Broken bones and nasty cuts
October has been a horrible month. Things in general haven't been going so well, and some horrific shit happened to me on my birthday (I'm too upset to talk about it, but I'm hurting pretty badly). And now, I've broken my wrist.
On Saturday October 19th, I went to an Oktoberfest event with a friend and a couple of her friends. Even though I don't drink beer or dance, I decided to go out of my comfort zone and do both, and just have a good time. And I was having a pretty good time. Unfortunately the dance floor was slick with people's spilled beer, and towards the end of the evening, I slipped and fell.
I knew instantly that my wrist was broken, and I also knew that it was a very bad break. I've had broken wrists before (as well as an injured elbow), and this time, the pain was excruciating, so I knew it was worse than the other times. Also, there was a huge lump as my wrist was deformed, something that hadn't happened the previous times. Because I was in no shape to spend hours waiting at a hospital, especially alone, I decided to go home, get some rest, and go to the hospital the next day, despite being in such pain. (Hey, it wouldn't have been the first time I've spent the night with a broken bone--I was used to it, so knew I could manage.)
I survived the night, but didn't sleep well and was in a lot of pain (and it didn't help that my cat sat on my broken wrist, when he was cuddling up to me). Also I was hungover the next day, and throwing up with a severely broken wrist is not fun! My landlords drove me to the hospital in the morning, as well as helped me get dressed. (I obviously asked the wife to help me dress. I had my bra on from the night before, but needed her to help me with my shirt and button up my jeans, although we failed with the shirt since I was screaming with pain, so she just zipped up my hoodie around me.)
Anyway, the result is: my wrist was very badly broken, and I'm having surgery tomorrow morning (that is, if I don't get bumped due to an emergency). The orthopedic surgeon said that if he sets my wrist and puts a cast on it, the bones will probably move out again, so it's better to just operate on it and put in a metal plate and screws.
I'm a bit nervous because I've never had surgery before, and don't know what to expect with recovery time and pain. I'm in quite a bit of pain now (but not as much as before my wrist was put in a splint), so I imagine post-op pain will be worse. I've gotten a prescription for Tylenol 3, but it turns out that they do fuck all for pain! So I hope I get morphine or something tomorrow. In the hospital there were a few hours of being pain-free (so I took advantage of that to put on a shirt) when the doctor gave me local anesthetic (OMG the process of administering the anesthetic hurt so much) in order to do a reduction of my wrist. I was afraid that I'd still feel pain as they were tugging at my arm (I've had local anesthetics not work before) but I felt nothing. It was wonderful!
The hospital staff said I must have a high pain threshold to have spent the night with my broken wrist, but I don't; I just had to sleep with a broken bone. I know that sounds crazy, but as mentioned before, I'm used to it, and the orthopedic surgeon said it was no big deal and didn't make things worse.
Luckily it's my left wrist that's broken, as I'm right handed. And I should still be able to work while in a cast, although with a bit of difficulty. But due to the surgery, I'm taking this entire week off work since I'll be in pain/high on drugs (hopefully the latter), and am not sure how long I'll be off.
On Saturday October 19th, I went to an Oktoberfest event with a friend and a couple of her friends. Even though I don't drink beer or dance, I decided to go out of my comfort zone and do both, and just have a good time. And I was having a pretty good time. Unfortunately the dance floor was slick with people's spilled beer, and towards the end of the evening, I slipped and fell.
I knew instantly that my wrist was broken, and I also knew that it was a very bad break. I've had broken wrists before (as well as an injured elbow), and this time, the pain was excruciating, so I knew it was worse than the other times. Also, there was a huge lump as my wrist was deformed, something that hadn't happened the previous times. Because I was in no shape to spend hours waiting at a hospital, especially alone, I decided to go home, get some rest, and go to the hospital the next day, despite being in such pain. (Hey, it wouldn't have been the first time I've spent the night with a broken bone--I was used to it, so knew I could manage.)
I survived the night, but didn't sleep well and was in a lot of pain (and it didn't help that my cat sat on my broken wrist, when he was cuddling up to me). Also I was hungover the next day, and throwing up with a severely broken wrist is not fun! My landlords drove me to the hospital in the morning, as well as helped me get dressed. (I obviously asked the wife to help me dress. I had my bra on from the night before, but needed her to help me with my shirt and button up my jeans, although we failed with the shirt since I was screaming with pain, so she just zipped up my hoodie around me.)
Anyway, the result is: my wrist was very badly broken, and I'm having surgery tomorrow morning (that is, if I don't get bumped due to an emergency). The orthopedic surgeon said that if he sets my wrist and puts a cast on it, the bones will probably move out again, so it's better to just operate on it and put in a metal plate and screws.
I'm a bit nervous because I've never had surgery before, and don't know what to expect with recovery time and pain. I'm in quite a bit of pain now (but not as much as before my wrist was put in a splint), so I imagine post-op pain will be worse. I've gotten a prescription for Tylenol 3, but it turns out that they do fuck all for pain! So I hope I get morphine or something tomorrow. In the hospital there were a few hours of being pain-free (so I took advantage of that to put on a shirt) when the doctor gave me local anesthetic (OMG the process of administering the anesthetic hurt so much) in order to do a reduction of my wrist. I was afraid that I'd still feel pain as they were tugging at my arm (I've had local anesthetics not work before) but I felt nothing. It was wonderful!
The hospital staff said I must have a high pain threshold to have spent the night with my broken wrist, but I don't; I just had to sleep with a broken bone. I know that sounds crazy, but as mentioned before, I'm used to it, and the orthopedic surgeon said it was no big deal and didn't make things worse.
Luckily it's my left wrist that's broken, as I'm right handed. And I should still be able to work while in a cast, although with a bit of difficulty. But due to the surgery, I'm taking this entire week off work since I'll be in pain/high on drugs (hopefully the latter), and am not sure how long I'll be off.