Feek's broken arm thread (now with plate, pins and screws x-ray, staples/wound and tongue surgery)
- Thread starter Feek
- Start date
Here's what happened yesterday.
I arrived at the hospital nice and early and went down for surgery at around 11:30. I was in the theatre for about two hours which was longer than expected and after an hour in the recovery room, I was back on the ward and munching my way through toast and jam.
Got home around 20:30 (ish) last night.
I'm nicely dosed up on painkillers and now it's a mixture of time and exercise to get the mobility back as best as I can.
@eddiemcgarrigle I can be a stubborn git at times so I hope I can force the same outcome.
I've got a plate, eight pins and three screws in there which are mine to keep, they won't be coming out because once the bone has grown back it fits the metalwork at microscopic level. You can't apply enough torque to turn the screws without breaking the bone. They're basically fused in.
The reason the surgery took two hours instead of the hour to an hour and a quarter that was expected was because the bone fragments had started to knit back together. The surgeon had to scrape those bits out before he could work on repositioning them.
I arrived at the hospital nice and early and went down for surgery at around 11:30. I was in the theatre for about two hours which was longer than expected and after an hour in the recovery room, I was back on the ward and munching my way through toast and jam.
Got home around 20:30 (ish) last night.
I'm nicely dosed up on painkillers and now it's a mixture of time and exercise to get the mobility back as best as I can.
@eddiemcgarrigle I can be a stubborn git at times so I hope I can force the same outcome.
I've got a plate, eight pins and three screws in there which are mine to keep, they won't be coming out because once the bone has grown back it fits the metalwork at microscopic level. You can't apply enough torque to turn the screws without breaking the bone. They're basically fused in.
The reason the surgery took two hours instead of the hour to an hour and a quarter that was expected was because the bone fragments had started to knit back together. The surgeon had to scrape those bits out before he could work on repositioning them.
One of the pieces of bone that had to be moved has muscle attached so I've got the best of both worlds.
The scab came off my right thumb just now, all in one piece so I've put it in the same drawer as a collection of toenails I've lost over the years. That's not strange, is it?
This was just delivered anonymously 
The staples have been removed. There were 29 of them holding this together 
Images are spoilered in case anyone is squeamish but they're very clean, dry and not weeping.
Images are spoilered in case anyone is squeamish but they're very clean, dry and not weeping.
The nurse said that they're a lot easier, quicker and cleaner to fit and much easier to remove.
I asked to keep them as well so they'll go in 'the drawer'
I need to measure them to see what frequency they're resonant on and build a very small yagi
It's a very neat cut, I expect it to fade down to a very fine line quite quickly.
A month after the surgery and this is what it looks like now.
It's been two weeks since the staples were removed. The incision is healing nicely and I'm slowly getting movement back. It's a slow process and I'm still off work although I hope to back in a couple of weeks time. I'm still on the opiate based painkillers though so no alcohol for me just yet.
I'm finally starting to sleep a bit better but that's partly down to the tablets I've been given to help knock me out at bedtime. I'm now managing to get a couple of hours at a time if I'm lucky which is a massive improvement over the half hour stretches I was getting before.
The pain and dull ache is still there though but considering the state my arm was in, that's not too surprising. I'm seeing the surgeon again on the 31st where he'll take a new X-ray and see how it's all going inside.
I've had a bone density scan and that's normal and I'm waiting for a referral for my tongue which I'm fairly sure will need surgery. I've also got some nerve tests in ten days or so to try and find out why my right thigh is still numb, all this time after the fall.
All in all, things are much more positive than they were when I last posted.
It's been two weeks since the staples were removed. The incision is healing nicely and I'm slowly getting movement back. It's a slow process and I'm still off work although I hope to back in a couple of weeks time. I'm still on the opiate based painkillers though so no alcohol for me just yet.
I'm finally starting to sleep a bit better but that's partly down to the tablets I've been given to help knock me out at bedtime. I'm now managing to get a couple of hours at a time if I'm lucky which is a massive improvement over the half hour stretches I was getting before.
The pain and dull ache is still there though but considering the state my arm was in, that's not too surprising. I'm seeing the surgeon again on the 31st where he'll take a new X-ray and see how it's all going inside.
