It’s Still All About Me

Thank you for all of your good wishes for a successful surgery last week. The surgeon said everything went fine and that the plate and screws he inserted will be mine for life. He even showed me a couple of photos of his handiwork.

The first is a side view (I think) showing all ten (10!) screws holding the plate in place on the left. My husband said it looked like something our boys would have done if given a piece of wood and 10 nails. But I guess the surgeon wasn’t trying for symmetry.

10 pins

The second image is straight on, showing the plate on top of the bone. Unfortunately, the bone isn’t perfectly aligned because there was so much scar tissue that had to be scraped away and calcium had begun to deposit on the tips of the displaced bones. (Hmm, I bet that wouldn’t have been the case if they didn’t make we wait 6 weeks for the surgery.)

Plate showing offset

The one screw that’s at an angle is supposedly holding the two pieces together as best as possible.

Anyway, I’ve learned to manage the pain (again) these last 6 days and I think that I’ll have the courage to start knitting again in a few days.

18 thoughts on “It’s Still All About Me”

  1. Lauri Youngquist

    Wow. I simply can’t imagine what you are going through.

    Thank you for sharing your journey.

  2. Michelle Kendall

    Ouch. and Ouch again! Here’s for quick healing, and enough hardware to build your own go-kart!

  3. Have you been given the go ahead to knit? Seems a bit early after such a major surgery. I would want to be pretty conservative about it. I know I had major shoulder surgery and a very torn tendon reattached with some sort of surgical hardware and I was told very strictly not to move it all initially. Please be careful Ann especially after all you have been through already.

  4. When I see you, we can trade stories about broken left humerus.
    My freshman year in high school, I broke mine. Had surgery, 2 pins and a body cast for 6 weeks.
    Health well and quickly!

  5. That looks like an extensive surgery. My husband has plates and screws underneath his left eye…skiing accident, we call him Titatanium Man. Hope all is going to plan.

  6. Ann, you have gone through so much. My gosh what patience you have. I bet you are right it would have been better to do the surgery right away. All positive thoughts your way!

  7. It looks like a good fix and I hope that you will soon be feeling great. I think that surgeons are frustrated carpenters

  8. Laura from beautiful West Michigan

    Ah, us with our bionic additions! I have a rod in the middle of my humerus with screws at top and bottom. Glad it all went well! Here’s to a quick recovery and quick return to knitting!

  9. Oh, Ann,
    Let’s get you back on the path to Recovery. Time’s awasting, a gal’s gotta knit‼️
    Positive Thoughts and Energies toward your Speedy Recovery

    Hugs ‘n Smiles,
    Gerry

  10. I hope that your arm is better soon. Maybe they were waiting to have some of the swelling go down before thy operated. I guess this is the time to learn to meditate.

  11. Hi Ann, Good to hear that you’re on the road to getting back to normal. You’ve been through a lot and it’s perfectly ok to take it easy.

  12. Sending you support and best wishes now for the speedy recovery I guess I assumed was already happening. Keep your courage up and remember , you have much support from knitters you’ve never met, but think of you as a friend!

  13. I can’t believe they made you wait 6 weeks for surgery! I had to wait 2 weeks for plate/10 pins for a broken tibia/fibula. The ER doc said there’s no swelling and the surgeon could operate next day but the surgeon made me wait and, like yours, it had already started to heal. But I feel 100% now and hope the same for you!

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