mindful of screen height, back support, nail length, etc., and you got a stew goin’. Use your mouse as sparingly as you can, and get a tiny one that fits comfortably in the curve of your fingertips.

70 hours of typing a week for 10 years and 25 years of cello-playing, and I haven’t had any issues.

Ditto

oh, boy, my ex threw SO much good money after bad. it can really spiral out of control. but he always thought it was going to bring more money. he never did understand that the cash cow had died. part of why i had to divorce him was just so that our child and i could have a financially sustainable future. dude was a millionaire when i met him. it was just astonishing the rate at which he unraveled psychologically and financially when the ship went down.