I had plans for an adventure filled weekend: Out of town concert Thursday night, drive home Friday, celebrate my mother’s 70th birthday all day Saturday, and finish it off at a convention Sunday afternoon. Before the weekend even started those plans became altered.
I was working night shift Wednesday. My college aged son, who was out of state, called me around 2am Thursday asking for his medical insurance information. He fell on the ice and injured his arm. The way he was describing his symptoms I was under the impression he dislocated his elbow. Boy was I wrong.
He broke the olecranon, top of the ulna that creates the hinge of the elbow, clear off. He also damaged his radius and humerus. He required surgery.
A misunderstanding led to us believing he was having surgery out of state Friday. The decision was made to drive up Friday, attend his surgery, and drive him home Saturday. On arrival at the surgical center they advised his surgery would be the following week. We chose to return home for surgery and the healing process.
So, Friday evening we stayed out of town and drove home first thing Saturday morning. My mother was still able to enjoy her birthday dinner. A couple of unexpected friends joined us. Even though plans changed, we managed to surprise her and she had a great time.
We still were able to go to the convention Sunday.
Monday and Tuesday we were playing it all by ear. First stop was the orthopaedic surgeon for more x-rays. Then a CT was needed. But wait! We live in the US and require prior authorisation before getting an urgent CT (insert eye roll here). We managed to get that done Tuesday afternoon before his Wednesday surgery.
Arriving at the orthopaedic surgical suite was interesting. All the staff were amazing. They were so kind and accommodating. They all commented on his x-rays and how none of them have seen an injury that severe. We were there for 7.5 hours.
Surgery took longer than anticipated. As we were leaving we realised the pharmacy was about to close. I called them and explained the situation. I asked if I could have someone else come pick up his meds ASAP as we thought we would have left much earlier. They said they are going to lock the door while they shut everything down but to knock and they would make sure we were able to pick up his meds. Thank goodness for mom and pop pharmacies still existing!
Elbow reconstruction surgery wasn’t on my bingo card for 2025.
My son is a trooper. Even after all he has been through in the last week, he still wears a smile. He might not be able to shower without someone covering his cast for him but that doesn’t stop him from being a kind and loving soul.
My heart hurts for his healing journey, which may take up to a year. My heart hurts thinking he may need future surgeries to add prostheses in that arm. He’s young and strong and optimistic. He very well may become left handed. I’m proud of him for how he’s dealing with everything.
Oily Minded Medic 