Week 2

My first visit to the orthopedist on December 30 went well, but was painful. Just getting in and out of the car was a major undertaking. Driving was of course a non-option. The whole ordeal took quite a toll on my wife and kids.

The x-rays showed the desired result: The ends of the bones were now facing each other, albeit at an angle of some 15 degrees. But it was good enough to put on the brace--the important thing is the that there is some overlap between the two ends--a hard plastic device that would align the bone ends. It was firmly tightened and felt quite comfortable at first. At this time I had cut down on Percocet to perhaps one a day, but the brace changed all that. It is a device that really compresses the arm and the ends could easily cut into the elbow or armpit. I went back to a couple a day, and especially one or two at night time.

The orthopedic surgeon appeared competent. He had worked in the military and once broken his own humerus in a car accident. There was no sugarcoating: "you're going to have a difficult couple of weeks ahead of you." He was right indeed. Although an orthopedic surgeon was adamant to avoid surgery if possible. There are more things that can go wrong, nerve problems and infections, in particular.