I've had a bone density scan and that's normal and I'm waiting for a referral for my tongue which I'm fairly sure will need surgery. I've also got some nerve tests in ten days or so to try and find out why my right thigh is still numb, all this time after the fall.
All in all, things are much more positive than they were when I last posted.
A few people have asked me in other threads how my arm is so I figured I'd post an update.
It's been nearly four months since the surgery and here's how the scar is coming along.
As far as movement, the original consultant was bang on. I can raise my arm to just about shoulder height in front of me and around 70° if I raise it to the side. I have very little movement backwards behind my body, to give an idea of how little movement backwards, I can just about put my wallet into my back pocket but struggle to take it out (some people would comment that there's nothing unusual there!). This is despite lots of physio and exercise, it's just down to how the bone in my shoulder was rebuilt, I'll never get any more movement, no matter how much physio I do.
I'm still taking pain killers twice a day although I've managed to get the dose down. If I go any lower then I suffer, this will get better but it's just a case of time.
I went back to work on the 3rd February but it wasn't easy. I work from home anyway so the current lockdown hasn't affected me but for the first few weeks I was working, it was very difficult and I only managed a few hours a day and had to build it up slowly. Work have been really good to me, allowing me time off for appointments, consultant visits etc.
I'm sleeping properly now, that was an absolute killer. For a good two months after the fall, I wasn't getting more than thirty minutes continual sleep at night and that was terrible. You don't realise how bad lack of sleep is.
I started driving as soon as the consultant told me I could and I bought a knob for the steering wheel to help me. That was perfectly fine and as I've healed and got stronger, I've taken the knob off and I can drive perfectly well again. My car is an automatic but Mrs. Feek has a manual and I've been able to drive that as well which was one of my concerns. For a while, I genuinely thought I'd never be able to drive again and that scared me. That may sound stupid but during those first few weeks, I went through some very dark times and I'm glad they've passed.
I've had a consultancy for my tongue and I'm going to have scar revision surgery to remove the large flap of tongue I have sticking out of the top. When I saw the surgeon, he said that when I first went into A&E, they should have put a couple of stitches in which would have stopped this. Although they did look at my tongue a few times, they were more concerned with my arm.
I'll just repost this again because it turned out to be so wrong! Shoulder injuries are horrible and this really is a bad break.
It's been nearly four months since the surgery and here's how the scar is coming along.
As far as movement, the original consultant was bang on. I can raise my arm to just about shoulder height in front of me and around 70° if I raise it to the side. I have very little movement backwards behind my body, to give an idea of how little movement backwards, I can just about put my wallet into my back pocket but struggle to take it out (some people would comment that there's nothing unusual there!). This is despite lots of physio and exercise, it's just down to how the bone in my shoulder was rebuilt, I'll never get any more movement, no matter how much physio I do.
I'm still taking pain killers twice a day although I've managed to get the dose down. If I go any lower then I suffer, this will get better but it's just a case of time.
I went back to work on the 3rd February but it wasn't easy. I work from home anyway so the current lockdown hasn't affected me but for the first few weeks I was working, it was very difficult and I only managed a few hours a day and had to build it up slowly. Work have been really good to me, allowing me time off for appointments, consultant visits etc.
I'm sleeping properly now, that was an absolute killer. For a good two months after the fall, I wasn't getting more than thirty minutes continual sleep at night and that was terrible. You don't realise how bad lack of sleep is.
I started driving as soon as the consultant told me I could and I bought a knob for the steering wheel to help me. That was perfectly fine and as I've healed and got stronger, I've taken the knob off and I can drive perfectly well again. My car is an automatic but Mrs. Feek has a manual and I've been able to drive that as well which was one of my concerns. For a while, I genuinely thought I'd never be able to drive again and that scared me. That may sound stupid but during those first few weeks, I went through some very dark times and I'm glad they've passed.
I've had a consultancy for my tongue and I'm going to have scar revision surgery to remove the large flap of tongue I have sticking out of the top. When I saw the surgeon, he said that when I first went into A&E, they should have put a couple of stitches in which would have stopped this. Although they did look at my tongue a few times, they were more concerned with my arm.
