Emma has spent the last several months training for an upcoming triathlon later this month. She was working hard and getting her mileage to where it needed to be, when about 10 days ago, we received a phone call from Emma while we were on our morning walk. She very calmly explained that she had gotten in a bike crash about half-way between our home and Provo and that she needed medical attention. We knew it was something because she's not one to ask for help often, but she was so calm, we honestly didn't think it was that bad. We were about a mile and a half from home when the phone call came in, so we immediately turned around and booked it as fast as we could back to home. Once there, we grabbed the car keys and took off for Pleasant Grove, where we frustratingly hit road construction along the way.
We felt badly about how long it took us to get there (probably 45ish minutes from the time she called), and, looking back, we wish we had asked a friend to come pick us up from our walk, so we could have at least gotten home faster, but that's only in hindsight we thought of that. When we finally arrived to the site of the crash, we were grateful to find a kind lady, that had happened across her on the trail, had waited with her until we arrived. She had even gotten a blanket for Emma when she had started shivering...I think at least partially from shock.
Long story short, I took her to the hospital where we learned that she had broken her collarbone in two places! They called it a Z shaped displaced fracture, which means that the two ends were displaced with a small fragment of bone lying loose in between.
We felt badly about how long it took us to get there (probably 45ish minutes from the time she called), and, looking back, we wish we had asked a friend to come pick us up from our walk, so we could have at least gotten home faster, but that's only in hindsight we thought of that. When we finally arrived to the site of the crash, we were grateful to find a kind lady, that had happened across her on the trail, had waited with her until we arrived. She had even gotten a blanket for Emma when she had started shivering...I think at least partially from shock.
Long story short, I took her to the hospital where we learned that she had broken her collarbone in two places! They called it a Z shaped displaced fracture, which means that the two ends were displaced with a small fragment of bone lying loose in between.
Thankfully, other than the banged up collarbone and a few minor scrapes, she was totally fine. Her collarbone bruise, though, was pretty epic as far as bruises go.
She stayed at home with us for a couple days while she figured out how to live one-armed. Some of the most difficult tasks included getting dressed, putting her hair up, and taking her sling on and off, but, with practice and a few adjustments, she figured out how to do everything other than putting her hair up on her own. She is also not allowed to drive. After she was a bit more independent, we brought her back to her apartment, so she could be more active in the social life of her ward.
Her surgery was scheduled for Wednesday, so Tuesday night, we headed to Provo to pick her up after she finished up a temple trip with her ward.
But because she can't drive and they picked the Payson Temple to attend, rather than the Provo City Center, we ended up waiting longer than we expected for her. So we made sure to impress all the young students as thoroughly as possible, and walked around BYU campus at 10:30pm in our pajamas! Yes, we are cool like that.
Eventually her and her friends returned to Provo, then we headed home and got some fitful sleep, then we brought her in for surgery on Wednesday morning...
During pre-op, the anesthesiologist commented on her red hair and said he'd take that into account when administering the anesthesia. We laughed, because, while we still think of her as having "reddish" hair, it's much less red than it was when she was young!
Wasn't she the cutest?!
We had always heard about redheads possibly needing more anesthesia during surgery, but didn't know that was something actually backed by research and science until the anesthesiologist mentioned it. We were impressed at the anesthesiologist's attention to detail and were only disappointed that we didn't hear a report back as to whether she actually did require more than a non-redhead of her size would have required.
The surgeon said the surgery went smoothly and she now pretty much has a bionic shoulder. I have no idea what kind of imaging this is, since it doesn't seem to show bone, but this is what the surgeon showed me when reporting to me about how it had gone. He said that the plate goes along the top of the clavicle and the screws are holding the two displaced pieces in place. The area in the center of the plate without screws is where the loose bone fragment is. It was too small for screws, so that's wrapped into place with some kind of surgical string (if I understood that correctly).
Maybe I can talk her into doing a write-up on her trip when she gets back! Have a great week, friends!
****************************************
1 comment:
I hope Emma has a smooth recovery!
Post a Comment