Wednesday, June 8, 2011

That did not just happen!!

That did not just happen...those are the words that ran through my mind as I lay in the street with pain in my shoulder. I jumped up and thought if I can just pop my shoulder back in I will be fine. I quickly realized that my shoulder was not dislocated.  I could feel my collarbone sticking out and it hurt like hell to move my neck in any direction. I wish I had a horrific bike crash tale to tell but the truth is I just tripped while running.  I was only a mile or so from home. On the walk home I got extremely dizzy and sick and almost passed out but luckily I made it home still standing. I'll spare you the long drawn out version of the story.. I went straight to the ER and bottom line is my clavicle is broken..one look at the x-ray and you can see that wasn't too hard to diagnose. The next day I took a trip to the orthopedic doc where he confirmed the fracture and offered surgery.... I declined.  He didn't push the surgery he basically said it was pretty much a toss up on weather it was worth it or not. If I let it heal naturally there's a chance of a non union and a chance the shoulder will always bother me but there was also a good chance it will be just fine. On the other hand the surgery will make it heal quicker but there will always be this large metal plate that shows and your skin may occasionally get caught on the screws and then there is also a risk of infection. Hmmmm... what to do?   That decision took all of a few seconds....I'll take my chances and see how it heals. The clavicle is the most frequent bone in the human body to brake.  It's seems to me in this day of modern medicine we should have a better way to fix it. It seems like some sort of super glue with a little dowel to hold it in place would work much better than some 6 inch plate!!
The prognosis.....If it heals well it will be fine in 6 weeks and until then don't do much. But doc I have a 1/2 Ironman in 6 weeks...His reply..."Yes, you'll probably be good  by then"  Doctors never understand!!...What about my training until then?  "No you probably shouldn't do much until then.  Ok...good luck...oh and no work until you come back and see me in 6 weeks."  No work, no training!!  What will I do?  My life went from 100 mph to 5 mph. One positive thing ...I'll get to spend some quality time with the family.

About Me

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The beginning.... Back in Nov 05 I was probably the most out of shape I'd ever been in my life. I really wanted to change my body. I wouldn't even wear shorts. I thought my legs were too fat. I ordered an exercise program I saw on an infomercial called The Firm. It arrived the week of Thanksgiving. The day it arrived my husband happened to be home and when I got home from work I got an earful. "Why did you order that? You'll never use it! It's just a waste of money." That's all it took!! I made a commitment to myself to start the day after Thanksgiving. All week he kept taunting me.. " When are you going to start? I told you it was a waste of money ".... blahh ..blahh..blahh. Well, the day after thanksgiving I started and haven't stopped. I did it three times a week.... and I never missed a day.....no matter what. I don't mean to make him sound un-supportive. He's really my biggest fan. He's been a competitive cyclist for years and that spring I told him I was thinking about getting a bike so I could start riding a little. I think within an hour we were leaving the bike shop with my new bike and helmet. More to come...stay tuned.