Feeling vaguely bionic

This will be quick, as I'm mostly back to one-handed typing for a little while.

Surgery went well, though it did take all day to get through it. Post-op, the doctor said it would never have healed on its own, so we really had to go this route.

He compromised with me on riding, sort of. The only way he'll let me ride sooner than 6 more weeks is if I concede to have another cast put on in a couple of weeks. So after this initial post-surgical wrap comes off, I will be back in a cast for a bit. The sacrifices I make for my ponies. In the meantime, I need to keep this stretchy-fabric wrapped splint clean AND dry. Bone infections can apparently be nasty and require 8-10 weeks of intravenous antibiotics. Perhaps my surgeon also has a degree in Psychology?

Here is the x-ray from the emergency room, day one:



And here are the two post-pinning x-rays from yesterday:




We're medicating with Tylenol only as Vicoden doesn't do much better for the pain and causes unfortunate side-effects like vomiting. No fun.

Brief moment of freedom

Today was supposed to be the day my cast came off for good and I marched into Kaiser full of relief and expectations of a quiet trail ride this weekend.

I was sorely disappointed.

Emphasis on sorely.

Now I've had some pain and discomfort over the last couple of weeks, but having never broken a bone, didn't think too much about it. Of course it's sore, dummy, you broke it.

Well, it turns out that fractures can shift and mine has. Not only has it shifted, but the bone isn't reforming as well as they would like. When I asked if I should have come in sooner, the answer was that likely it wouldn't have changed anything.

Nearly everyone who heard this had an immediate response along the lines of, "Well, that's because you did too much." To which I say, no, I did less than I normally do which should have been little enough to have me fully healed at least a week ago.

The upshot is that I will likely have to have a plate put in to help my wandering bones reattach. The good thing is that--barring complications--the post-op healing should be relatively fast. Having watched Steve's rapid recovery after his clavicle was stuck back together, I am very hopeful.

I am also annoyed, but I keep reminding myself it could have been much (much) worse.

Too soon to be bored of this?

I can appreciate that healing takes time and that the itching has just begun, but what will cross my mind the next time (and there will be a next time) I start to fall off is the loss of time.

I need to work with Lena, even just on the ground, to figure out how to better predict her actions. I need to be hand-walking Bar right now to get his knee back in shape--and really just to spend that quiet time with him.

Unfortunately, work is busy (new business unit I'm currently attempting to organize) and I'm so tired at days end from that and from carrying around my broken arm, there isn't much left for the horses. Well, there is some, but not enough to necessarily protect myself from further injury when dealing with bouncy horses.

I've had several offers of help and I may even consider it if I can't find more energy in the next day or so, but I'd prefer to tend my own horses. I'm goofy that way, I know.

So that's what I'll be thinking of the very next time falling off looms--I've just got too much to do and no time for this broken-ness.

Dubious milestone

I have now crossed one more thing off my list of horse-related (and life, actually) experiences--I broke my arm yesterday, mostly because I forgot just how fast Lena Rey can move sideways.

Steve and I had run some errands in Santa Rosa, had lunch, and he dropped me off at the barn to tend horses and ride Lena. The truck was still there from the other day when Katie went out (though she had left the keys on and completely--and I mean two-sets-of-jumper-cables-needed completely--drained the battery) so Steve didn't have to hang around and I could spend all the time I wanted with the horses.

It didn't quite work out that way.

I really wanted to use the English saddle on Lena and work on her long trot, canter circles, and my seat. We were going along really well, and I was even getting some nice side-pass work out of her at the trot. She seems very responsive to the close contact of the English saddle, too.

Lena is very strong and athletic, and can move sideways and spin in a dime. Since I hadn't ridden her in awhile it might have been better to put the Western saddle on her, since I am still working on my seat and balance in the English, but you know what they say about hindsight.

She did a couple of spins I managed to ride through and a sideways I didn't. I slid off her right side, tucked, landed on my right hip (okay, right butt cheek), rolled to my left and must have smacked the ground hard with my forearm.

Lena bounced off to the other end of the arena to eat the grass I had previously denied her. At first, cradling my sore arm against my stomach, I was determined to get back on--which I told her in no uncertain terms. We even made it back to the mounting block before I felt something shift in my forearm--one of the odder sensations I've ever had, thank you very much. Then came the shockiness and nausea and I decided I would have to teach her a lesson another time. She did have the grace to act solicitous at that point, nuzzling me as the cold sweat broke out on my forehead.

My friend Lisa was just getting back in her truck to go home, but helped me untack Lena, take my fancy riding boots off, and hung out until Steve got there to take me to Kaiser. I was not very talkative, since lunch was trying to revisit, but I was sure glad someone was there with me.

Kaiser had me in, x-rayed, and splinted in about 2-1/2 hours, which for a non-life-threatening injury seems pretty good. The staff was great, too.

The x-rays show a pretty clean fracture of the ulna (yes, I'll be getting copies). The orthopedic doctor will be calling after they decide whether to put in a plate (surgery) or just a more substantial cast.

Oh, and I'm supposed to stay off the horses for six weeks. Katie (who is still mad at me for falling off) seems skeptical that I will manage that.

I admit to being vaguely amused by all of this, though I'm sure my amusement will fade as the novelty of my first "real" broken bone wears off. It occurred to me that Bar and I match, though I hope he heals much faster than I do.

And, yes, I typed this whole post with one hand tied. Or splinted anyway.

No pictures, either, until I can engineer a shower of some kind.