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  1. #1
    Registered User Streamweaver's Avatar
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    Unhappy momma nature b-slapped me a good oe this time!!

    looks like im outa commision for quite awhile this time!! sat i was heading out for a dayhike in the first decent snow of 2005 and before an inch fell i hit a patch of hidden ice and destroyed my right shoulder!!broke the socket into 4 peices ,the ball at the top of the arm bone is broke longways and the cartilage is totally detached!!the doc didnt seem to agree but i think the shoulder strap is what caused so much damage! there is a long bruise down my arm shaped just like the strap!38 years and never had anything worse than a hairline fracture!!! man this sucks!! they are gonna hold off on operating and see how it heals cause once they open me up theres a risk of infection and its prolly not worth the risk.

    has anybody here had this kind of injury before?? any suggestions on thingsi can do to get back out there hiking would be great!!!thanks alot and I hope your 2005 is going better than mine!!lol streamweaver
    "Theres is no real hope of traveling perfectly light in the mountains.It is good to try,as long as you realize that,like proving a unified field theory,mastering Kanji,or routinely brewing the perfect cup of coffee,the game can never be won." Smoke Blanchard

  2. #2
    Donating Member/AT Class of 2003 - The WET year
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    Sorry to hear about the fall. Heal well ...

    I had a similar fall a few years back but got lucky and didn't break anything. Leaves had fallen after an early freeze and covered up ice patches on the trail. I never had time to react. Before I knew what had happened I was on my back looking up and my elbow felt like it was in a vise. Turned out to be just a bone contusion.

    All the best ...

    'Slogger
    AT 2003
    The more I learn ...the more I realize I don't know.

  3. #3
    First Sergeant SGT Rock's Avatar
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    Damn bad luck, just shows that accidents can happen to anyone at any time not matter how experienced or well prepared. I hope you get well quickly and get some trail time in as soon as possible.
    SGT Rock
    http://hikinghq.net

    My 2008 Trail Journal of the BMT/AT

    BMT Thru-Hikers' Guide
    -----------------------------------------

    NO SNIVELING

  4. #4
    Registered User oldyeller's Avatar
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    Default Momma Nature

    Sorry to hear about the serious injury (it's serious if you're off the trails).
    Similar break for a family member in July...required surgery and reconstruction. Just healed but therapy continues and full motion not expected for 6 more months. You're young and should heal faster. Best wishes.

  5. #5
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    Damn dude. OUCH!

  6. #6
    Registered Loser c.coyle's Avatar
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    I severed my right quadricep tendon (connects your upper leg to your lower leg and allows you to stand) while hiking last spring. A very different injury, but I can really empathize with you.

    I hope you don't need surgery, but if you do, I learned a couple things about selecting doctors:

    Number one, find an orthopedic surgeon who concentrates on shoulders. Some just do knees, some just hands, etc.

    Number two, don't hesitate to get a second opinion on the need for surgery and whether or not you should wait. The first guy I saw said I would heal on my own, and he was wrong. When I finally got to someone who knew what he was doing, he told me I was starting to heal wrong. Infection is always a risk when they open you up; I wouldn't make a decision just on that.

    Number three, if you're going to get surgery, don't be shy about asking him how many of this particular procedure he's done. No substitute for experience. If he's offended, go somewhere else.

    Number four, get him to promise that he'll do everything except opening and closing, not some surgical resident in training. I know they have to learn by doing, but my attitude was "not on me."

    Physical therapy was the most important thing I had to do to get back to hiking, because I had no bend in my knee after 8 weeks locked out in a brace. Getting full range of motion back was harder than rebuilding the strength I lost. It was also very, very hard not to rush things, but I'm glad I didn't.

    I hope all of the above advice is completely unecessary. Never thought I'd say this, but 38 is young.

    Good luck.

  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by Streamweaver
    looks like im outa commision for quite awhile this time!!
    I've got a bum left shoulder that's been surgically repaired, but nothing like you've got. Man, I feel for ya. Get better soon.
    'All my lies are always wishes" ~Jeff Tweedy~

  8. #8
    Registered User Dances with Mice's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Streamweaver
    has anybody here had this kind of injury before?? any suggestions on thingsi can do to get back out there hiking would be great!!!thanks alot and I hope your 2005 is going better than mine!!lol streamweaver
    Haven't had the same injury, but a car accident put my thigh bone through my hip pocket. Cracked the thigh bone joint, the hip socket, and didn't do anything good to a long list of ligaments and tendons. Then 2 weeks later because of bone chips in the socket they had to operate, cut everything apart and put it back together. So it wasn't the shoulder but sounds like a similar injury to a similar joint.

    Not much you can do to help bones heal but by the time they do the muscles will have atropied. The ortho doc will do as much as he can then hopefully sawbone will leave the picture and send you to a physical torturer, uh, therapist. That's your key to rehab. Do whatever the sadist says. When that bastard recommends homework, get the weights or bands or whatever contraption and put in the time and tears. Ain't no fun. I kept a chart of stretches and exercises, reps and weight lifted, for a year. That helped, I could see improvement and it kept me motivated.

    But there will be days when you're just freakin' depressed. Why me, life's not fair, it's too hard, it'll never get better, I don't deserve this, all that. Be prepared. It'll pass. Turn it into anger then work it off with the weights.

    A year after the accident I passed the Army's PT test (still limping, I made the required run time but -just- barely) but the next year I nearly maxxed it. Now it doesn't bother me at all, it's just a little less flexible than the other.

