I was with some friends a couple of weeks ago and somehow the subject of broken bones came up. The conversation continued with each of us relating if we had ever broken a bone and, if so, which one(s) and how it happened.
Compared to others, I've managed to get to this point in my life without suffering much damage in that department.
What have I broken? My nose and coccyx. Not at the same time. (That would have been a tricky accomplishment, no?)
The broken nose came first. I was in the fourth grade. It was winter time. My class was outside for fresh air, exercise and probably with the teacher's hope we would run off some steam. A few of us were playing tag. I slipped on some ice and came to an abrupt stop by my face hitting the brick building. (What? Were my hands tied behind my back? Why in the world did I hit face first?) Anyway, there was much blood and my nose hurt a lot. My mom was called to school and she took me to our old family doctor's office where he examined me and said he didn't think my nose was broken. No Xrays taken. This was back in the dark ages (1950s) and I'm sure he didn't have the capability of taking an Xray in his tiny office.
So home we went with ice packs and a lot of swelling in the middle of my face. Days later, at the follow-up doctor's visit, our dear doctor said he might have been mistaken, and that, yes, it did look like my nose had been broken as it was healing with a noticeable bump on the bridge and my whole nose did seem to have gravitated a little to the left. I remember my mom asking what could be done about it. We were told it would need to be re-broken and reset back into the more normal shaping. Having just started to be pain-free, this sent me into a full-out hissy fit panic and I told my mom that my nose was fine the way it was and no way did I want it broken again.
Of course, I've wished a trillion times Mom and the doctor had insisted I have the corrective surgery on my nose, but they didn't and so I didn't . . . and my life hasn't been ruined. Sigh.
The second broken bone happened on roller skates when I was an adult. Papa Pea, our daughter and I were on a weekend mini vacation with another family. We drove up into Canada and our first night we all went to an indoor roller skating rink. All went well until I decided to rest a while by sitting down on one of the wooden benches around the perimeter of the rink. I glided up to the bench, turned into position to put my backside down when both my skates shot forward out from under me, my tush missed the mark and I landed heavily on my coccyx (otherwise know as tailbone). It actually was kinda scary because I felt and heard a loud crack and the pain was such that I nearly passed out. I truly didn't know if it was my tailbone . . . or if I had injured something more serious in my back.
Being a martyr (yes, I was) and not wanting to spoil the outing for everyone else (no, I didn't), I suffered painfully through the whole weekend (yes, I did).
But have no fear. It was just my tailbone which was fractured. Like broken ribs, the medical profession hasn't figured out how to put a coccyx in a cast so there was nothing to do but wait for it to heal on its own. Which, of course, it did (with no permanent damage) but, boy howdy, was it ever uncomfortable to sit down for a good long time. And driving our old International Harvester Scout truck with its stick shift and stiff clutch was something that brought tears to my eyes for more than a month.
Okay, that's my own silly story of my (inconsequential) couple of broken bones. Now tell us all about what bones you've broken on your journey through life thus far. I'm sure there must be some good stories to tell. What's yours?
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33 comments:
Displaced my tailbone. Don't even know how. Do you have lasting repercussions? -Jenn
I also sprained? my coccyx while sliding in my stocking feet down the wood floor hallway at home when I was a kid.
Jenn - Nope, none that I know of . . . unless that's the cause of my occasional brain malfunctions!
Kathy - For heaven's sake, who knew the ol' tailbone was prone to so much injury??
You made me laugh out loud! It was the same 2 bones over here as well. One winter in my early 30's everyone in my house was down with a cold(except me), you would have thought they were all dying or something and they were running me ragged so I put all of them in the family room so it would be easier for me to get to them. I was carrying a tray down the steps with hot soup for everyone and my foot went right off the step and I bounced down the steps. I too heard my coccyx pop very loudly. But I didn't spill the soup! Then when I was 44 years old we had a doberman and she was afraid of everything. Her bone was under a chair and everytime she would start under to get it the chair would raise off the floor and she would come back out. So finally I went head first under the chair to retrieve her bone and as I came out she was excited and whacked me in the face with the side of her nose. it did not bleed but it really hurt and I kind went into shock over the pain I guess. My teeth started to chatter and I could not talk. Scared my hubs to death and he rushed me to the ER. They separated us and kept asking me what happened! I could not talk and they ask him and when he told them the truth they did not believe him! I guess they thought he had hit me, with a story like "the dog did it".
