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| Seems to be mending. The break is towards the distal end of the radius (the faint diagonal lines seen in large bone on the left of this image) |
Tomorrow marks two weeks since I broke my radius. This past Friday I saw my orthopedic surgeon and he indicated that there would be no significant advantage in healing time or reduced risk of down stream arthritis by undergoing a surgical reduction in addition to the manual reduction I received in the emergency room back on the 13th. I see him again in two weeks and hope that I'll be able to move into a shorty cast by then. Moving into a short cast by the fourth week after the break might be a bit optimistic but I'm already tired of my present one which prevents elbow movement. That makes it difficult to sleep and also limits the selection of shirt and jacket sleeves that I can stuff my arm into. He also told me to start squeezing a tennis ball to maintain my finger strength and flexibility. That's proving surprisingly difficult to do. It doesn't take much of a squeeze to induce a sharp bit of pain. That's probably his way of demonstrating how far I really need to go before earning that short cast and elbow freedom.
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| An earlier comment to this thread was that some consideration should be given to the safety and well being of my long suffering spouse from me thrashing in my sleep and accidentally whacking her with my cast. While I did explain that my bride sleeps with a claw hammer within easy reach (in case of burglars) and that I'd be the very last guy on this planet who'd want to inadvertently startle her from a deep sleep, being a sensitive kinda guy who cares I just wanted to debut my answer to that concern: the soon to be patented marriage saving CAST SHEATH. Now friends this may look like a run of the mill pillow wrapped around my cast and held in place with dollar store quality duct tape, but this MEDICAL QUALITY device is something that every figure skater should own! One size fits all! How much would you pay to get a marriage saving CAST SHEATH? Don't answer that! Act RIGHT NOW and get your very own CAST SHEATH for the low, low price of $39.99 (plus shipping, handling and profit). BUT WAIT--THERE'S MORE! Order your CAST SHEATH in the next ten minutes and you'll get not one but TWO CAST SHEATHS PLUS A SET OF GINZU KNIVES (in case things don't work out) FOR THE SAME LOW PRICE! ON THIN ICE OPERATORS ARE STANDING BY! (some assembly required, offer not valid in some jurisdictions.) |
There is a an anatomical reason why you need to immobilize the elbow when you have a distal radial fracture. The radius and the ulna cross and uncross each other as you pronate and supinate the wrist, this movement would aggravate the fracture site. And yeah do the tennis ball thing, if the tennis ball is too stiff you could start with a sponge or some silly putty.
ReplyDeleteDo you think your spouse protector could be modified for use on feet, my dh's toe nails can get quite sharp and lethal when he's not playing soccer, I have woken up with some pretty nasty scrapes on my ankles :).
I know (sigh) but I'm still cross as a sleep deprived bear!
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, the CAST SHEATH can easily be modified for any number of unique applications; just the other day a friend's wife wanted to know if one could be duct taped around her snoring spouse's head. A head here, a foot there--who knew my little invention would be so, so, well,so gosh darn versatile? The simplest ideas often are, aren't they?! I'll just bet that figure skaters throughout the blogosphere are smacking their foreheads and saying "it's so simple and obvious--why didn't I think of it?"
You know George, if the skating thing doesn't pan out, you could become an on-line relationship expert.
ReplyDeleteand yes, it is so true less is more, all you neeed in life is duct tape and WD 40.
Dr. Phil better watch his back! (I'll bet my 3 turns are better than his)
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