Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hello everyone,
Just thought I'd pen a few words to describe my disastrous start to 2018 !! I was taking my cat to the vets for a post-dental surgery checkup and he escaped from the catbox and legged it up the stairs, about 4 or 5 steps up.....sigh.....before he could get further from me I was at his side in a flash and the ensuing few seconds are just a blur. One second I was a few feet above ground level holding him, and the next I was flat on my back in the hall (thankfully Mr Murphy - my cat - was unharmed as I'd cushioned his fall) I wish it were the same for me but the moment I stood and put weight on my left leg I was back on the deck, whats that noise I thought, then realised it was me - howling in agony. Oh dear, not good. Luckily my mobile phone was undamaged and in my pocket, I fished it out and called a friend nearby who has a key to my house, she shot round to me in just a few minutes and we called an ambulance....and waited....and waited - you get the picture. I just happened to pick one of the busiest days to have my mishap. So, onto plan B, with a struggle my friend helped me into her car and while she drove the short distance to the nearest A&E dept I rang the ambulance service to cancel the callout, by this time it was around 5.30pm and I'd been in pain for over 2 hours. I was given the express service through to x-ray and was then told I'd cracked my heel bone. I hadn't to put any weight on my left foot so was issued with a pair of crutches, so far so good except.......the first time I tried to use them from my friends car to my front door, I took 2 faltering steps, lost my balance, ended up on my backside in the road and sprained my right wrist. Thats it now, it can't get any worse......really ? The following week I was back at the fracture clinic for a follow up appointment and mentioned to the doc that I couldn't use crutches 'cos of a sprained wrist. "It doesn't look like a sprain to me" he said, so, back to x-ray. You've guessed it, another fracture.......but it gets worse.....my wrist needed surgery to have K wires inserted. Into the operating theatre the following morning and thankfully back home that night. So, it couldn't be any worse than that.......wrong !! The follow up appointment a week later meant yet more x-rays (who needs electricity, I'll glow in the dark soon) and the discovery that the K wires so precisely inserted a week earlier had moved, only a couple of millimetres but too close to an artery for safety, so out they came (painlessly I might add, and having a dishy doctor helped) and I'm now waiting for the trauma unit to ring when they've booked me a theatre slot. Hopefully the procedure will work the 2nd time, if it doesn't they plan to screw my bones together with a plate, and as I have low bone density it might also mean a bone graft - going through the metal detector at the airport is gonna be fun, I can just picture me setting off the alarm and suddenly being surrounded by half a dozen beefy guys with heavy artillery. So is that where we leave it ? Not a chance. They tell me that because I'm immobile I'm at high risk of getting a blood clot. Fair enough, I'm not stupid enough to ignore medical advice, do I get warfarin or similar prescribed short-term? It works, they say, but with limited efficiency, they will prescribe Fragmin instead. No problem, doc, how many tablets a day and how far apart........then I get the really bad news.....it doesn't come in easy-to-swallow tablets but by injection - once a day - every day whilst I'm immobile, and I live alone so I'd have to inject myself. Now I've had an inherent fear of hypodermics ever since the polio jab program for schools in the 50's left my arm aching for hours after each of the 3 jabs I was subjected to.
And at last we arrive at the main reason I've told this sorry tale, if it ever happens to you the choice is a) a thrombo or b) a self injected miniscule amount of the drug. For me that was a no-brainer, so with shaking hand I prepared to administer the first of many doses to myself this afternoon. Omg what was I worried about, the business end of the hypo is so fine I barely felt it, easy peasy.. If you're prescribed Fragmin and have to self-inject, trust me, it is no problem at all, after a week you'll be able to do it in your sleep.
And in case you were wondering, I don't blame Mr Murphy for all of the above, though he seems to feel responsible and is wasting no time making amends by cuddling up close and purring very loudly........I wish cats came with a volume control lol.......and I still love him to bits
I am for reformatting it. I am not going to read it as is.
Normally I'd say the same, but OP, your story was "good" enough that I plowed right through to the end, regardless!
Anyway - so sorry OP - it does seem that when it rains it pours. Hoping you have a fast recovery - and that being immobile means you'll stay out of any further trouble!
