Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Warning - Graphic Image

A word of advice and counsel. Don't mess up your elbow. I have torn the ACL in my left knee, the meniscus in my right knee. I have broken the vertebra in my back...twice. I have broken my left hand, and even taken the nose of my surfboard in my right eye in a horrific accident so bad that now my right pupil doesn't dilate.

Every time I have done something like this, I have always thought it was the most painful thing I have ever done to myself

If I sit back and analyze each situation based on how much pain meds I needed to use afterwards to cope, my elbow injury is definitely the most painful thing I have ever done.

As an example, the second time I broke my back, three compression fractures, I took pain meds for three days and then stopped.

I broke both of my elbows a week and a half ago. The right elbow is just a hairline fracture, but the left elbow needed to be reconstructed with a metal radial ball, pins, and plates to hold everything together.

I didn't take all of my pain meds yesterday because I want to cut back on them as quickly as possible. I hardly slept last night because of the pain.

On the bright side of things, with heavy therapy the left arm is improving. This morning I was actually able to touch my nose with my left thumb. I was quite excited when I did it, and have continued doing so all morning just to make sure I can.

My next big challenge will be to turn my left hand palm side up. Many friends and family members have told me that I am in their prayers. Thank you. Through this ordeal I have felt the reassuring hand of the Lord several times. I'll share some of those experiences soon.

Here's my left elbow.

3 comments:

Marsha Ward said...

Oh my, Dan, that's got to hurt! Take those pain meds. You won't get addicted to them in a week's time. Probably not even in two.

Tristi Pinkston said...

So that's what you did to yourself! Don't those pools come with warnings?

That is one seriously freaky looking set of stitches, my friend. But how glad I am that wasn't your head you cracked instead.

If you need the meds, take the meds. You're being cautious, and that's good, but your body can't heal if you're in too much pain to relax and let it heal.

Dan Olsen said...

Marsha - I won't lie to you, it feels a little below average. You're right, I need to take the pain meds.

Tristi - I wish the injury was more glamorous than falling in my pool. My eye injury for example, I did that while surfing. My wife, Wendy, watched the accident happen. She says that I'm lucky I'm not paralyzed because she watched me smack my head against the pool wall.