Let's talk about broken bones

[DeeBye]

I've broken exactly two bones in 29 years. The first was a hand bone when I was young (14) and stupid. I punched a wall and broke the bone in my hand that connected to the pinky finger. It didn't hurt that much, and it healed rather quickly after sporting a cast for a month or so.

The other bone I broke was worse. MUCH WORSE! It hurt like hell.

A few years ago my wife and I returned home after visiting my parents for the weekend. It was late sunday night. My wife settled into the couch in our living room for some rest. I went to the kitchen to grab a drink. On my way back from the kitchen to our living room, I failed to notice a piece of furniture.

You see, we had been rearranging furniture in our home prior to our visit with my parents. We left a shelving unit in the middle of our dining room, which we intended to dispose of at a later time.

On my way back from the kitchen to the living room (with beer in hand), I walked through the dining room. That was a big mistake. I stubbed my left baby toe on the shelving unit. I had forgotten that we left it there.

Now, I've stubbed various toes a thousand times. I'm sure you (the reader) have too. The proper procedure after stubbing a toe is to swear loudly (which I did) and grab the foot that holsters the stubbed toe.

So, I reached out with my left hand and grabbed my left foot, swearing all the while. As soon as I touched my left foot I knew something was wrong. Very wrong. My left baby toe wasn't pointing in the direction it should have. It felt wrong.

Instead, it was pointing 90° to the left.

Take your shoes and socks off and look at your left foot. Look at your left baby toe. Now, imagine it poking off to the side at a 90° angle. That's what happened to me.

While I was clutching my disfigured foot in my hand and was screaming obscenities, my wife figured something was wrong. She asked, "What's wrong?"

I said, "I just broke my toe! ^%#&^%#*&^%#&$#&!"

She said, "Are you sure?

I showed her my horrific-looking left foot. Quite frankly, it was ugly. She agreed that I required a trip to the emergency ward. My toe certainly wasn't going to heal itself, and I wouldn't have been able to wear shoes.

When we got to the emergency ward, the nurse doing triage asked what was wrong. I pointed to my poor disfigured toe. She looked at it and said (no word of a lie) "OH NO! YOUR POOR BABY TOE!!".

I was given a wheelchair and an icepack while waiting for treatment (the icepack was a nifty "biohazard" bag filled with icecubes).

I'm going to skip some parts and jump straight to the payoff.

The doctor that treated me did his best to put my poor baby left toe into place. He grabbed my toe with a firm (vice-like) grip and stared at the x-rays while he pulled and twisted it into place. This took about 5 minutes, and I can honestly say that these were the most painful 5 minutes of my life. I actually felt my bones GRINDING against each other.

My toe is fully healed right now. I am careful not to stub my toes now.

[JustAGuy]

Look at your left baby toe. Now, imagine it poking off to the side at a 90° angle. That's what happened to me.

Good lord. That description was is enough to make a fella vomit. I didn't actually vomit, mind you, but if I had eaten some bad pork or something, then yeah, I might have vomitted.

I've never broken a bone, so I can't understand the pain you must have felt, but I empathize with you nonetheless. Damn baby toe is good for nothing but dishin' out pain in unsuspected ways.

[AtomicKitKat]

Do you Yanks still walk about the house in shoes and socks?

I've sliced a good chunk off my right baby toe when I was younger. I ran from the bathroom to the computer room, and clipped it against the metal clip holding the grille on the fan. Bled like hell for the next 2 hours. As far as broken bones go, I've broken both arms a total of 3 times, so... Oh yeah, and my left elbow still makes odd popping noises every now and then after carrying heavy loads.

[Griselda]

We clearly had a thread about your broken toe several years ago, yet you went ahead and started a new thread?

Just kidding, of course! :) I'm glad to know that it is fully healed. IIRC, the last time you posted about your toe, it was still too recent to tell.

I've never broken anything other than my nose, and that didn't do anything other than pop for a few months afterwards. But, I had a roommate who broke his arm in a terrible, terrible way while playing soccer at the park by our house. He tried a bicycle kick, and it went very wrong. The next thing we knew, he was rolling on the ground, and he landed with his arm pointing up over his head. The top section of his arm was bent, though, about halfway to the elbow. Ouch! Both bones were broken all the way through.

It's always kind of freaky to see someone hurt themselves that badly with only a ball and a field of grass. He didn't fall on anything, and there wasn't anybody that close to him at the time, either.

The tricky part was figuring out how to get him off the field and to the hospital. He wasn't insured, and didn't want to add the expense of an ambulance to the potential bill. He insisted no ambulance, and not knowing any better, we agreed with him. A friend drove his car up onto the field, right next to him, and put the seat back all the way. But, we still had to sit him up, and get his arm down, even to get him into the car. I'm sure that it felt just terrible. It was awful.

