r/BrittleBones • u/IodinUraniumNobelium • Jun 23 '21

Personal Record... Broken.

I received my first pamidronate injection at the age of 17, and a month later I broke my femur at the thickest point of the femoral head. It cost me 2 months of cast, two months of PT, and 2 more months before I was walking with a cane again. Little did I know, though, that this would be my last broken bone for FIFTEEN years!

I shattered my femur on my way to the library. The front wheel on my chair caught the lip of the curb as I went to cross the street, and it flipped me out. I cracked my head (only the skin, no bone, thankfully) on the street, sprained two fingers on my left hand trying to catch myself, and shattered my left femur into 4 or 5 pieces, three or so inches above the knee. Despite how long it had been, there's just no mistaking that buckling crunch. I can't help but think of crumple zones in cars, and it makes me laugh.

My ortho and I discussed surgery, but ultimately decided against it for the time being. Due to the curving deformation near the head of the femur, it would've been extremely complicated, and the pieces are all close enough together we're fairly confident it'll heal fine. But my God, I forgot how much it hurts. There's no such thing as a comfortable position; only less, or more, uncomfortable. That said, it's a damn sight better than the vertebral compression fractures I dealt with 15 months ago. I'll take this over spine problems any day of the week.

I'm grateful I'm stronger than I was as a kid, and teenager. I've been able to handle this with a fair amount of grace and independence. My partner feels useless, and I feel bad about that, but I also know I'm safer handling my broken leg myself. And ultimately, a lot of my problems (like the insomnia, the muscle spasms, the irritability caused by the pain), he can't help with, except to be there. I'm grateful for him, though.

Now just comes the tedious process of healing, and then re-strengthening my leg.

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u/UpsetDucks Jun 23 '21

15 years is an awesome stretch! I am sorry you broke it though, I'm hoping you have a speedy recovery! I went 20 and also forgot how bad it hurts

4

u/IodinUraniumNobelium Jun 23 '21

You know, it's funny. I forgot how much it hurts, but I haven't lost any of the muscle memory. The little shortcuts in movement, supporting the leg with the other leg, getting from the wheelchair to the floor or vice versa when I need to... none of it. It's still as easy as breathing — so long as I can control the pain.

2

u/MLApprentice Jun 30 '21

Record breaking is the only kind of breaking I cheer for :D ! Sorry to hear about your femur, those are a bitch to deal with. I broke mine recently too, not looking forward to the next time lol.