Spoonie Vs Broken Shoulder: Round One

How I Broke My Shoulder

On January 22, 2020 I tried to get out of bed to check on my crying dog. Nothing went as planned. My pajama pant leg caught on my bed frame throwing me to the hard tile floor. I must have put out my arms to catch myself. My right upper humerus jammed and fractured right before the shoulder joint.

The pain was instant and excruciating. Both knees burned with pain and I’d taken the skin off of my left wrist. Floor one. Kathy zero. Thankfully, I was able to get myself off the floor. It was 1 am. Thank God for the emergency call button on my phone.

The paramedics were very helpful. However, IV pain medicine did nothing for the pain as we bumped our way to the ER. The ER doctor examined me and said “It’s broken.” He was so matter of fact. Multiple xrays later showed the humerus fracture, and badly bruised left wrist and knees.

“You’ve Got To Be Kidding Me!”

Then about 4 am the doctor tells me that the orthopedic doctor will see me later today, and that he was sending me home. What???? Even though he didn’t know whether I would need surgery or not. “I came by ambulance. I have no way to get home!” I said.

“Well, we might be able to keep you in observation,” he replied, sounding doubtful.

They put me in a new room, and did pre-op testing in case I needed surgery. The orthopedic doctor ordered a CT scan of my shoulder. I called my son-in-law a little after 5 am. I needed him to come get my apartment key and then get my dog.

The surgeon was busy repairing two hip fractures. I didn’t see him till 2 pm. He buzzed in, said that it did not need surgical repair, get it re-xrayed in one week, and then he was gone. I was impaired by pain medicine, so my brain didn’t really register his presence.

You’ve Got To Be Kidding Me, Again!?

The next day, the social worker came in and told me I was going home. This was my second “You’ve got to be kidding me moment!!” By this time I’m drugged up on narcotics, dizzy, can hardly keep my eyes open, and in severe pain. Oh, and it’s my dominant arm. And I live ALONE! I told her that she couldn’t send me home this way. She disagreed with me. Said that my insurance wouldn’t pay for me to stay.

Then my medical doctor came in and I told her the same. She agreed with me. I imagine there was much scrambling to dot all the i’s and cross the t’s, to get approval from the insurance companies. On Friday, I was admitted to the hospital’s Rehab unit. I needed to learn how to manage activities of daily living with a broken shoulder and my left wrist in a splint. I was also having balance issues. No room change was necessary since I was already there. I said a prayer of thanksgiving, and for the first time since my accident felt that I could relax a bit.

Wrap-Up

Since typing with only one hand is exhausting, this story will be broken up into parts. LOL! Stay tuned for round two of Spoonie Vs Broken Shoulder! Please consider donating to help me keep this blog running. Thank you!! https://ko-fi.com/upbeatliving

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Till next time, Kathy