Since that time, I've taken several first aid courses. What I found out, other than the fact that we could have made things a lot worse by moving the arm without immobilizing it, was that we could have called the ambulance. At least here in Oregon, and I think in the whole USA, you aren't charged for the ambulance call. You are only charged if you actually ride in the ambulance to the hospital. So, they could have come, splinted the arm, and helped us get him into a car more safely, and then we could have still driven him in.

So, if anyone else is faced with a "should we call an ambulance" decision, please call!

-Griselda

[Occhidiangela]

Left forearm: three times (Falling, tumbling-gymnastics, rubgy)
RIght ankle (SPiral fracture of fibula) once
Shoulder: once
Middle left finger (soccer goalie injury) Once
Right indes finger: (baseball)
Boxer's fracture twice: right hand, metacarpal behind the pinky: (baseball, punching the kitchen counter) Nose: once
Right pinky: once
Rbs cracked: two, on same occasion

Man, I'm a walking ad for Orthopedics.

We won't talk about surgery.

[ShadowHM]

No body parts broken, ever. :P

Or wait....

Do teeth count?

I broke three teeth in a fall once. I stepped on a loose rock that shifted under my foot and tumbled down the hill. I rolled with it until my head hit a rock. :blink: Mild concussion and a nasty dental bill. :o

Edit: I forgot to mention that I do have a very hard head. Incontrovertible proof of this came recently when hubby accidentally knocked a meat cleaver onto my head. * The flat part of the handle connected with my skull and I got a nasty headache out of it, but no other ill effects. :rolleyes: That also offers additional proof of the charmed life, methinks. B)

* It is a long story, but it really was an accident. :P We did have some fun thinking about the interview he would have had with the homicide cop, had the blade connected instead of the handle. Then the subsequent interviews with the children: "Did your parents ever quarrel?" :unsure:

[TaiDaishar]

Well, never did break anything, I got tough bones :D

Although I remember when I was around 8 I ran to the toilet room and... well... forgot to aim to the entrance, ran head start to the door, forehead started bleeding like hell and of course, I used all of my panicking skills to play, having an inch cut in your forehead that spurts blood almost like in Kill Bill will make every 8 year old freak their brains out and scream as much as their little lungs can.

[Doc]

I should be outlawed from replying to threads like these.

Multiple skull fractures over a course of a life time. Several of them resulted in pieces of skull protruding from the skin. Jaw as well. Once collapsed my entire face and my jawbone disconnected from it's sockets and was pushed back past my ear lobes. Owie.

Several broken neckbones and backbones.

I think all of my ribs, even my short spare ribs, have been broken. I think. It's hard to keep track.

Broke my pelvis once. That was memorable. Well worth the experience of hang gliding.

Fractures of all kinds in all arm and leg bones, including compound fractures. Bones jutting up through the skin is NO fun boys and girls. Me and my foolish love of motorcycles, and speed.

Fingers and toes look like hell. All of them are crooked and I am missing the tips of my fingers and toes from frostbite.

Things that you should never break or damage or have done.

Testicles. I ruptured one. I wont describe it. But gravity is a cruel bitch of a master.

Getting gored. Just not fun. Went bow hunting. A lot. Back when John Denver was doing his Rocky Mountain High thing. Shot a big deer that decided to take it personal and wanted to show me what a piercing object in your torso felt like. Most unpleasant. But a good life experience. Much respect of animals gained.

Getting mauled. Once again, just not fun. Never ever under any circumstances bother a bear in a raspberry patch. Anything that looks like a big brown mossy boulder is most likely a bear.

White water rafting is fun. Halting your forward momentum by smacking your head into a rock after you fall out is not fun. Always wear a helmet kids!

Had I known I would live thing long, I would have taken better care of my self.

[Chaerophon]

1 "boxer's" fracture, same as Occhi's. (hockey fight)
2 broken right index knuckles. (1 schoolyard brawl @ about 9, 1 hockey fight)
1 broken left thumb (6-year old jump roping incident)
1 broken right thumb (slashing incident)
About 3 broken toes; not as severe as Deebye's. (one stubbed, two blocked shots)
4 broken noses (and it still works/looks decently!)
4 broken teeth (tipped shot in the face)
1 broken cheekbone/fractured maxilla (same incident, damn that hurt)
3 times breaking the same rib before they put me on some kind of "bone knitting" medication that immediately hardened up the 'weak' spot.

And... the coup de grace... one fractured "colloid" (is that right?) in my wrist from, of all things, packing groceries!!!

Anyways, no major breaks, just minor ones. (Well, the face thing was pretty major, but it's not the same as a genuine "break")

[jfbrown42]

A few years ago I fell down when running for a commuter train. I cracked my sternum (breastbone). Have you hear the expression "It only hurts when I breathe."? Now I know where it comes from.

It still hurts when one of my kids decides to get off my lap by pushing off my chest with his elbow. (ouch)

[degrak]

Veterans, eh?

