katallison | (no subject)

(no subject)

So, gals and pals, time for another round of Good News, Bad News!

Bad: Midday Saturday, while helping my roomies with a landscaping project, I tripped, fell, and (because I clearly learned nothing from Adventures In Wrist Fracture, 2007 ed.) landed hard on my outstretched hand.

Good: I didn't have the same immediate, nauseated-and-dizzy, sweat-breaking level of pain as in Adventures In Wrist Fracture, 2007 ed.

Bad: However, it still hurt like a bastard, and was swelling up oddly.

Good: This time (having, I guess, learned something from A.i.W.F.2007 after all) I was willing to let someone drive me to the ER, instead of being all "Nah, I'll do it myself!"

REALLY Good: I've been doggedly keeping up my COBRA payments the past half-year, hence (unlike many out there, sadly) actually have medical care available to me.

Bad: It was Everybody, Come On Down! day at the UW Med Ctr ER. As in, took me four and a half hours start to finish to get processed and out.

Good: Everyone I dealt with was friendly, capable, and helpful.

REALLY Good: It's not broken (or they think not at this point), just a really bad sprain.

Bad: Apparently, though, the scaphoid bone can be a subtle and tricksy creature, not revealing its fractures upon initial x-ray, so they put a huge plaster quasi-cast on the hand/arm which must stay in place for ten days, and which, by dint of immobilizing my thumb (MY BELOVED OPPOSABLE THUMB *sobs*) renders all activities of daily living infinitely more difficult.

In conclusion: PITA, major hassle, but could be (and has been) a lot worse. Now setting off to locate a big plastic bag so I can bag the cast and get a shower. (*sigh*)

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Ouch on the wrist, yay on the health insurance, GOOD FOR YOU for letting someone else drive you the ER, and I am so sorry about the sidelining of your opposable thumb!

In conclusion and apropos of nothing except distracting you, I'm finally ordering seeds and planning seedlings for my garden! (OMG garden!!!)

Thx for kind words, and YAY GARDEN!

Oooooooh noooooooo! Poor you. (Have you named your beloved opposable thumb? "Poor Frederick!"

I hope you turn out to be not really broken. And it was quite fabulous to meet you.

It was great to meet you too! And damn, I wanted to do a con report, but typing is just so slow and laborious, I don't think it'll happen.

(And Frederick--heee! Maybe I'll name them Thumb and Thumber, or something.)

Yikes and ouch! But yay on the health insurance thing. Living in Canada, I forget what a concern that is for folks in the US.

Damn Canadians, with your rational social policies and hot TV actors, making the rest of us look bad. (*grumble*)

Yay for COBRA and not being broken, boo for cast and long waits.

*hugs*

*hugs you back* Thanks, m'dear!

Man, we're going to have to encase your hands in bubble wrap, aren't we? Get better soonest.

I'm seriously looking into martial arts (for when I'm recovered), in an effort to break myself of the falling-onto-hands reflex. When one is a klutz, learning how to fall safely is probably an excellent thing.

Oh, poor you!!!

::hugs and quick healing vibes for your abused wrist::

Thanks so much! *hugs you back, being careful not to clonk you with the cast*

Oh, Kat, I'm so sorry to learn of your accident but happy you have medical coverage - that's a blessing! I hope it ends up just being a sprain and not a break! My thoughts and prayers are with you! Hugs!
Love, max

Thanks so much, Maxine! You're a sweetie. *hugs*

owie! I'm sorry!

But thank goodness for COBRA. It's a pain in the butt until you need it, that's for sure.

For all the bitching I've done about it ($500/mo when I'm unemployed WTF??) I'm damn glad now to have it there.

(& thanks for kind words!)

Oh no! I'm so sorry! (Though your mourning for your opposable thumb did make me giggle quite a lot.) I'm so glad you had COBRA to back you up, though, at least.

I hope you mend soon!

Thanks so much for the kind words, Brynn! (And, see, stuff like this wouldn't happen if I'd just stay indoors on my computer like god intended...)

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brynnmck.livejournal.com - 2008-04-06 21:10 (UTC) - Expand

You are grace itself, dahling. Glad to hear nothing's broken. (Be careful!)

SO effing graceful am I. Seriously, I think I'm going to do some martial arts, since if I'm going to keep falling on my ass I might as well learn how to do it w/o fracturing myself.

Oh no! Glad it's (hopefully) not broken, but I hope you feel better soon.

I'm pretty sure it's not broken, but damn, what a nuisance. Thanks so much for the kind wishes!

Sheeeeit. I'm really glad it wasn't worse. *hugs*

I have to recommend this NYT article (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/11/health/nutrition/11well.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=push-up&st=nyt&oref=slogin) on the benefits of the basic push-up…not to rub anything in, but because of this point:

In studies of falling, researchers have shown that the wrist alone is subjected to an impact force equal to about one body weight, says James Ashton-Miller, director of the biomechanics research laboratory at the University of Michigan.

“What so many people really need to do is develop enough strength so they can break a fall safely without hitting their head on the ground,” Dr. Ashton-Miller said. “If you can’t do a single push-up, it’s going to be difficult to resist that kind of loading on your wrists in a fall.”

Obviously you shouldn't start doing push-ups while wearing the cast, especially if the wrist is fractured and the x-ray isn't showing it. But I'd be happy to give you some push-up pointers when you're ready.

