china doll tickles the ivories a bit too much... -Erin Bates

[snarkykitty]

My guess is that the photo was staged before the surgery. You can see a blood pressure cuff on her arm in the post-op picture. In the "pre-op" picutre, she has an IV in that arm. Usually the IV is placed right before you go in, and isn't pulled out until you literally leave.

[Guest Anonymous]

Really? You think they bandaged her arm pre-surgery in order to take a suitable picture? That seems a stretch.

ETA: the IV is still there, it's just covered by the BPC and the corner of the pillow. If you look very carefully you can just see it, below the corner of the pillow, crossing her arm - exactly like in the pre-op pic. My guess is they put the cuff above it...?

[3 is enough]

I'm not doubting the post-op photo was actually taken after surgery, but the pose, closed eyes with a smile on her face, definitely looks staged. Looks like she's channeling Sleeping beauty.

I think the surgery was done at a *gasp!* CATHOLIC hospital! There is a crucifix on the wall next to the clock.

[Guest Anonymous]

Is the crucifix thing unusual in the States though? I'm only going from what I've seen on TV (mostly birth shows, I'll admit, and 16 & Pregnant), but I've seen crucifixes (crucifixs? crucifi? lol) in hospitals many times. Unless there are many more Catholic hospitals down there than here, in Canada. Anyway, I thought it was a pretty common hospital room fixture, but I'm going by completely skewed experience :)

[NurseShannon]

I would not want someone taking pictures of me before surgery. These people really don't have any concept of boundaries, do they?

You would be surprised at the amount of ppl I see in pre-op and in PACU that take pictures of their kids. I really want to say "Your kid just had their tonsils out, they are puking up blood from the drainage, and you're taking pictures? WTF?"

[Wolfie]

That's pretty harsh, surgery so young for a repetative strain (assuming here, c'mon, piano injury???) I've played the violin for 17 years without a medical proceedure yet.

Um.

I'm a professional violinist, and while I have never had a repetitive stress injury, I know many people who have. My standpartner lost an entire semester in college because of tendinitis. Another friend couldn't play for two years--she was older, but not by much. And she had a job in one of the most impressive US professional orchestras at the time, so it was definitely not due to inadequate technique.

Repetitive stress injuries in musicians have many causes. Yes, incorrect technique can cause or exacerbate such injuries. But a lot also depends on the individual's anatomy. Some people have a slight variation in how their tendons/bones/whatever are put together that can make injury either more or less likely. Some unfortunate people can do everything right and still get hurt.

Snarking on pre- or post-surgery hair or makeup is fair game, but cut her some slack over the injury.

I would cut some slack, but they have been restrictive with who she can take lessons from. MOST repetitve strain injuries from piano that would be bad enough to need a surgery are preventable if you're using proper technique. You're not straining your hand into as harsh positions as you do when you play a string instrument.

[Kaylee]

Who takes pictures at the hospital unless a baby is being born? These people baffle me. :?

Lots of people who are dedicated bloggers take pictures of pretty much anything. It's not just a Christian blogger thing or a Bates thing.

They probably knew they were going post about the surgery on the blog, to let people know about and to ask for prayers, so having pics to go with the post sort of makes sense. Ditto making sure her hair looked nice and she was sort of smiling in the "after pic" - she obviously cares about her appearance, and it would be sort of mean to post a pic of her looking bad.

Depending on the meds she was on for the surgery, it could also be one of those deals where she was in and out a little bit afterwards - talking, smiling, ten nodding out with the same expression. I did that for a couple hours after I had surgery on my arm (I remember because I kept having to pee because I had IV fluids and was extremely thirsty, and I'd fall asleep in the bathroom). She may have touched up her hair before the pic, but I can't blame her for that.

Also, I love Erin's hair. I know it's not something you see often now, and not a trendy style, but I think it's beautiful on her. Then again, I love long hair in general because you can do so much with it.

[DamnPrecious]

I have tendinitis, it been flaring up on and since I was 23. Doing perms absolutely kill me.

[Vex]

Most hospitals don't have crucifixes like that.

I had surgery in a Catholic hospital last year and literally every single room aside from the ORs had a crucifix in it.

She probably went there because the local hospitals didn't have an orthopedic specialist. That's why I ended up in a Catholic hospital.