Decision??????

[luv2ride94]

I went back to the doctor for my elbow and he said the only thing left that he can do is surgery or rebreak through hopefully just the scar tissue. Or i can learn to live with it the way that it is... I don't know what to do really. My parents and family want me to decide mostly b/c i'm the one that has to live with it I agree but big decision since im only 12.... Have any of you had surgery of this type or elbow surgery?? I can use it the way that it is but it makes things hard and I don't think i will ever be able to swim the way that i did before and swimming is everything to me and im still not even allowed to ride with it the way that it is. Anyways if anyone has any thoughts or ideas send them this way PLEASE!!

[silver]

Awww.....I'm so sorry to hear that. this is something that only you can decide. We can listen as you "talk" through the options, but we can't tell you the right decision to make. What do you feel in your heart?

[twin]

If I understand what you are asking about scar tissue here is my situation. Because I had a bicycle accident I injured my shoulder and many months later I was told that if I had the type of surgery you are reffering to where they put you to sleep at the hospital and the orthapedic surgeon breaks up the scar tissue then PT? Mine might have been more successful if my doctor had not gone on vacation right after my surgery because that delayed PT. I did have the chair you sit in and move your shoulder for a week at hours at a time. I eventually went to another well known PT and she said she gets her patients in the day of surgery or otherwise the scar tissue sticks again. I think from what I understand if I had have had PT from the 1st day forward my results would have been very different. I think you should consider it because it will bother you from this day forward if you do not. You need PT the day of surgery until you have the use of your elbow like it used to be. How did you injure it?

[light_sabe_r]

luv2ride this is a BIG decision. And a scary one too. Amazing that you've been given this choice and you're 12. ^_^

the BEST thing you can do right now is GET EDUCATED. Find out EVERYTHING about the surgery and it's outcomes. GOOGLE is a great place to start or a university Anatomy text book.

If you don't know enough or don't understand, then book another appointment with your surgeon or your GP and get him to explain everything to you. (not to your parents) If your parents say you're making this decision then you HAVE to be well informed. More so than they are.

What exactly is wrong with your elbow right now? does it bend funny or hurt when you bend it? Can you live with that if you don't go through the surgery?

Yeah. You have to way all that up. Welcome to adulthood. ^_^

[margo49]

After my Near-death-by-squashing- experience with a tractor and a concrete wall ended in a totally mangled right arm here is my $0.02:

Since I was (then) 48 and had a family I just decided to get on with everything as fast as possible and the phuck the pain and to h#ll with the cosmetics and limitations. So I have a real mess there inside (metallica and scar-gunk) and outside (scars looking like a shark bit me) plus mental traumas still. I just put the bars on the bike a little bit off centre crooked to accomodate the unstraightenable arm and it is all mostly ok. Gave up swimming at all.
But if I had not had dependent kids I reckon I would have been more thorough and put more effort into getting it really sharp. Maybe not 100% but pretty close. I mean all those top sports-people have serious surgeries all the time and come back to world-class form.

[mimitabby]

my son has some scarring on his hand and "couldn't decide" whether to fix it or not. After almost 10 years (he's an adult) he's finally gotten to the point where the scars are more flexible now. The cosmetic aspect (how good it looks) doesn't matter to him.
But if i had been in control of the situation, i would have pushed him to get the surgery. Life's tough enough without stupid scars making you stiffer.
good luck.

[Tuckervill]

You're very young now, and you will heal much easier than you would if you waited until you were an adult. You'll have a job when you're older and you will have to pay for it all yourself, too.

My husband broke out his front tooth when he was 9, and so he had a fake one, which ended up being smaller than his real adult tooth on the other side. He had the fake one until he was 38! It looked funny. His parents should have spent the money when he was a teenager to make it right. By the time we married, it became an issue of affording to fix it. He made do until it broke permanently, and then I insisted he have it fixed. He's glad he did. But all those years he had funny looking teeth, and it would have been so much easier and cheaper to have it fixed in the 70s rather than the 90s!

If you were my child, and the surgery could make it near 100%, and with a passion like that (swimming), I'd try to make it happen sooner rather than later. It's not just the money. It's your quality of life that is at stake, and feeling better about yourself, and getting to do the things you love sooner.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

Karen

[Pedal Wench]

I really think your parents should be helping in this decision, but I'll add my opinion.

At this point in your life, you really can't know for sure where life will take you, and what you'll want to do. You might decide on a job that requires full use of your arm. It would be a shame to be limited later because of something you could have done earlier. I would try to make it as close to 100% as possible, now, while you have the opportunity to heal quickly.

[luv2ride94]

Thanks everone! Alot.

First I think I worded it wrong the first time, when I said I was making this decision on my own. My parents are helping me, they just want it to be something that I am Ok with. Usually I have alot of my own different opinions and don't want any help with decisions even when its offered... But I am getting better at listening to other peoples opinions!