Heh. Synchronistically enough, I just last week embarked on a new workout program emphasizing basic compound moves--squat, deadlift, pushups, chins, etc. And was really excited about it, enjoying the sore muscles & getting into the groove. Realizing I'd (temporarily) screwed that up was one of the most infuriating parts of yesterday's adventures.

I'm thinking I'll keep on as best I can--bodyweight squats (or w/one-handed dumbbell); one-arm wall pushups; etc. And intervsl work, and so on. It'd be fun at some point to talk more about this; I'd love to learn more about your program. And thanks for the link!

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mlyn.livejournal.com - 2008-04-06 18:34 (UTC) - Expand

{{{{}}}}}

(*embraces you, sniffling*)]

I hope the snows and ice have receded there, and that you're getting some spring at last!

Oh, honey, I'm so sorry!

::pets you gently::

*hugging you* You won't see this for days because you are off having fabulous times in ITALY OMG (and any/all good times had by you are richly well deserved!) but anyway -- thanks for kind words and sympathy! I'm recovering fast, thankfully, and am looking forward to hearing all about your ITALIAN ADVENTURES! *g*

*hugs you*

oh, owie! sorry to hear you (and poor opposable thumb) are currently sidelined by yet another grace-caused accident. hopefully it won't be too terribly long, nor awfully painful.

*hands you a drink*

I am very late thanking you for both the kind words and the drink! Typing was a real pain for a couple of days, but I seem to be recovering very quickly, and am feeling a whole lot better today. Much gratitude to you for the good wishes!

You type real good for only having one thumb. ;)

Hope it really isn't broken and that you feel better soon!

You type real good for only having one thumb. ;)

Insert one-handed-typing joke of your choice here... *g*

I am late in replying, but thanks so much! I am actually recovering pretty quickly--back to almost-normal typing today, which is a HUGE relief.

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thisisbone.livejournal.com - 2008-04-09 20:08 (UTC) - Expand

Oh, Kat! That really super sucks. :( I'm very glad it's not broken, but sprains are no fun either.

Hey, I'm going to be down there the weekend of May 4 for a memorial show for my dad. Maybe you'd be up for hanging out? I'll email you with more details.

I would LOVE to get together and hang out--keep me posted as things evolve.

(And the sprain is healing up pretty quickly--I'm much better today, which is of the YAY.)

Oh, ow! Poor you! I'm so glad it wasn't worse, though -- complex joints like wrists are way too easy to screw up. I hope the pain has diminished, at least, and I promise not to think any less of you for your temporary slide downward on the evolutionary ladder (first you have trouble walking upright, then you lose your opposable thumb, where will it end? DO NOT FORGET HOW TO BANG ROCKS TOGETHER, OKAY?).

*staring at rocks, jaw slightly agape, breathing heavily* TROG - NOT - KNOW - WHAT - TO - DO - WITH - THEM -

Heeee. I have already resolved to sign up for classes in judo, or aikido, or SOME frickin' thing that will help me learn how to fall without damaging myself. Thankfully, the sprain is turning out to be not serious, and I'm already much better and typing like a semi-normal human again.

Good luck on recovering quickly, we all needz our thumbs!

Also, hate to add this, but you may be much, much luckier than you know on the ER.
At a big urban center where poor people have to go, we have routinely spent 10 and 12 and 18 hours in the corridor before we even saw a triage nurse, helping someone with a chronic condition that spikes fevers dangerously. I so wish I was joking.

You know, I had something like this in the back of my head when I was writing this entry, murmuring quietly at me, "You think *you* got it bad, dude??"

You're absolutely right, of course; however crazy it might seem to me to spend 4-5 hours waiting to just get an x-ray and a wrist splint, I know how very much worse it could be.

(And thanks for the good wishes! The wrist is actually recovering faster than I'd anticipated, which is very much Of The Good.)

Ouch! Well, I hope it turns out not to be a fracture, though a bad sprain isn't a much better option.

Actually, it's way way better today, so I'm concluding it's not only just a sprain, but a fairly mild one at that, for which I am HUGELY grateful. (And thanks for the kind words!)

Oh, ouch. I hope you've got some good pain pills to go with that.

I had some Vicodin left over from last year's Adventures in Wrist Fracture, which significantly eased the misery of the first day or so. Now the wrist is much better--it's really improved quickly--so I'm hoping to taper off even the ibuprofen soon.

Thanks for the kind words, and it was great to meet you at BP!

(no subject)

ignazwisdom.livejournal.com - 2008-04-09 20:48 (UTC) - Expand

oh, OW, poor Kat! ::thinks healing thoughts toward your wrist::

In my experience, sprains are good for not being breaks, but sort of bad (to continue your theme) because they can take a long time to heal. So don't do too much too soon, even if you get the no fracture news (which I fervently hope that you do.)

Thankfully, it's now seeming to be a fairly mild sprain--I swapped out the quasi-cast for a cheap drugstore wrist brace this afternoon, and am revelling in actually being able to type normally again.

Yipe!

I wish you a speedy recovery! *hug*

*hugging you back* Recovery is actually seeming to go pretty fast; I'm much better today, got rid of my quasi-cast, and am now rockin' the cheap drugstore wrist brace, which gives me back my beloved THUMB. Life, it is good! *g* (And thanks for the kind wishes!)

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