[Rhodes22-list] Ouch, That Hurt!

[Thena Carville]

Roger,
Thank goodness you were home and not on some distant island with "troops" to
take care of...did they give you any idea of how long it would hurt and when
you should start physical therapy?...
Thena


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michael Meltzer" <mjm at michaelmeltzer.com>
To: "The Rhodes 22 mail list" <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Sent: Thursday, June 26, 2003 9:03 PM
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Ouch, That Hurt!


> I feel your pain :-)
>
> Do not let them get away with the whippy Codeine #3, you need to get the
happy pills Oxycontin :-)
>
> MJM
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Roger Pihlaja" <cen09402 at centurytel.net>
> To: "The Rhodes 22 mail list" <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> Sent: Thursday, June 26, 2003 5:43 PM
> Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Ouch, That Hurt!
>
>
> Hi Everybody,
>
> This morning, there were thunderstorms in the forecast.  The night before,
my wife & I had ridden on our 10' inflatable sport dingy
> to a restaurant about 3 miles down the lake & back.  We had gotten back
after dark & the inflatable was still tied to our dock.  I
> went down to our beach to pull the inflatable up onto the custom made
storage rack I built for it on our beach.  This storage rack
> is my own design, made from pressure treated lumber & boat trailer
rollers.  The inflatable self launches off of it & 1-man
> retrieval is almost as easy, except for today.  I reached down & grabbed
the inflatable's bow lifting handle with my left hand &
> started pulling the bow up onto the 1st set of guide rollers, an operation
I've done literally hundreds of times before.  I didn't
> even pull very hard, but something went seriously crooked this time
because I felt a "snap - pop" deep inside my left elbow,
> followed by a searing pain up the outside of my forearm from the elbow
almost to the wrist!  I dropped the bow lifting handle &
> instinctively bent the elbow.  As I did so, I felt the elbow joint shift
internally & go "pop" again.  It turned out I had
> dislocated my left elbow joint & then popped it back into place myself!
The inflatable was starting to float away, so I grabbed the
> bow line with my right hand & pulled it back.  I was able to pull the
inflatable up onto the storage rack with just my right arm.  I
> didn't bother locking it down or putting the mooring cover on it.  The
swelling & pain were already starting in my left arm.  I made
> a splint out of my day planner book & drove myself to the MidMichigan
Medical Center Emergency Room, about 20 miles away.  The
> X-rays showed the joint was back in place, but I can't support the weight
of my forearm & any sort of rotation of the forearm really
> hurts.  The hand, wrist, & fingers seem to be OK.  I'm currently typing
this 1-handed as my left arm is in a splint.  The hospital
> has me on a heavy dose of ibuprofen to control the inflammation &
industrial strength pain killers so I can sleep.
>
> This is really stupid!  I just got back from backpacking on Isle Royale,
where I spent 8 days clambering over rocks with a heavy
> backpack, without a scratch.  Now, I dislocate my elbow on my own beach
pulling our inflatable onto the storage rack?
>
> Roger Pihlaja
> S/VS. Dynamic Equilibrium
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