I'll just repost this again because it turned out to be so wrong! Shoulder injuries are horrible and this really is a bad break.
Aye, I thought I'd mentioned it in the thread somewhere, I bit it quite badly when I went down and now I have a flap of tongue sticking up. You can barely see it but it's very uncomfortable.
Tongue surgery was today.
It was horrible.
The local is just starting to wear off and it's incredibly uncomfortable.
It was horrible.
The local is just starting to wear off and it's incredibly uncomfortable.
Understatement of the decade.
I now have better than expected moment forwards and upwards and it's also better out to the side and raised.
Where it's not good is backwards. I can just about reach far enough to put my wallet in my back pocket and take it out again but it's uncomfortable.
Everything was an utter mess in the joint, my arm is physically blocked from going into that rearward position. If they'd not operated, I'd have my arm effectively strapped against me and useless so any movement is better than no movement.
The stitches in my tongue (please count them, tell me how many you think there are) should be gone within a week and then I have a follow up in four to six weeks. At the moment, I'm having real issues talking but it's only a few hours since I was attacked by a man with a knife who cut part of my tongue off while I was protesting the unfair exam results
It's time for an update because it's been exactly one year since this happened. I won't be 'celebrating' with a drink this evening though.
This is going to be a bit of a brain dump so excuse me in advance for the long post.
Since my last update, I've recovered from the tongue surgery and I have to say that the two weeks following it were perhaps the most uncomfortable I've ever been. I was told to avoid eating anything hot until the stitches had disolved and that took almost exactly two weeks. To start with, I could only eat cold, liquidy type things and that meant soft ice cream. That was fine for a couple of days but the effect of a pure sugar diet on my digestion were horendous. I felt as though I'd been taking triple doses of Agent Picolax.
After two weeks of being in utter agony when anything touched the stitches, I was climbing the walls. I ended up eating mainly yoghurt and tuna (although not at the same time), even those hurt but I was able to get them in and keep them inside me. The moment the last stitch fell out, I was pain free and the first thing I had was a full fry-up!
The end result is that I no longer have a loose flap of tongue but it doesn't mean it's good. I'm always aware of my tongue, it's uncomfortable in my mouth and the best way I've found to describe it is as though there's a dull double edge razor blade resting on the surface of my tongue. It's been over three months since the surgery and it's not getting any better. That's not going to change, it's always going to be like that.
On the plus side, my shoulder has ended up with a larger range of movement than was originally predicted. If I reach forward and up, I have almost as much movement with both arms although it's uncomfortable to stretch that far and it hurts as I move it back. Sideways, I can raise my arm above shoulder level but the movement is coming from further up, not the actual shoulder itself. Moving my arm backwards, I can just manage to put my wallet in my back pocket and take it out but that's it. Lavatorial wise, I still can't use my right arm.
When I get towards the extremes of movement, it hurts. In fact, it still aches all the time and I still have to take painkillers before going to bed otherwise I just can't lay down with any comfort. Insomnia hit me very badly earlier this year and the only way I can sleep properly now is with the aid of medication. It's not psychological because if I take an identical looking placebo instead of the sleeping tablet, I don't sleep.
I have little strength in my right arm. I was diagnosed earlier this year with a badly torn rotator cuff in that arm and was told that without surgery, it'll never heal. Surgery would be difficult with a longer recovery period than when they put the plate in so that's not going to happen.
When I reach out with my right arm, I generally have to support it with my left arm. If I pick up anything heavy without realising, I know about it for at least a week afterwards.
And I'm fat again. Whereas before, I'd happily just go for a walk at any time of the day or night for exercise, I have no confidence any more. If I do go out, I'm constantly staring at the ground right in front of me and I just can't go very far. This, along with a period of unemployment after redundancy earlier in the year had me at rock bottom and I just piled on the pounds.
On a more positive note, I have enough movement to be able to drive properly. I was very concerned while I was in the early stages after surgery that I'd never be able to get behind the wheel of anything other than an automatic with a knob on the steering wheel but fortunately that's not the case.
All in all, it's not been a great year for me but it could have been worse. I still think back to that evening and realise I was lucky that I didn't crack my skull open.
