One-armed bandit

Monday night I fell down my stairs. It's an old house with steep, narrow stairs; I've fallen both up and down them several times before. But never this badly. I went tail over teakettle and hit the ground like a ton of bricks. I don't know if I was in shock, or just stunned, or what...but I picked myself up and went to bed. And slept through the night. The next morning I woke up before my alarm (first indicator that something isn't right), showered and started getting ready for work.

I knew something was wrong when I couldn't lift my right arm to wash or dry my hair. But I still managed to one-handedly wash and dress myself. At this point I was getting clued in that this wasn't just a bump or bruise. Since I couldn't lift my arm, I thought maybe I had dislocated my elbow trying to break my fall. But I wasn't sure and didn't was to alarm anyone unnecessarily, so I just drove myself to urgent care.

As soon as the doctor saw my arm, he said "yup, that looks broken." At which point I cursed out loud. An X-ray confirmed that it was indeed broken- badly. I was referred to an orthopedist, that day. At this point I started thinking I needed backup, so I called my dad. He was at the airport about to board a flight. As soon as he heard my voice, he knew something was very wrong. He cancelled his ticket and came to shuttle me around.

Urgent care referred me to an orthopedist I've actually been to before, and he's one of the best around. I knew I was in good hands.

After a couple more X-rays, he broke the bad news: I hadn't just broken the bone, I had shattered it, and I needed surgery.



By then I was so uncomfortable, if he had suggested amputation, it would have seemed like a reasonable option! I could feel the broken bones moving in my arm, occasionally hitting a nerve- NOT pleasant.

To make a long story short, I fell Monday night, went to the doctor Tuesday, and had surgery Thursday. It was supposed to be a 2-3 hour procedure, but of course with my luck....it was about 6 hours. When he got in it was even worse than he thought. So I'm typing this one-handed. I now have a plate and pins in my arm, as well as a pretty diesel arm brace:



I start physical therapy Monday, and I'm really hoping to be up and about soon!! I still can't believe I did this...I feel like such a butthead. It's not even a dramatic or interesting story!! But I guess I'm lucky it wasn't worse.

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