Bone breaks around the knee :

first 48 hours! - - Posted by treeskater (treeskater), 13 September 2004

I am thrilled to find this whole web page, but there still is lacking on the whole internet help for the person during those first 48 hours.

I fell Sept 8th and fractured my right patella.  I drove myself to the ER, was at least given a wheelchair, and I had to ask for an ice pack for the cantalope swelling above my knee (which caused a burn on the skin - it turned white, red the next day and still red.)  I apparently had a huge effusion (collection of blood & fluid) and the x-rays showed a non displaced fracture.  I was put in a knee immobilizer, my OS was phoned (to call office next day for appointment.)  Was offered Rx for strong pain meds but declined as I already had some at home from Cervical disc & fusion last November.

That first night was sheer hell.  I live alone, am 57, am a figure skater so in pretty good shape.  But no one prepared me for the next 48 hours!  The pain, the almost passing out syndrome every time I had to get out of bed to go the bathroom, the loss of concentration, other than icing it, no help with telling me the usual progression of events - swelling decrease, pain levels, constipation from the pain meds, etc.

I really feel this is an area that a FAQ should address!

Posted by sparta5 (sparta5), 16 September 2004

Sorry to hear about your injury.  I am a medial tib plateau frx myself - mine was from Tae Kwon Do - and while I had a Y frx in my femur when I was 6, I was hospitalized because it was from a wreck.  Afterwards, practically my whole body was in a cast, and so I was in a hospital bed at home.  Again I was 6 years old - and you tend to forget things over the course of almost 30 years.    So - here I am with this broken knee at almost 35 and neither the hospital ER or my doc really gave me a whole lot of info about what happened, how it happened, and what to expect.

One thing not discussed with me was the emotional impact being "immoble" would have.  I know others here know what i mean.  It's more than boredom; it's more than frustration.  My 3 year old is trying to railroad me at every turn because he knows now that I can't just get up and deal with him.  Ugh.

But luckily for us, we have boards like this and MyBrokenLeg.com where we can go, ask questions, and share.

Good luck.  Keep us posted.

PJ

Posted by lizl (lizl), 17 September 2004

Welcome Treeskater and PJ!

I do remember wondering if the OS had any idea at all about just how painful and emotionally traumatic my injury was. Not until I found this website did I understand that my experience was pretty normal. At times, you wonder what in the world you are doing wrong. "Surely, if this degree of pain were normal," you think, "I'd have been given some kind of warning!"

But, no! There is no warning at all. That first 48 hour information should come from the doctor him/herself, and it simply does not.

LizL

This old Forum was so valuable that we have kept it as an archive. It is just for reference. If you want to ask questions or offer advice, there is also a current Bulletin Board which you can access from our home page.

Hunting for information is a slow process. browsing through these topics will probably raise a lot of questions in your mind. Don't forget that there is a whole site behind these forums - just click the 'KNEEguru' home button at the top left of your page when you are ready to access it.