    Good luck.
    You never turned around to see the frowns
    On the jugglers and the clowns
    When they all did tricks for you.

  9. #9
    Is it raining yet?
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    Unhappy Almost been there.........

    Once almost fell on an icy parking lot & pulled my back out; should have fallen. Thankfully I was young enough to recover.

    As for THIS snowstorm, it just wouldn't stop snowing in central PA & the continued squalls on Monday wrecked a planned two day outing. How is along story that no one wants to hear.

    Feel better........................
    Be Prepared

  10. #10
    Registered User orangebug's Avatar
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    The long bruise is related to the amount of bleeding and that blood running down fascia between muscle groups. It sound like you broke it because you had big behunking trauma to it, dude.

    You have lots of fractures and lots of areas to heal and scar down. I suspect that he is awaiting signs of what Mama Nature does in the healing process before risking intervention. Infection would be a real b*tch in that part of the world.

    In general, any time that a surgeon recommends against surgery, pick up your ears and listen. It doesn't hurt to get a second opinion, but expect that the first doctor is exceptionally honest and skilled.

    And it could have been worse! At least you didn't get to see the end of a bone fragment!

  11. #11

    Default Since we're sharing....

    When I was in high school (I was living in Bangkok at the time) I was in a motocycle wreck, nearly lost my leg/life. We went off a bridge and landed in a ditch (sewer). When I came to (still in the ditch) I noticed something strange about my left leg: my femur had popped through my jeans and was pulverized. Had I landed on my head, well.... My buddy pulled me out and loaded me into the back of a truck and we were off to the local ER (butcher shop). My friend had to beg the doc to work on the leg (not just chop it off. He literally told my friend he wanted to go home early, and cutting off the leg would be quick and easy. Somehow my buddy convinced him to do his job, I woke up with a titanium plate in my leg and faced three more surgeries for cleaning out infected tissue, bone/muscle grafts. I was on my ass for 5 months, did my first semester of college on crutches (no cast due to the wound, so no protection if I fell on it or someone nailed me).

    I can't run the way I used to, but I can hike, cycle and swim. I was a swimmer/diver anyway, no football for me. I have a pretty impressive (railroad track) scar where they operated, and a scar that looks like an alien popped out of my leg. Maked for good conversation at barbecues while in school. I still feel it when the weather is extreme, like today.

  12. #12
    Registered User Streamweaver's Avatar
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    thanks for the tips/kind words etc everybody!like someone mentioned,the doc thinks we should wait awhile and see how the injury heals,i go back for xrays and tests in another 1.5 weeks.theres always risk of infection when operating but since ive had open heart surgery(as well as severe hearing loss)caused by infections ,i have to be especially carefull!!i cant even sit in a dentist chair untill ive first been given antibiotics.the swelling is almost gone already so i guess thats a good sign.i agree with those who said dont rush things,thats gonna be a hard one for me!! my elbow and wrist are taking a beating from being locked into one position in the brace!!!as the bruiseing spreads out, it has started itching no end!!i know that means its healing ,but it feels like some kind of medieval toture LOL!!!i dont know if any of you have seen it on the news but a truck driver in howard co swerved to miss somebody running across 95 and went over the side of the bridge(about a 70' drop) yesterday. that spot where he landed was one of my favorite fishing spots and i likely would have gone there saturday if not for my mishap.i think ill avoid that spot for awile!! the trucker was lucky and prolly hurt less than me!! aint that a kick in the pants!!!lol im glad yall healed up well from your injuries!! this one is no piknik so far but i still count myself real luck!! maybe i should play the lotto before this horseshoe falls out of my arse!! streamweaver
    "Theres is no real hope of traveling perfectly light in the mountains.It is good to try,as long as you realize that,like proving a unified field theory,mastering Kanji,or routinely brewing the perfect cup of coffee,the game can never be won." Smoke Blanchard

  13. #13
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    Streamweaver, I'm really sorry to hear about this. I completely tore my rotator cuff and biceps tendon a couple of hears ago. Two surgeries and much rehab later I'm virtually 100 percent with that shoulder, though I'll always be careful lifting overhead. My advice is to get a second opinion from the best orthopedist you can find and don't hesitate to have surgery or put that off to long if its indicated for your injury.

    Best of luck for a speedy recovery!

  14. #14
    Registered User Streamweaver's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by stickman
    Streamweaver, I'm really sorry to hear about this. I completely tore my rotator cuff and biceps tendon a couple of hears ago. Two surgeries and much rehab later I'm virtually 100 percent with that shoulder, though I'll always be careful lifting overhead. My advice is to get a second opinion from the best orthopedist you can find and don't hesitate to have surgery or put that off to long if its indicated for your injury.

    Best of luck for a speedy recovery!
    thanks stickman!! i did just that,the arm just doesnt feel like its healing right and that first doctor seemed to be in an awful hurry to talk me out of the operation.so i got an appointment next week with another specialist to see whats going on. streamweaver
    "Theres is no real hope of traveling perfectly light in the mountains.It is good to try,as long as you realize that,like proving a unified field theory,mastering Kanji,or routinely brewing the perfect cup of coffee,the game can never be won." Smoke Blanchard

  15. #15
    Registered Loser c.coyle's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Streamweaver
    thanks stickman!! i did just that,the arm just doesnt feel like its healing right and that first doctor seemed to be in an awful hurry to talk me out of the operation.so i got an appointment next week with another specialist to see whats going on. streamweaver
    Verrrrry wise move.

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