Chapter 1- The ERYesterday around 11:30AM I got a call from Ben asking me to bring his wallet to Reston Hospital (he had left it at home). I said sure and then he dropped the oh-by-the-way comment of, "I broke both my wrists." So after my initial shocked feeling settled down I headed to the Hospital.
At P/T yesterday morning Ben was doing a cross-fit workout with the other firefighters. He had a barbell totaling in weight of 205lbs held straight over his head doing "push and jerks." I am not quite sure exactly what that exercise entails, but anyways, he had the barbell over his head and was told to keep his weight more on his heels. He somehow lost his balance, fell straight backwards and landed on the ground in a bench press position (elbows back on the floor with his forearms straight upwards). All the weight was absorbed by his wrists.
After many x-rays and hours in the ER trauma, we found that his left wrist was definitely broken but in more of a clean break. His right wrist, however, was completely dislocated and broken with "wafers" of bone shattered off. Needless to say, the right wrist was worse off. They put Ben out so they could "reduce" his right wrist. Both wrists were splinted up past his elbows.
Today, Monday, we went to see the Orthopedic Surgeon, Dr Miller, who will be operating on Ben's right wrist. He determined that his left wrist should heal well in a cast after about 5-6 weeks. So he removed Ben's splint and casted his left wrist up to his elbow so he now has mobility of his elbow. Dr Miller said that based on the x-rays he would need to either pin or plate (or both) Ben's right wrist back together. But in order to determine what he needs to do, the Doctor ordered a CAT scan of the wrist.
So tentatively, the CAT scan should be tomorrow, the pre-operation consultation will be Wednesday and his surgery will be Thursday. Although nothing is completely set in stone, this is the ideal schedule.
The Doctor doesn't think Ben will be back to work until February or March. But it is too soon to tell. We will have to see how surgery goes. I will try and keep this blog as updated as possible.
Thank you to everyone for all your thoughts and prayers. :)
(*The photo above is of Ben on his "cocktail" of pain meds* :) )
7 comments:
Well, Ben certainly looks pain free, actually he looks a little numb. That must have been one heck of a cocktail. And , I gotta ask, what type of exam is the guy with the glove and devious smile planning on doing while Ben is "drunk" on drugs. Sorry we can't be there for you. Love you both.
Love, Mom
I hope you both can feel all the love, prayers and good thoughts that are being sent your way. That being said, I agree with your mom. Is that grin pre firefighter exam or post firefighter exam?
I didn't expect to see a big grin on Ben's face in the picture until I read about his cocktail. My first thought about the fireman with the glove was, what kind of initiation do they do for first injuries?! Glad to see Ben had some good company for his time in the ER. We are thinking about you both. Good luck with the surgery. I hope you both can try to keep a smile on your face through this ordeal. All our love! Jen, Mike, Caleb and Owen
Damn. That's all I can say. Damn. I said it again. DAMN! Okay, I'm done.
Please know that we're thinking about you both from out here in California and wishing you all the best. Damn...
As Marty said, I certainly hope you both feel all the love we're sending your way. You're both in our thoughts and our prayers!
Much Love, Anna-Marie
Well, that sucks. There's not much more I can say about it. At least he'll have full use of his one arm in less than two months. That would suck being completely dependant on someone else for the entire time...not that you wouldn't do a good job. Just remember to take of yourself, too. You can't help Ben if you're sick from lack of food/sleep/etc.
Well shit. I was about to drive down right after I heard, but then figured the last thing you needed was my fat ass eating all your food. Not really sure what I can do, but let me know if there is, even if it includes coming down to devour all you food for some reason.
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