I spent the weekend at a swimmeet and talked to my mom alot and my coaches and got some great advice (THANKS wahine) and i think this is what I want and hopefully its right.. We are going to go back to my doctor and talk to him about it too and see what he thinks.

Try a different physical therapist or maybe even a different type of therapy before going the surgery way.. Make it a last resort, we thought this was all but have been looking and there are alot of different kinds of therapy I guess.

If it needs surgery I'd rather wait till after march 12 which is the last day of our 3-state championship meet. Hopefully I can pull of some decent swims even without a completely functioning arm and win a few. AND MAYBE the therapy will work and I will have full range of motion or atleast closer

Anyways I hope this doesn't mess anything up but I really dont want to lose this whole season and I want to try everything before something huge like surgery cause those recoverys are LONG too. Anyways THANKS again! KT

[chickwhorips]

good luck with everything.

keep us updated on how your doing. hopefully everything goes well.

good luck this season!

[Brandi]

I definatly think trying everything you can to help it before deciding on sugary is very wise. I have the same thing with a foot problem. I am doing a therapy right now and doing everything i can to make sure if I do sugary it is because I exhausted all other options. But like some of the above opinions you are young and will heal better then some of us older mature ladies here myself included! Good luck and keep us posted.
By the way the thought about :you never know what the future might have in store for you, you might have a job the requires full arm motion" I have to agree with that one. I am a sand sculptor and use every part of my arms for my work. I can't imagine not being able to do what I do for a living. www.sandscapes.com check out what we do!

[bacarver]

Hi Katie -

Take time to really ponder your decision here regarding surgery. Educate yourself, ask questions, be your own advocate, think of your future, get the second opinions, don't just let the doctors and therapists sell you on the ideas they think are best for you, and be brave.

Once you make your decisions, believe in yourself and the choices you make because we do the best we can at the time. Don't look back and blame yourself.

What a life lesson you are learning. You are such a neat kid.

Barb

[Duck on Wheels]

I was awake through the surgery on my broken elbow. At one point the surgeon told me that things had fit together really well. Sort of kidding, I said, "So I'll play the violing again?" I did play violin in my teens, but hadn't played much for years prior to the broken elbow. Still, the surgeon couldn't know how much I played. He didn't answer the question. In fact, the whole team went silent. As it turned out, I can play but the twist on the left arm is a bit harder to get right and my left arm doesn't stretch out quite straigt. I gather from conversations with surgeons, both about the arm and a later broken ankle, that some scarring is inevitable when a broken bone heals. After all, the regrowth that heals the bone is ... scar tissue. So I gather what they're telling you is that they can limit, or reduce, the distortion caused by scarring.

Some good questions then are: How precise can they get this? What are the chances of infection etc. from the surgery (there is always some chance of surgery going wrong, even though that chance is nowadays quite small in most surgeries)? Can you talk to someone who's had similar surgery by the same surgeon? What would the post-surgery PT process be, and why would that work better than what you had after the first round? Judging by your posts on this, you're very intelligent and have a good sound dose of skepticism. Given that, I think the way to a decision is to ask the hard questions and see if the surgeon can convince you. I also think your strategy of trying some further PT first is a good one. See what you can achieve with the healed bone as it is, and if that's causing you pain, physically or emotionally such as through loss of activities, then go back and ask how far further surgery could help and at what risks. Medicine these days can perform minor miracles, but it's not perfect. There are always risks and the miracle results can be successfull and yet fall short of our greatest hopes.

[Wahine]

Thanks everone! Alot.

First I think I worded it wrong the first time, when I said I was making this decision on my own. My parents are helping me, they just want it to be something that I am Ok with. Usually I have alot of my own different opinions and don't want any help with decisions even when its offered... But I am getting better at listening to other peoples opinions!


I spent the weekend at a swimmeet and talked to my mom alot and my coaches and got some great advice (THANKS wahine) and i think this is what I want and hopefully its right.. We are going to go back to my doctor and talk to him about it too and see what he thinks.

Try a different physical therapist or maybe even a different type of therapy before going the surgery way.. Make it a last resort, we thought this was all but have been looking and there are alot of different kinds of therapy I guess.

If it needs surgery I'd rather wait till after march 12 which is the last day of our 3-state championship meet. Hopefully I can pull of some decent swims even without a completely functioning arm and win a few. AND MAYBE the therapy will work and I will have full range of motion or atleast closer

Anyways I hope this doesn't mess anything up but I really dont want to lose this whole season and I want to try everything before something huge like surgery cause those recoverys are LONG too. Anyways THANKS again! KT

Hey KT,

I just saw this today. You're welcome and I'm glad I could help. Let me know if you have any other questions.

[luv2ride94]

Thanks everyone for all the advice and encouregement!!

Everytime I wonder if I am going to be ok and ever get back to where I was I read these and feel all sorts better!

I guess it is a good life lesson but its one I really didn't want to learn!!

KT