A Day In The Life

In September of 2012, due to my inattention, I tripped over a person’s foot in a store, went airborne and landed directly on my elbow. My olecranon, the bony point of the elbow was shattered to bits.

Even these many years later it is hard for me to think about. One moment I was fine, the next, not fine at all. I needed surgery, where they put a plate and screws in to hold everything together. Bones are miraculous in that they grow back, bone forming and building and they assured me in 12 weeks I would once again have an Olecranon. They did not put me in a cast for a few days as “things needed to settle.” When a bone breaks, I learned, major bruising occurs, as you can see in the photo.

Here are the plate and screws.

The elbow is very finnicky, and Doctors do not like it to be immobile for too long as it may have difficulty bending afterwards. In my case, they had no choice but to keep me casted for almost three weeks, because during the surgery it was discovered my bones were osteoporotic.

Here’s my cast. Yes, I chose pink because it is my favorite color.

When the cast came off it was time for PT. My arm would not bend. It was stuck. I couldn’t lift a phone to my ear, a coffee cup to my mouth, put my contact lens in. I went to PT three times a week with no progress for months. It was a very dark period in my life I will admit. I couldn’t drive, we had to put our 17 year old dog down a month after my accident, I was making no progress physically. Finally after three months there was some movement. It took six months until my arm was almost back to normal in terms of range. I still had discomfort, and to this day am still aware of the difference between my left and right arms. I needed another surgery to remove the plate and screws as the Doctor felt they were impinging on my movement, and they were close to the surface of my skin.

So out they came exactly six months to the date later, and I continued with my PT on my own at the gym.

It was a lesson in not taking for granted the small things we can do without thinking about them. It also gave me insight into how isolating it is when a person is not well and cannot participate fully in the life they knew. I am still thankful everyday that I was able to recover, and am reminded at every drive up window when I can extend my arm out to reach for a coffee.

Injury