MRI results

The last time I met with my orthopedist he told me that based on the E.R. x-rays as well as their x-rays there was no indication of torn ligaments. Broken bones, yes, and way over stretched ligaments, yes, but not tears. This week I returned to the orthopedist following my very first MRI and learned a little more.

The MRI confirmed the bone facture, which was explained akin to cracking the shell of a hard boiled egg. The shell shatters but stays intact, opposed to crumbling apart. I also managed to bruise the bone pretty well, which was explained like smashing a ping pong ball and leaving a divot. Nice. The cherry topper of the analysis was that I did manage to tear a ligament. The injury is called a "Bankhart lesion". I never felt like a wimp for my massive drug intake on the day of the injury, but the list of traumas sure helps justify my narcotic consumption. I still do not require surgery, but was told that with this type of extreme initial dislocation, a second dislocation is very possible.

This whole second dislocation factor has me quite concerned. The Dr. said that its not "likely", but possible, however, scarring and strengthening should help to prevent future dislocations. He said it could happen at any time, even mid simple tasks like when I'm reaching for a glass in a cabinet. Not cool. The thought of repeating the pain and immobility of my arm is frightening to say the least. I've been released from using the sling 24/7 but keep it with me in case my shoulder starts getting tired.  I'm allowed to use my shoulder/arm to an extent but do not start PT until the week after Thanksgiving, making the time between injury and PT 4 weeks of recovery, Dr.'s orders.

I'm looking forward to starting PT to get this little guy strengthened up and functioning but not too thrilled that it could take 6 months to regain 80% of my past mobility and possibly over a year to get to 100%. Who would have thunk one fall off a beach cruiser would do so much damage.

Below are two images from my MRI showing the various injuries

The good word

I meet with the orthopedist today and was told that surgery would not be needed, hooray! Turns out my very loose ligaments, which generated an "oh boy" of surprise when testing the flexibility of my left arm/joints, helped, more than hurt, my dislocation. Because my ligaments are so lose nothing snapped or tore, however, the looseness also allowed for a rather extreme dislocation. This diagnosis was affirmed by: the fireman's befuddled reaction at the dislocation, the required drugged-up-and-knocked-out method of re-location, and the 4 person team needed to re-insert my shoulder.

One of the x-rays revealed a break to part of my bone, but the little bone bit just chillin there will not require surgery and should heal in place. I get an MRI tomorrow to confirm, but overall it doesn't seem to be a big deal.

The first image below is of my dislocated shoulder. The dislocation was forward and down, waaay down. When I felt the gap between shoulder and arm it felt a little larger than from my pinky to my index finger held together. The second image is after they put it back in. This must have been another sneak procedure as I have no recollection of it taking place. The third is a close up to see the break. Its not as clear in this x-ray from a week ago as it was in today's but you can still kind of see it.

I have two more weeks in the sling and then will start 4-6 weeks of PT. The Dr. wanted the extra sling time to allow the ligaments to heal a little tighter than the average joe since they started out so loose ,and he was concerned that PT now would push me too hard, too fast. The sling isn't really my favorite fashion accessory, but thankfully its fall instead of summer.



The thing that looks like 2 paper-clips is a part of my sports bra, and you'll notice, that is where my arm bone is too.  X-ray was taken straight on as I sat in the hospital bed.



Back where it should be. 

That little bump is actually free roaming, broken bone.  ok, not that free roaming.

Halloween 2010

Below are some pics from Halloween 2010, better late than never, right? 

 Last year we spent the day moving into our house, but this year we donned zombie makeup, and passed out candy with Jackson.  Jackson was dressed as a little dragon/dinosaur, but wasn't too happy about the costume, so despite lots of cuteness complements we took his costume off rather early in the evening.  Jonathan was a zombie lumber jack, and I, well, I was a last minute zombie damsel/princess.  The center skeleton was our only decoration last year, so we've definitely  made progress in terms of decorating, but still have a ways to go!  Till next year...

The pipe in his head was his new accessory.  Do you notice that he is kind of smiling?  Not cool supposed-to-be-creepy skeleton!



Jackson doesn't appear to keen on my brain craving zombie impersonation.  Either that or he has already turned...



Note the iconic zombie foot drag in the bottom left of the frame.  Nice attention to detail.

Strangely Arizona-tropical

Life as a lefty, and I'm not talking politics

Tuesday, November 2nd I was happily peddling myself to work, when I came across a car who was pulled out too far on the sidewalk.   I cautiously maneuvered around the car, attempting to stay out of the road, but as I cut back onto the drive way, my front tire must have caught the curb wrong, which caused my bike to go right, and my body to go left.

