Aaaaargh, broken back!

[tribogota]

sorry jess and clock,
@ j, if I lived near you I would come clean out the litter box for you. I just got off 1 month wheelchair and 2 1/2 mos crutches, hip fracture, collar, dvt, but doing ok now, and now that I couldn't do anything for so long, I don't mind cleaning out the cat box
Somebody lent me a kindle to read, since I couldn't hold the book with two hands, that helped a lot.

[shootingstar]

Wishing clock, jesse and tribogota real healing thoughts!

[ClockworkOrange]

sorry jess and clock,
@ j, if I lived near you I would come clean out the litter box for you. I just got off 1 month wheelchair and 2 1/2 mos crutches, hip fracture, collar, dvt, but doing ok now, and now that I couldn't do anything for so long, I don't mind cleaning out the cat box
Somebody lent me a kindle to read, since I couldn't hold the book with two hands, that helped a lot.

I am so sorry tribogota, I did not read your post properly.

How did you manage to injure yourself so badly, I tried going through old threads but could not find anything?

Good to hear you sound so positive and hopefully each day, you will get much stronger.

~~~~~~

I am now brace free but more tenderness, horrible nerve pain in my legs, I guess everything else muscles, tendons, ligaments have got to get their act together.

Physio, hydrotherapy and walking, am allowed to ride my bike in 6 weeks I hope.

Ten days and off to the Dordogne, fortunately by ferry but then a 6 hour drive, I think we will be making lots of stops.

Am hoping I will be able to get into our inflatable canoe without too much discomfort, at least if I fall out I can't hurt myself.

Slightly off topic but despite I was unable to ride in the London Bikeathon with my Team, Leukaemia Research will be over £8000 (including the gift aid) better off, now that pleases me a lot and we still have until 3 Sept to get more dosh in.

Thanks again for all the nice comments.

Clock

[Jane Honda]

OH dear!

I'm sorry to hear this, and can COMPLETELY empathize. I broke my back four and a half years ago in a horrific motorcycle accident. I spent 7 weeks in the hospital. My T9 was split into four pieces, and parts of T10 were broken off. I have six inches of titanium on each side of my spine.

The PT was agony, and I must admit I was a difficult patient. They gave me a walker to use, and I vehemently refused it. I argued that I wouldn't heal up my atrophied muscles if I never used them. They gave me grabbers so I wouldn't have to bend over, or struggle to put pants and socks on. I gave them the same argument. I did listen to what my Dr.'s had to say, as well as my PT's.

I stay active now, because if I quit moving, I will not move again. It's ironic, but very true. I live with chronic nerve pain, numbness and muscle spasms now, and will for the rest of my life, I have to take pain meds just to get out of bed; but, hey! I'm living my life. I'm training for the Seattle to Portland now for the next year. I don't let anything get in my way.

A broken back is really a pain the the neck, or rear, depending on if your glass is half empty or full. But, it's something you CAN recover from, and go on to live a healthy, active lifestyle. I never make excuses. I only have one life...

Best of luck, friend. It appears you have tons of support here.

[jessmarimba]

Jane - thank you for the encouragement. I've had no contact with the doctor but the therapists just kept using the phrase "frowned upon" when I mentioned anything athletic. Glad to hear you're up and going

Can I ask - I've had a good chunk of titanium screwed into my back too - did your incision bruise over as it was healing? From what I can see, my back looks horric right now, and it hurts, but I can't tell if it's the bruise or the screws bothering me...?

[Jane Honda]

Jane - thank you for the encouragement. I've had no contact with the doctor but the therapists just kept using the phrase "frowned upon" when I mentioned anything athletic. Glad to hear you're up and going

Can I ask - I've had a good chunk of titanium screwed into my back too - did your incision bruise over as it was healing? From what I can see, my back looks horric right now, and it hurts, but I can't tell if it's the bruise or the screws bothering me...?

Let them frown all they want. Just tell them their faces will stick that'a'ways. If you stay stagnant, your body will deteriorate. Just make sure you start back into work again slowly. Let your body tell you what it's capable of. Go from there. If you quit moving, you will really QUIT moving. I'm serious.

I don't remember what my back looked like. I was pretty doped up, as I had massive road rash injuries along with other broken bones to add to my back injury.

I do know, that if I move the wrong way against the steel, it will hurt like the frikken dikkens. I mean screaming meemee hurt! My skin around the incision is numb, but my pain receptors are hyper sensitive. I feel no pressure sensations, no cold or hot sensations, no touch. Just extreme pain if there is a tiny amount of pain. I do end up with bruising on my back if I do crunches, but maybe that area is just more predisposed to bruising. I have no idea. Bruises are badges to me. So are scars.

I would consult with your doc about the bruising part. Maybe you have a screw loose (er... Please don't take that wrong? ) You could need the hardware adjusted, or maybe you can have it taken out. I can opt to have mine taken out if I can cough up the $90,000 surgery, and the months of down time. NOT. So, it stays. I'm proud of it, actually. It means I survived something way bigger than me.

[OakLeaf]

wow Jess, I only just read this. I guess this has become the collective broken back thread! So sorry that happened to you Heal up quick and DO take the advice of your therapists. There's a huge difference between accepting a limitation after you're completely healed, vs. causing more damage during the healing process.

This thread has really brought home to me how variable medical care is around the country (and even in the UK, as Clock has showed). All these little tips and tricks that you've had to discover for yourselves, the OTs and PTs showed to my mom after her knee surgery and my dad after her back surgery, before they were even released from the hospital, or on their very first home visit.

I hate the place where my parents live, you really couldn't pay me to live there even if they didn't ... but the more I see of the medical care they get vs. anyone else I'm aware of, the more I want their hospital and their therapists to move here!

[jessmarimba]

Oak, you'll be surprised to hear, then, that I wouldve gone home five days earlier with almost NO therapy if I didn't live alone. It took a whole day of the hospital nagging my insurance before they approved me to stay for rehab. At that point, I couldn't put the brace on without help and was still puking every time I stood up.

I'm obeying my therapists, promise! But they directly contradicted a lot of what my surgeon told me in the recovery room (aggravating). He doesn't work at the hospital, though, so he never got to re-approve me for things like showering with no brace.

And in most recent news, my mom (who was coming in a month to help with some housework) just fell and broke her elbow. Be careful out there!

(and now back to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows...)