This week I’ve been reflecting on injuries — the kind you collect over a lifetime, and the ones that never quite let you forget them.
The reason for my reflection relates to a fall I had a few weeks ago. I landed hard on my left breast onto the footpath. I was hurrying home because rain was threatening, and my white cane caught in a crack in the footpath. Down I went.
I ended up with a couple of hairline fractures in my ribs, but my own personal airbag possibly saved me from a much worse injury! Despite a very sore breast and ribs that ache and grab me every time I take a deep breath, this injury pales in comparison to some of the others I’ve experienced over the years.
Looking back
In 2013, I sustained a serious arm injury, fracturing both the ulna and the radius in my forearm. My recovery began with speedy ambulance ride – not serious enough for the siren, followed by three nights in hospital, surgery in the form of a GAMP, and then being discharged home — to an empty house.
A GAMP is a surgical procedure used in orthopaedics that stands for General Anaesthetic, Manipulation, and Plaster. In simple terms, the bones are manipulated back into position while the patient is under a general anaesthetic before being placed in a plaster cast.
Anyone who has broken a bone knows just how debilitating it can be. Unfortunately, this injury was only one of several broken bones I’ve sustained over the years. Unlike others, however, this one never truly healed.
Since then, I’ve lived with ongoing pain and significant loss of mobility in my right arm.
Asking for help
After a couple of days at home feeling sorry for myself, my son rang me from Melbourne and said,
‘Mum, you’ve got to get someone to help you.’
I’d always avoided asking for help, but this time I had no choice.
I asked my neighbour and friend, Millie, and she was only too happy to lend a hand. She helped me with dressing, preparing meals, and all the daily tasks that suddenly felt enormous.
It was humbling — and absolutely necessary.
Trying Everything
Over the years, I’ve tried just about every treatment available to help fix this troublesome arm:
physiotherapy, acupuncture, massage, hydrotherapy pools, saunas, spas, hot needling, and specialised hand physiotherapy. I’ve worn a brace on and off and had several cortisone injections into the right shoulder.
Some treatments offered short-term relief — a day or two at most — but nothing lasting. The most recent cortisone injection actually left me feeling worse.
Frozen Shoulder: The Latest Blow
More recently, I was diagnosed with a frozen shoulder, which has almost completely robbed me of the little mobility I had left in my right arm. Everyday personal tasks have become difficult. I won’t go into detail — I’m sure you can imagine.
Out of necessity, my left hand has become far more capable than I ever expected.
My GP recommended hydro dilatation — a treatment I’d never even heard of. No surprises: it didn’t work. That said, I do feel less pain now than before, but the shoulder has not shown any signs of thawing.
Despite all that, living with a long-term injury teaches you patience, resilience, and sometimes — whether you like it or not — how to accept help. And that’s not a bad thing.
Thank you to Andrej Lišakov from Unsplash for the featured image
This is Part one of a two-part blog