I broke my wrist and my arm---two separate incidents--both ice skating. Both when I was very young. Nothing since.........
I don't ice skate anymore. Might have something to do with it!
Kim - I do believe you have better stories with your nose and tailbone than I did! Can't believe you saved your soup (but didn't save your bacon -- haha!) when you bounced down the stairs on your rusty duster! And I can imagine how flimsy "the dog did it" excuse probably seemed to the ER. They say most accidents happen in the home and I think you've proven that!
Sue - Isn't it amazing how hard water can be . . . when frozen? I had a friend who slipped on the ice. Her feet went out from under her sending her backwards. She put both hands behind her to break her fall. What broke were BOTH HER WRISTS! Just think for a minute all that she couldn't do for herself until they healed!
Mama Pea,
Oh girl waiting is the worst thing to do. When injured you should see a doctor immediately.
I was coming down stairs years ago with a laundry basket full of clothes. As I stepped down on one of the steps I tripped over a toy my son left on the stairs (approx. 22 years ago). I didn't see it, and went down straight down all the stairs sliding on the carpet with the second toe on my foot bent all the was back touching the bottom of my foot. When I finally made it to the tile floor, my toe was swollen and I broke a bone and several veins inside my foot. Causing the toe to turn red and purple. This took 4 weeks to feel better.
Sandy - Oh, why is it that even hearing about injuries involving a finger or (in your case) toe are always so cringe-worthy? Ow-ow-owie-ouch! And, of course, when you can't walk properly that really puts a limit on what you can and can't do.
Nothing from me except a fractured pelvis when my "friend" & I took our friends Moto Cross bike across the sand dunes. Needless to say we didn't "land" well.
DFW - Nothing EXCEPT a fractured pelvis??? I'd say that has to qualify as a pretty big broken bone! Yikes. Done any motorcycle riding lately? ;o)
One ankle on both sides when I was 15 and on my way to school at my my bike. At a crossroad I had to go straight ahead but a big truck with a trailer wanted to go right. He won.
I've never broken a bone that I know of. I have hurt my fingers and toes a few times and they may have been fractured but I never bothered to go to the Dr. because there is nothing they can do for fractures that I wasn't already doing. I did fall off my bike twice when I was a child. Once I was knocked out and got a concussion which I ended up in the hospital and I still can't remember falling off my bike or what happened shortly after. The second bike accident was in the good old days before there were chain guards and I was riding my bike without shoes. Sliced the bottom of my right foot and big toe pretty good. I couldn't go swimming or get my foot wet for half the summer holidays.
I've broken several, but the one that we talk about the most is when I was nursing one daughter (who is now 17), and wanted to lose weight. I bought a fancy pair of roller blades. I told the family, I know how to ice skate and they tried talking me out of it. These are not like roller skates - only two wheels. So I walk them out to the street. I skated about 2 seconds, before my feet went out in front of me, I put both hands backwards to catch myself, and broke my wrist into little pieces. I had to have Hubby hold daughter up to nurse in the emergency room, while we waited to get my wrist in a cast. Oh, that story gets told over and over. I gave those skates to my oldest daughter, and never, ever skated again.
Mine was in a car wreck when I was l9. Crushed my left foot and broke my left arm.
Mother told me much later they wanted to removed my foot the damage was so great but she wouldn't agree bless her! It gives me trouble now and then and stays a bit swollen if I am on it a great deal, but it is still with me and very usable. God bless mothers!
Yikes, your broken bones story makes my nose and coccyx hurt. And, yes, I've broken a few bones. The most recent was s couple of years ago...broke a toe. And then in 2010, I had a biking accident and broke my left arm in 4 places. Painful and long recovery! And, tore a ligament in my thumb in the same accident resulting in surgery on it. All is well now and I'm super cautious on my bike now. Funny how that happens.
