Week 6

Week 6

So my arm is still looking pretty broken!! It's week 6 now for goodness sake. I'm feeling pretty deflated. Should I had insisted for a surgery earlier on? I'm sick and tired of carrying a fragile and swollen arm at this point

Humerus Fracture week 3 to 5

Week 3

As you can see the cast is huge and heavy !! I honestly think that the weight of the cast has caused more displacement of the bone. The registrar who saw me didn't seem to care less!! I was sent home once again in my big heavy cast. At this stage I should have really been in a humeral brace .....

Week 4

Very frustrating as the bones are looking like they aren't aligning at all.......I waited about an hour before I saw the registrar. She was a new registrar as the usual Dr who I normally see was out God knows where. She  rushed through everything and told me to go get a brace from the Orthotic Centre. At this point I was pretty confused. I rang up the clinic and took a taxi there. 

This is how the humeral brace looks like. It was really uncomfortable and painful when it was first fitted on. It took me about 4 days until I got used to it.

Week 5

 This is it !!!At this stage I am rather impatient with the rate of my healing. I was seriously considering a surgery. If I had had a surgery on the day of my injury I would be well a way with recovery right now. I probably could have moved my arm by now.

After 1.5 hours wait, I finally saw a doctor. This time it was the consultant himself. He took the brace off and moved my arm. According to him it was moving as a piece and so I don't have to worry. He assured me that the bones are healing. Although it did not hurt when he moved it, I'm a bit sceptical still. My next scheduled appointment was in another 4 weeks. Fingers cross

Humerus Fracture Week 1 to 2

I decided to write this post to share with  all of you out there in hope that it will help those going through similar situation or caring for someone who has a broken bone. I realised there are not many programme out there for someone like me with a fractured arm. I hope this post will give you a bit of an exposure and what to expect in days to come following a fractured bone.

Week 1&2

Above are pictures of my U-slab cast (sorry about the alignment) and my X-ray right after the orthopaedic nurses put a cast on it. Notice the displacement.

There are usually many ways to treat humerus fracture.In my case, they opted for the U-slab which is a special cast that fits over your shoulder and go all the way to the elbow. The aim of the treatment is to allow the weight of the arm to keep the bones correctly aligned whilst they heal. The collar and cuff sling also has to be worn at all times to help support the wrist. As you can imagine there is no where in hell you can even try straightened the fractured arm as it hurts a lot !!!

I was discharged home on the same day with a cocktail of painkillers : panadol, ibuprofen and codeine. I have to stress that it is important to take the painkillers regularly for the first 2 weeks at least following the fracture to control the pain. It was mostly bed rest for me and lots of fluids. I can clearly remember that it was the most unpleasant time for me.  I couldn't get up and move around very much because the fractured arm hurt a lot and I had to do things really slowly as any movement would move the bones. Sometimes this will effect in the bones grinding and trust me it hurts like crazy!

Check out this link for more information on how to care for a broken humerus :file:///C:/Users/MARIE/Downloads/ORT%20OP%20PIB-10%20%20Midshaft%20Humerus%20arm%20Fractures%20Sept%202013.pdf

Humpty Dumpty Had A Great Fall.......

The journey of my broken arm began on the 5th of August when I fell on the ground whilst doing a kipping pull up. Yes !! I am a crossfitter and I'm proud of it..but of course ...not the fall !! It was a freak accident for what I believe. I really don't know what got into me. I can't explain how I swung off the bar and why my hand slipped. I have one too many questions and no answers. Why me? Why?

As a result of the fall, I didn't only fractured (transverse) my right midshaft humerus but I also strained my lower right lumbar spine. Imagine the pain and discomfort I was going through. I couldn't sleep lying down so was forced to sleep sitting up on my bed with pillows propped up on my back. I couldn't rest my fractured arm on anything. Not even a pillow because apparently the the force of gravity was supposed to draw the two bones so that they are aligned. I was put in a big U-cast and they took x-rays before and after the cast. I gotta say this is the most traumatic time in my whole entire life which I do not wish to repeat. Soon after this my whole forearm and fingers swelled up. It swelled up so much they looked like what a rubber glove filled with water would look like. I felt really weak, dizzy and as if I was dying. I couldn't stomach anything either as I was throwing up all day due to the side effect of IV morphine. I was in such a bad way !!! I couldn't stop crying to a point tears were just streaming down my face. I knew what was ahead of me in days to come.....and I had a bad feeling about it.

Welcome

Welcome to my blog !!!

This is a blog about my life and all the things I love to do. Essentially it is my journey in this lifetime which I would like to track and share. I always live by the saying " Life is short!!!" and I really mean it. Things can change in a blink of an eye so be grateful for everything you have and  all the people around you. Lastly be humble and modest for you do not know what lies in the future for you. 

So I'll say out loud ..........Carpe Diem my friend !!!