so saturday was a blast…
after a few rounds of drinks, it turned to arm wrestling betwen my br and i, which has been a longtime item of entertainment. after losing rightie, we switched off leftie. i was lifting my elbow (according to eyewitness reports), and when my bro went to give back, he brought my arm down and back at the same time.
i hope i never see the look i saw on his face again. he knew right away he had broken something. i can still hear the sound in my head – that wet tearing crunch – like the sound a cold roasted chicken makes when you are taking it apart for salad… a couple people heard it i think, it was apparently enough to make
i could wiggle my fingers. i didn’t have any bones poking out anywhere they shouldn’t have. my arm needed support to not create shooting pains and a grindy noise, but it felt like i dislocated my elbow, not my arm. using a couple of ties, my bro and i got it into a sling of sorts. despite my protests, A. came with me to the ER, and has been a super help since then. my bro feels like shit about it now (even though he shouldn’t), but he was true to family form when it comes to a crisis situ – hold it all together to get shit sorted out, and deal with the rammifications later…
got to the Sinai ER before 9, then checked in. A. had the foresight to bring a water bottle, as well as a belt of
ER admittance is always a fucking mess, and sat night was no different. tadmitting interviewer saw me after about 10 mins, and i was still waiting like 40 mins later. it was at this point that i really wished i had a flask to go with the water bottle. i could feel the start of shock coming on. A. mentined this to the admitting nurse, and, surprise, they found a spot for me. once i was reclined somewhat, my head started to clear a little, and my body temp came back up.
i got out of the ER by about two am. A. was a super help throughout, and even called my aunt, who is an orthapedist for the Mayo Clinic in Fla, who she didn’t know! the call was placed when the er doc mentioned a high probability of surgery. ultimately, it was decided that the onsite’s orthapedics guy, who basically gave me a pass on surgery then and there. they put me in a “gravity cast”, wherein the weight of the cast is supposed to keep the fractred bone aligned.
a few observations:
- along with a high pain and booze tolerance, apparently, comes a high pain drug resistance. i should have recalled this from when i woke up halfway though wisdom tooth extraction from a general anesthetic that the attending anestesiologist had to administer 3x
- nurses get really nervous when they administer 16mg of morphine to ypu, and you are still in pain, and pretty much with it
- having a good xray tech is really important. the first guy i got was a total asshole, who was totally mcjobbing the deal. the second woman i had, much later in the night when i was worse off, was like 100 times better.
- there are a lot of fucking bumps in the road between Mt. Sinai and my apt. i almost bit through
‘s belt going across lex on the way home.
i have an appt with my orthapedist at 9:45 tomorrow morning. my money is on surgery, which will blow, since it wiill totally hose my vacation plans. i say this mostly because if i sneeze, cough, laugh, or move the wrong way, i can totally feel the bones shifting around, and it kina makes me gag. i’m on a healthy dose of oxycodone, but to stay sharp enough to take care of myself, i end up with some pain.
tellecommuting for the immidiate future, and learning how to type one-handed way better.
life is pretty low when your principal accomplishment in the prior 24 hours is showering, and that took more prep time than time spent in the shower…
big thanks to anyone who offered a hand Sat that i forgot. thanks for all the well-wishes since. i’ll update tomorrow – i am gonna try to get the doc to email me the xrays.