The initial fall didn't hurt but then came the self evaluation.   With my legs bent to my right and my newly acquired road rash stinging away I propped myself up on my left arm.  I then attempted to move my right arm which was resting in a brush pile, and nothing happened.  Never a good sign. Using my left hand I cautiously felt up my arm and discovered the void between where my shoulder should have been connected.   After shaking off the heebie geebies I attempted to move my limp right arm closer to my body with my left hand and was stopped short by excruciating pain. 

Two women who had witnessed my fall stopped and while one called the police, the other did her best to comfort me.   I'm grateful for their consideration and kindness, and wish I could thank them further, but I  was in no state to jot down contact info.  As we all listened to the approaching sirens a few thoughts ran through my head: How does one person get in a bike accident less than 3 weeks after a car accident?  I’m glad that these ants crawling on my limp arm are not the biting kind.  How gross is it that my shoulder is separated like this?  Well, I'll just go to the hospital, do what needs to be done, and call Jonathan when I'm ready to go home.  Mid internal ramblings, the woman who called 911  asked if she could call my work, but for the life of me I had no idea what that number was and really wasn’t that concerned.

The firefighters/EMTs who came to my rescue were fantastic.  While the lead guy kept trying to figure out just what kind of dislocation I had,  three others got ready for the big move.  Lead guy had my limp arm, second guy had my shoulder, third guy had my backpack and fourth guy was crouched behind me with his arms around my waist.  Never before have I cried out in pain until the first pick up attempt.  Fail.  Attempt two was a success but started with me blubbering that I couldn’t stand up.  Right after I said it I was a little embarrassed that I'd actually said it out loud. 

The short, bumpy trip to the ER included 4 units of morphine to “make the pain tolerable”. Despite the chaos I was impressed with my low blood pressure and very low heart rate of 51 , but I don't think the EMTs shared my sentiment.   Another 2 units of morphine were provided when it came time to move me from the gurney to the bed.  A friendly, well inked x-ray tech took a few x-rays and placed my backpack on the bed. This was the first time I was within reach of my phone and knew it was my chance to make a call, but I just couldn’t seem to transfer the thought into either words or action. 

The very friendly orthopedist came in, evaluated my situation out loud for the crowed of nurses and made a slow attempt to re-connect my dangling limb while I was sitting.  The pain was a no-go.  He then told me I would be getting more drugs  and they would try another approach.  A small cadre of nurses again entered the room, and as I rotated to my stomach to drape my arm off the side a nurse rambled off  three pharmaceutical names and started injecting into my IV.

Not sure how much later, but eventually I woke up on my back, alone in my ER room and noticed my arm was back in its proper place.  I was quiet the content little camper.  I’ll admit, it’s a little blurry from here, but I know some nurses came to check on me, then Jonathan arrived, as did his aunt and uncle, followed by my brother.  As it turned out, my not calling work led to Jonathan getting a call regarding my no show status and all hell breaking loose.  Parents notified, missing persons reports in the works and hospital searches galore, finally ended with Mike locating me by “Caetano”.  I don’t know how many times I repeated the spelling of my last name complete with hyphen, but apparently the hyphen and the letters that follow were completely disregarded. 

After arriving home I proceeded with a drug altered, barely memorable conversation with Jonathan’s aunt while he ran to pick up my Rx, then napped for a good 3.5 hours and started my experience as a lefty.  I’m grateful to be healthy, and for the dents in my helmet instead of my skull, and that I only dislocated my shoulder, but I tell ya, everything I do with my right arm in a sling takes a little extra effort, and a lot more time.  Eating is mildly entertaining as I likely look like a cave woman, shoveling my food with a death grip on my fork.  One handed typing has been a hoot and left handed scribbling is quite slow going.  Home improvement tasks are a bit more challenging, but I'm pretty impressed with my lefty painting skills.  

 I have an appointment scheduled with an orthopedist on Tuesday, and am hoping to get out of this sling before the possible 6 week duration listed on my ER paper work.  The two aspects of this experience I'm most interested in seeing are my x-rays and my hospital bill…
  
P.S. As much as I'd like to post a few more pics, I'll leave out the pictures of my road rash : )

ALWAYS wear a helmet when you ride!  There just so happened to be a curb/lot divider where I feel, which is what my helmet hit.

Wed morning I discovered 3 of these hidden on my body still.  Fun.  I also discovered a band-aid where they had snuck in a tetanus shot.  Slippery nurses.

My bike road on the fire truck to the hospital. 

Safety First

Check out Mr. Jackson's new seat belt!

True, it probably works better when he is connected to his own seat belt instead of mine, but he is a little guy and would require a doggy booster seat to view the great outdoors.  Not sure we're ready to make the canine booster seat purchase quite yet.

Rico Suave...