Back on My Feet Again

I'm happy to report that the surgery went well and I am well on my way to recovery!

The surgery was, for the most part, uneventful. Evidently, my surgeon discovered while in surgery that I had actually broke my humerus (upper arm bone) in two places. To repair it, he needed to attach a plate. Since they didn't have the right plate at the facility, my surgery was delayed an hour while someone ran to fetch one from another surgery center. In the end, the procedure took 4 hours. I was on my way home just 8 hours after I arrived.

My surgeon's medical assistant observed the surgery. When I saw her at my follow-up appointment a week later, she said it was by far the "best" one she observed. "Very bloody and all in the joint." So glad I could contribute to her education!

Attached are flouroscope pictures of my elbow and wrist. The top and middle are views of my elbow. There are five screws in the plate and two more were needed to attach the second broken piece. The bottom is my wrist with one screw. I now have a grand total of 14 screws in my body--these 8 plus the 6 I already had in my clavicle. At this rate, I'll have about 40 screws holding me together by the time I'm 80! My classmates think I should start wearing a helmet on a daily basis.

The recovery from surgery was very smooth. Friends have all pulled through in a big way. My good friend Monica was able to stay with me for the week following the surgery to help me through the pain, track my meds, huttle me to follow-up visits, and generally cater to my every need. (THANK YOU Monica!) And my classmates organized to bring me meals for several days following the surgery. (Thank you everyone!)

I am now back in the swing of things at school, although I have less time for school work than before. I've promised myself to get 8 hours of sleep per night. And I have about an hour of physical therapy exercises to do each day. But I keep reminding myself that my long-term recovery is more important. Thankfully, my professors are all supportive and working with me to keep things manageable.

Thanks to all who have sent cards, emails, and Facebook messages wishing me well. I am truly blessed to have such a great support network!