Looking forward to a better year.
My daughter just sent me this, I have to share
This is going to be a bit of a brain dump so excuse me in advance for the long post.
Since my last update, I've recovered from the tongue surgery and I have to say that the two weeks following it were perhaps the most uncomfortable I've ever been. I was told to avoid eating anything hot until the stitches had disolved and that took almost exactly two weeks. To start with, I could only eat cold, liquidy type things and that meant soft ice cream. That was fine for a couple of days but the effect of a pure sugar diet on my digestion were horendous. I felt as though I'd been taking triple doses of Agent Picolax.
After two weeks of being in utter agony when anything touched the stitches, I was climbing the walls. I ended up eating mainly yoghurt and tuna (although not at the same time), even those hurt but I was able to get them in and keep them inside me. The moment the last stitch fell out, I was pain free and the first thing I had was a full fry-up!
The end result is that I no longer have a loose flap of tongue but it doesn't mean it's good. I'm always aware of my tongue, it's uncomfortable in my mouth and the best way I've found to describe it is as though there's a dull double edge razor blade resting on the surface of my tongue. It's been over three months since the surgery and it's not getting any better. That's not going to change, it's always going to be like that.
On the plus side, my shoulder has ended up with a larger range of movement than was originally predicted. If I reach forward and up, I have almost as much movement with both arms although it's uncomfortable to stretch that far and it hurts as I move it back. Sideways, I can raise my arm above shoulder level but the movement is coming from further up, not the actual shoulder itself. Moving my arm backwards, I can just manage to put my wallet in my back pocket and take it out but that's it. Lavatorial wise, I still can't use my right arm.
When I get towards the extremes of movement, it hurts. In fact, it still aches all the time and I still have to take painkillers before going to bed otherwise I just can't lay down with any comfort. Insomnia hit me very badly earlier this year and the only way I can sleep properly now is with the aid of medication. It's not psychological because if I take an identical looking placebo instead of the sleeping tablet, I don't sleep.
I have little strength in my right arm. I was diagnosed earlier this year with a badly torn rotator cuff in that arm and was told that without surgery, it'll never heal. Surgery would be difficult with a longer recovery period than when they put the plate in so that's not going to happen.
When I reach out with my right arm, I generally have to support it with my left arm. If I pick up anything heavy without realising, I know about it for at least a week afterwards.
And I'm fat again. Whereas before, I'd happily just go for a walk at any time of the day or night for exercise, I have no confidence any more. If I do go out, I'm constantly staring at the ground right in front of me and I just can't go very far. This, along with a period of unemployment after redundancy earlier in the year had me at rock bottom and I just piled on the pounds.
On a more positive note, I have enough movement to be able to drive properly. I was very concerned while I was in the early stages after surgery that I'd never be able to get behind the wheel of anything other than an automatic with a knob on the steering wheel but fortunately that's not the case.
All in all, it's not been a great year for me but it could have been worse. I still think back to that evening and realise I was lucky that I didn't crack my skull open.
Looking forward to a better year.
My daughter just sent me this, I have to share
I might have one - I'm going to be up late this evening as I have something important to get done so a Navy Strength Plymouth might keep me company.
There's no other way to deal with it. If I hadn't got something like that, I'd have been surprised.Your daughter did well to crack a joke IMO, humour is the best way to deal with challenges
Yeah, I tried not to sugar coat things. Hey, you never know - Next year, we may be able to raise a glass somewhere together again
Yes. I’d love to *thumbs up*When all this crap is over and socialising is possible again, have to meet up in London *especially if I can get some more comedy radio show tickets* and have a nice drippy, dirty burger again.
Not now, no. I had some physio after the surgery and was given exercises to do which I did regularly for quite some time. I don't think the range of movement I have is going to get any greater now.
Genuine and loud laugh when I read that
Thanks Mags, despite the rubbishness this year has been, I really do hope it'll improve a little bit.
One thing I didn't say which occurred to me this evening, I subconsciously use my left arm far more than my right for most things now. If I'm reaching out for anything, even just a glass or a mug off the shelf then it's always my left arm. If I notice, I swap but 90% of the time, I use the arm which doesn't hurt.