Wendy - Oh, my! You were a lucky little 15 year old gal to not have suffered more than the broken ankle in that situation. A young mom in our area (this was years ago) was riding her bike on a gravel road, a car pulling a boat trailer passed her but pulled back into the lane too quickly and the trailer hit and killed her. Riding bikes on the road with bigger vehicles is always scary, to me anyway. Glad you weren't hurt more seriously.
Sparkless - Uh-oh, more trouble with bike riding! I got the leg of my jeans caught in a bike chain once but nothing happened except I stopped really fast!
Kristina - I'll bet there was a lot of trying-to-make-you-feel-better good-natured kidding going on in that ER while you tried to nurse to feed your little babe AND relieve pressure you must have been feeling!
gld - Criminy, Glenda, that was a bad one! So glad your mom insisted your foot got a chance to heal. That must have been a long and painful recovery for you.
Laurie - Good golly, after that bad break in your arm from the biking accident, you still did all that long-distance training and made that bike trip a year or so ago? You are one determined lady! Tough, too.
Had all ten toes broke at the same time. My brother slammed the car door on them. Why I was laying on the ground with my feet on the door frame only heaven knows.
I've broken various fingers & toes. Nothing horrible until a few years ago. I had a tendency to drive with the steering wheel between the pinky finger & ring finger of my left hand. I was crazy a bridge and the idiot in front of me slammed on their brakes. FOR NO REASON! No one was in front of them. I hit my breaks and no collision. My hand hurt like all get out. Went in for an xray and shatter the outside bone in my hand right below the joint. It was not fun. Although if anyone upset me I threatened to give them a Gibbs (NCIS...hit them in the back of the head) with the monster cast I had.
I fell off a horse when I was two and broke my arm. Another less than perfect doctor didn't get it set properly so it's still crooked and shorter than the other arm.
Left ankle - had sprained my knee and refused to wear my brace. Went out to close up the ducks (years ago - you think I would have learned my lesson), leaned over, shifted and sheared all three major bones in my ankle. Then crawled a quarter mile (well, seemed like it) in the dark up to the house. I now sport two plates and 14 screws and can cause all kinds of mayhem with security screenings.
Michelle - Good. Grief. Darn good thing you were so young at the time and could heal quickly. Although I'm sure it didn't seem like a short time before you were out of pain . . . and could walk!
Sarah - The DUMB things that happen! Hand/fingers/stoopid driver in the wrong place at the wrong time. Ouch. Smiled at the thought of "the Gibbs" whack on the back of the head with your lethal cast!
tpals - Now that's a bad, bad early childhood experience on a horse! Did you develop a fear of horses from that unfortunate incident?
Susan - I can just hear the conversations now: "How did you break your ankle?" "I sprained my knee." Crickets. Only you, Sweezie, only you!
It took me a long time to feel safe enough to ride in groups again. And then, I want to be last in line to avoid someone bumping me.
Great stories! I broke my left big toe while I visited my cousin. We were back home unloading groceries when a 1,5 liter glass bottle (1979) of cooking oil started to roll off the counter. First reaction was to stick out my left foot so that the bottle should't brake -it didn' but my big toe did. Much later in life (1995) I was expecting my daughter when I spun off the road and the car flipped over a couple of times stopping on its roof. No damage to the baby, thank God, but my wrist had multiple fractures. This was before bread and cheese was sold sliced �� . Grateful for a helpful neighbor.
I must share with You a tailbone story from 1956 where I was involved. My mother had taken a dive, adverse winter weather, and broken her tailbone while expecting me. Needless to say the delivery must have been a real pain in the a.. . Mother, bless her her memory, was a strong woman.
Synnove - Oh gosh, I think you may have won the price for the craziest stories of all the comments to this post! That car accident of yours was so scary, even to read of. I'm sure the busted up wrist was bad, but thank heavens your baby was fine!
I knew of a gal whose tailbone was unnaturally curved in at the bottom and each time she delivered one of her babies, they had to break the tailbone in order for the baby to be delivered. Ouch, eh??
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