Here is moggiemag's (the OP) post using paragraphs below:
Hello everyone,
Just thought I'd pen a few words to describe my disastrous start to 2018 !! I was taking my cat to the vets for a post-dental surgery checkup and he escaped from the catbox and legged it up the stairs, about 4 or 5 steps up.....sigh.....before he could get further from me I was at his side in a flash and the ensuing few seconds are just a blur.
One second I was a few feet above ground level holding him, and the next I was flat on my back in the hall (thankfully Mr Murphy - my cat - was unharmed as I'd cushioned his fall) I wish it were the same for me but the moment I stood and put weight on my left leg I was back on the deck, whats that noise I thought, then realised it was me - howling in agony.
Oh dear, not good. Luckily my mobile phone was undamaged and in my pocket, I fished it out and called a friend nearby who has a key to my house, she shot round to me in just a few minutes and we called an ambulance....and waited....and waited - you get the picture. I just happened to pick one of the busiest days to have my mishap.
So, onto plan B, with a struggle my friend helped me into her car and while she drove the short distance to the nearest A&E dept I rang the ambulance service to cancel the callout, by this time it was around 5.30pm and I'd been in pain for over 2 hours. I was given the express service through to x-ray and was then told I'd cracked my heel bone.
I hadn't to put any weight on my left foot so was issued with a pair of crutches, so far so good except.......the first time I tried to use them from my friends car to my front door, I took 2 faltering steps, lost my balance, ended up on my backside in the road and sprained my right wrist. Thats it now, it can't get any worse......really ?
The following week I was back at the fracture clinic for a follow up appointment and mentioned to the doc that I couldn't use crutches 'cos of a sprained wrist. "It doesn't look like a sprain to me" he said, so, back to x-ray. You've guessed it, another fracture.......but it gets worse.....my wrist needed surgery to have K wires inserted. Into the operating theatre the following morning and thankfully back home that night. So, it couldn't be any worse than that.......wrong !!
The follow up appointment a week later meant yet more x-rays (who needs electricity, I'll glow in the dark soon) and the discovery that the K wires so precisely inserted a week earlier had moved, only a couple of millimetres but too close to an artery for safety, so out they came (painlessly I might add, and having a dishy doctor helped) and I'm now waiting for the trauma unit to ring when they've booked me a theatre slot.
Hopefully the procedure will work the 2nd time, if it doesn't they plan to screw my bones together with a plate, and as I have low bone density it might also mean a bone graft - going through the metal detector at the airport is gonna be fun, I can just picture me setting off the alarm and suddenly being surrounded by half a dozen beefy guys with heavy artillery. So is that where we leave it ? Not a chance.
They tell me that because I'm immobile I'm at high risk of getting a blood clot. Fair enough, I'm not stupid enough to ignore medical advice, do I get warfarin or similar prescribed short-term? It works, they say, but with limited efficiency, they will prescribe Fragmin instead. No problem, doc, how many tablets a day and how far apart........then I get the really bad news.....it doesn't come in easy-to-swallow tablets but by injection - once a day - every day whilst I'm immobile, and I live alone so I'd have to inject myself.
Now I've had an inherent fear of hypodermics ever since the polio jab program for schools in the 50's left my arm aching for hours after each of the 3 jabs I was subjected to.
And at last we arrive at the main reason I've told this sorry tale, if it ever happens to you the choice is a) a thrombo or b) a self injected miniscule amount of the drug. For me that was a no-brainer, so with shaking hand I prepared to administer the first of many doses to myself this afternoon. Omg what was I worried about, the business end of the hypo is so fine I barely felt it, easy peasy..
If you're prescribed Fragmin and have to self-inject, trust me, it is no problem at all, after a week you'll be able to do it in your sleep.
And in case you were wondering, I don't blame Mr Murphy for all of the above, though he seems to feel responsible and is wasting no time making amends by cuddling up close and purring very loudly........I wish cats came with a volume control lol.......and I still love him to bits
Give moggiemag a break, folks, she's typing with only her left hand - which is probably not her dominant one. Having suffered a broken right wrist in the past I can tell you it's not easy.
Hope healing proceeds rapidly, OP.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
