Shoulder Closed Ahead---Tracy

"Warning" ---If you are squeamish about broken bones do not view.

On April 20th at about 9:30pm while walking home from "The Place" (restaurants and shops across the street from our complex) in pelting rain, and I was crossing the street and tripped on a bump in the middle of the road (it was dark). I fell forward with my left arm out to catch me, but it also slipped in the rain and went over my head, and with all my weight I landed on the underside of my left shoulder, with it taking the brunt of the force.

I immediately knew something was wrong, simply because of the searing pain, and the inability to move my left arm from the shoulder at all. I righted myself to a sitting position, grabbed my shoulder, and thought, “I must have dislocated it!”  While I was sitting there in the driving rain, still in the cross walk, two people stopped to help get me up and out of the road.  Once on the sidewalk, I sat back down so I would not pass out from the pain.

I tried to call Mike, but he was not answering, so I called a girl friend who lived in the same complex, but she was home alone with the baby and could not come.  I tried Mike a few more times, but no answer (many evil thoughts were running through my mind about how he was going to pay for this. Because I thought he surely left his phone somewhere that he could not hear it ON PURPOSE!) .

Then, I had the thought, “There is nothing wrong with your legs; get up!”  I did, and started to walk to my apartment building, but first I had to put my arm in my pocket, because as I  walked it would swing and hurt more.  I was not able to move it on its own, and much like Harry Potter when all his bones were removed from his arm, I had to reach around with my right hand and grab my left hand and try to shove it into my coat pocket. Once set, I headed off for home thinking, "Keep it together, keep it together, keep it together . . ."  

I remember seeing people eating in the cafes, or walking and visiting, and the thought ran through my mind, “How odd.”  They were just going about doing normal things of life, and how I no longer felt a part of it.  It was as if I was an observer.  I am not sure if I am explaining the thoughts and feelings I had of being separate from life coherently, but there it is. 

About the time I got to my lobby (5 minutes), my friend that I called called back to say she was on the way!   I turned to her apartment building and could see her running really fast toward me, but I had to keep moving, and so I got in the elevator and pushed the button for the 30^th floor. Boy, was that a looooong ride! 

The door was unlocked (thank goodness!), and when I got inside that is when I could not keep it together any more.  I called for Mike and he came a-running!  About this time my friend caught up to me and they both were very comforting, but I knew we were in for a long night. 

My friend’s husband drove Mike and me to the hospital (a western hospital, not Chinese), and after two x-rays, an I.V. and pain medication, it was discovered that I had broken off my humeral tuberosity, (part of the head of the arm bone), and also fractured the anatomical neck of the humerus in two places.   Surgery would be required! Specifically, an ORIF (open reduction internal fixation) would be needed. You can Google it to learn more. 

The next morning, we called another friend who knew surgeons in China and she put us in contact with Dr. Li.  She is a Chinese surgeon that had spent 10 years at the Mayo Clinic in the U.S., and was an arm specialist.  Dr. Li also called a shoulder specialist, and after meeting with them I decided to have the surgery there instead of flying home. So, Monday morning I headed to Oasis hospital. It was a really nice place, and had only been open for three months.  The odd thing about it was that I was the only patient; really was not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.  But the staff really doted on me!

Unfortunately, this was also the week of Mike’s big project at work, so Mike had worked all weekend, and also had to work on Monday. However, the plan was that he would be at the hospital before I went into surgery at 7:00 pm.  Well, he did not make it (yes I am still bitter about that!) since they moved the surgery up by two hours, and I was taken from my room by complete strangers speaking a language I did not know to a have my arm cut open.  I must have looked worried because Dr. Li kept saying, "do not worry, relax, relax," as she would wipe the tears off my face.

Three and a half hours later I am now the proud owner of a titanium plate with 12 screws fixed to my humerus that says, "Made in China."  Yes, it’s okay to laugh about it; I finally can now.    

 The drain tub was not fun!

Mikes bed in the hospital

Mike and I have both been have difficulty adjusting to life here.  Our friends here tell us that you either hate it or love it.  Well, we were settling on the later one, but I hope China does not think it has the last word! Picture me with fist raised, clinched jaw, (like Scarlett O'Hara in the last scene of Gone With The Wind), saying, "Tomorrow is another day!" 

After fighting a high fever and really bad heart burn (that they thought was a heart attack) for the next five days, and many visits from friends from our church, I was released from the hospital on Friday, April 27, at 11:30am, and Mike and I were on a plane heading for Seattle by 2:30pm.

Three weeks post-op.

I am now in physical therapy three days a week learning to use my arm again.   I’m “slumming” it at the beach house, our daughter, Jasmine (the RN) is taking really good care of me! And I plan on heading back to China May 28th.