Fractured!

I wasn’t going to write a blog this week as I'm in a considerable amount of pain, but I decided that I ought to, seeing that something rather unusual and unfortunate happened to me last Thursday morning.

Something that could happen to any one of us, with profound consequences.

In a nutshell, I broke my arm.

I had taken my car to the garage to be serviced. While waiting for its return I took a walk through a local Country Park. On my way back I somehow tripped and fell breaking my fall with my left arm and breaking my left humerus at the shoulder joint in the process, resulting in an impacted shoulder fracture.

I heard the bone snap. It was a sickening noise.

I somehow picked myself up and walked the final half mile back to the garage, cradling my injured arm, where I asked them to call for an ambulance. I was in agony. It has been many years since I have felt that level of pain.

I shuffled to the Car Shop service desk and asked them to call me an ambulance. I was in shock. The pain was excruciating. I was very emotional. The staff too seemed quite shocked, but they soon made the call and were very solicitous, making sure that I was comfortable for my wait. They then called my wife and told her what had happened to me.

An hour and a half later the ambulance arrived, and the crew took me to Kettering General Hospital. It was probably the most painful ride in a vehicle I have ever experienced, even after several large gulps of gas and air administered to me by the crew.

On arrival at the Hospital I was taken straight to the Minor Injuries And Minor Incidents (MIAMI) Unit where I waited to see a doctor.

I was alone. I was in pain. I was confused. the waiting room had loud music playing from speakers in the background and people were talking loudly and using their mobile phones.

I found it quite difficult to get comfortable. it was a very confusing place to sit, and I was worried that I might miss my name being called. There was no signage that meant anything to me. after being X rayed, the doctor told me lots of things that I couldn't understand or process properly, then he gave me two days supply of painkillers and told me to phone my wife and go home and wait for an appointment at the Fracture Clinic in six days time, when the "shoulder specialist" would be in attendance. I was wearing a "please be patient I have dementia" badge, but it didn't help me on this occasion. I cannot recall being given any advice on caring for myself or supporting the limb, and I wasn't given any literature to take away.

Well. all that was a week ago now - but it seems like months! Since then, I've been living on painkillers and sleeping in a chair (at those brief times when the pain will allow). I visited the Corby Emergency Centre last Sunday, and the good people there issued me with a good supply of painkillers and a proper sling to support my arm, but my X rays show that the top joint of my humerus is comprehensively destroyed, so I will need a complete shoulder replacement.

Tomorrow (Friday 1st October) I will have a CT scan, then shortly after they will admit me into hospital for my Operation.

I had booked a seaside chalet for the first week in October so that we could take my dear old mum for a short break. Now? sadly, it's cancelled. That's the third holiday I've lost in two years :-(. I'll resume blogging as soon as I can, but it has been hard work producing this text and creating the graphic that accompanies it, so I hope you will forgive me if I lay low for a couple of weeks and nurse my wounds. Please forgive any spelling and grammatical errors.