Well, due to the unfortunate lifestyle I used to live (and somewhat still live), I've had my share (and other peoples' shares as well):

broken right thumb
bruised my hip to the point where I couldn't walk for a while
broken right femur (leg), was about a half year before I could walk, but it never healed properly
fractured left hand
fractured right hand
fractured left ankle

In between those "serious" injuries, I have twisted both of my ankles as to where I don't even remember exactly how many times (has to be around at least 20 times total). I have had tons of cuts, bruises, and scrapes as well.

Also had tendinitis in both my shoulders more recently, and osteitis in my left leg.

I guess you could say I'm a veteran, but I'm only 20.

Anyway, glad to see your toe is better. I stubbed my toes many times myself. Banged my shins many a time as well. I recall that saying: "Shin: Used to find furniture in the dark." It was something like that anyway.

[AtomicKitKat]

...a bloody Olympic Gymnast!

I've got various joint problems, and early rheumatism though. I also have one of the toughest foreheads around, once rammed it into the notice board at school about 20 times before feeling even the slightest bit dizzy. Needless to say, the girl I was aiming to impress wasn't particularly interested in the least bit. Had only a slight bit of bleeding from embedded staples though. :P

[WarLocke]

Good story, but you're no Hakan.

Seriously though, that sounds painful. I broke the 4th toe on my left foot (the one right next to my pinky toe) once, but this was at the Summer Camp of Doom where I also ended up with Staph infections in both feet, so I didn't even notice it through the pain until afterwards, when the doc came back with my x-rays (for the Staph infections) and said, "Did you know you broke a bone and it healed itself?"

Those two were the big problems afterwards. I also lost 7 toenails and couldn't stand straight for almost a month (and had lost 40 pounds in the 28 days I spent there), but these weren't life-threatening or anything like that.

Moral of the story: Never send an overweight 13-year-old to Nazi Boot Camp with hiking boots 2 sizes too small. :(

And of course, I have to comment on Doc's post.

Holy Crap

You make the Baby Jesus cry, Doc. :blink: Please don't reply to these threads anymore or I'll never be able to get back to sleep...

[kandrathe]

No, Mukluks.

[kandrathe]

Only a few. :)

When I was a teenager I used to train horses, and participated in rounding up cattle for branding on a ranch. I was trampled by my horse loading him into a trailer once, after a dressage class. I was still wearing my helmet and boots or I would have been killed. He broke my tibia, and my arm. I was thrown once by a horse named "Diablo", and kicked in the head on the way down. Had a concussion, and broke my collar bone. Many foot bone breaks from being stepped on, the worst is shod draft horses on concrete. And then, once I was kicked square in the stomach by both rear feet and cracked a couple ribs, but I was most scared by having the wind knocked out of me for what seemed many minutes. I hate the chronic ache of bone breaks the worst. I think its worse that the accute trauma of the initial incident, but maybe that just fades faster.

[Archon_Wing]

But at least you can post about it still. :)

[kandrathe]

Farming and ranching is really quite dangerous. I really never realized that growing up. I knew quite a few kids who were maimed by equipment, and abused by large animals. Then, there were the other dangerous toys, like shotguns, rifles, snowmobiles, dirt bikes, etc. Only one kid I knew died from a farm related accident, though. He was like 15 or 16 and using his dads backhoe to dig a 2 meter deep trench for an underground pipe. Something fell in the hole, so he jumped down to get it out and the trench collapsed and buried him. Many more (about 10, as I recall) kids I knew died from automobile accidents or drugs, from when I was 16 to 24 years old.

[Doc]

It's no wonder that I cherish, above all else, my chair by the radiant warmth of the wood burning stove in the kitchen. A good life, well lived, is not with out serious consequences. For those of you that slip through life unharmed, you either live a charmed life or you do not live at all. To go through life and never once hear the celery like snap of shattering bone... Well, I just don't see how that's possible.

There are a few things that I have not done that I wish I had. I still pine that I will never be able to go to Madrid and run with the bulls. I have oft dreamed of doing so, but doing so now would be folly. I can only walk now with the assistance of a cane. Running with the bulls though... To either live gloriously for but a few moments or be trampled or perhaps gored. (Again) It is a great reflection of how life is. We are thrown into a risky situation that will either claim us or make us men (Or women) of courage and honour.

Hunter S. Thompson called it "The Song of the Sausage Creature ." Some of us will hear it, others wont, and some of us will explode on impact.

[LochnarITB]

To go through life and never once hear the celery like snap of shattering bone... Well, I just don't see how that's possible.

Thanks Doc! Like I needed one more thing to go wrong today, now you've gone and jinxed me too. I lived my *mumble mumble* years without hearing the sound of said sickly green vile vegetable but it will probably happen now as I walk to the kitchen. I've had to do more than my share of healing, but nothing involving bone.

Thanks again. I'll be sure to send the doctors bill to you when it happens. :P

[Sir_Die_alot]

Fingers and toes look like hell. All of them are crooked and I am missing the tips of my fingers and toes from frostbite.

I have no idea how you manage to type a post with fingers like that. :D