Spiral Fracture of Humerus - Week 16 and 17

Time flies when you're not an invalid.

At my follow up I pretty much told my doctor that I'd rather not have surgery and would instead go the long route of stretching my arm back to where it needs to be. I get a little more back every week and I think I'll eventually get to a point where I'm happy.

Last night I thought I'd give the bow tie a shot and I was able to do it. A lot of the difficulty was getting my arm, wrist, and hand to work like they should. The wrist is plenty flexible but at certain angles when my elbow is bent I feel a little more tightness than is comfortable so I subconsciously bend everything the wrong way.

Bathing is getting very close to normal. I can wash my right armpit with very little effort though getting all of my back is still a mostly one handed ordeal but I'm working on that with some new stretches I've begun at therapy. Everything else is piece of cake. I can even dry off pretty quick without fear of breaking my arm.

Don't get me wrong. I'm still mowing the lawn with one hand. I'm just not mentally ready to put any real strain on it and probably won't until I hit that magical six month mark. Even then I'll probably go real easy on it.

I played guitar for a few minutes today. It felt completely normal. I never thought that would happen.

Picking up my son and getting him to my chest isn't at all difficult anymore nor is lowering him into his crib. I'm still missing muscle in a few important areas so I crawl around on the floor after him like a three legged dog. Perhaps some day I'll be able to straighten my arm out enough to do that.

Spiral Fracture of Humerus - Week 15

I finally got the green light to abandon the brace. This is especially good because my arm was getting too big for it. I slept incredibly well last night save for the sick baby that kept waking up.

I've been making steady progress with physical therapy but steady also means slow. The shoulder has done better than the elbow for the most part probably because there wasn't as much damage except lack of use.

I'm still stretching out scar tissue in the elbow. The fact that it's getting gradually better leads me to believe I can recover without surgery. The hardest part is that stretching one way makes it harder to go to the other so I spend a great deal of my time stretching it back and forth to keep it loose. There are some days when I can't do this but oddly enough I have an easier time after taking a day off. There may be something to that. Muscle pain is not like it was thanks to the beef I've been putting on by picking up my heavy son. My muscles aren't quite there yet so any real stretching is done with the other arm since I'm not quite strong enough to pull things all the way towards me.

I can manage with what I've got currently and may just do another month of physical therapy before continuing on my own. My goal is to still be able to tie a bow tie by the end of the year. I think I can do it.

Spiral Fracture of Humerus - Week 14

Little by little I'm getting muscle back. I was able to put my 1 year old in his crib last night which is probably a huge relief to my wife who has been doing it all on her own for the past four and a half months. We're going to have to work out a rotation so we can split duties.

I'm still wearing my brace when I sleep and when I do any strenuous activity which means I'm pretty much just wearing it when I sleep. It's getting smaller and smaller as I build up muscle in my arm.

On the recovery front, my pre-existing elbow pop that I was really hoping would be gone after my injury has returned which is either a good or a bad thing depending on how you look at it. It's a lot better than the elbow click I had a few weeks after the injury. Rather than feeling like the elbow is out of socket. Now it's back to the feeling like  knuckle pop which is somewhat soothing. It doesn't make a noise but I can feel it. I did it last night while I was rolling over. It didn't hurt at all but it scared me. It was easily one of the most annoying things in the world.

My shoulder is still being a bitch. I know it's getting loose because now instead of incredible tightness I've got my old shoulder pop back which was an old problem as well. Like the elbow it's just the way I've been since my mid twenties and doesn't hurt at all. I'll take it as a good sign.

Spiral Fracture of Humerus - Week 13

Little by little I'm returning to normalcy. As far as range of motion I'm still working on my three trouble areas which are extending and bending my arm at the elbow and getting my shoulder moving correctly again. I think the combination of physical therapy with a therapist and my own efforts at home are going well.

As far as straightening my arm it's been a slow battle but I do have some very good days. I have to keep these joints moving frequently to keep them from stiffening back up. Working in both directions at the same time makes is a little tougher as they seem to be against each other. Once I get one really stretched it's like the other has farther to go.

Bending my arm has gotten pretty good. My goal for the end of the month is to be able to tie a bow tie. I can get my hand into bow tie position but my dexterity is still a little off. I have to fight to urge to bend my wrist all funny. My hand is capable to doing most all of what it needs to do but I've gotten so used to bending my wrist in order to get my hand to my mouth and face. It really bugs my wife. I've made the most progress here which makes me really happy.

The shoulder is the rough spot. I can extend my arm almost straight up which is a vast improvement but going out to the side is still rough. I thought it was my elbow but it's apparently a muscle on my back that needs stretching.

So here we are, stretching constantly and taking ibuprofen from time to time.

Spiral Fracture of Humerus - Week 12

I'm going to change things up since my recovery is entering a new phase. My doctor has cleared me to start physical therapy and abandon my arm brace except for when I'm sleeping or doing any strenuous activity with that arm.

A month ago things weren't looking very well. I had very little elbow movement and the joint clicked like crazy. He was fairly certain that surgery would be needed to correct it. A month later and I've managed to get a lot of movement back on my own so the rest should be doable with physical therapy though I may never get back to 100% of my range of motion.

Last weekend I've been able to pick my son up and over the last few days I've been able to hold him in the "bad" arm. I still can't get him in and out of the crib but I think with enough work over the coming weeks I should be able to. There's simply not enough muscle to pick that giant up and not being able to completely extend my arm makes it difficult as well. I'm also going to hold off on loading and unloading him from the car just to be safe.

My assessment with physical therapy is tomorrow morning so I'll have a recovery plan for the ROM and muscle restoration. I'm going to have them take it easy since I've already met my deductible for the year and would rather take it slow. I think we were too aggressive with it last time.

I will continue with passive stretching at home like I've been doing since over the past week I've gone from being able to point at my head to washing my hair.

I don't completely trust my arm yet but I hope that will improve with time. When I take my wife and son to Disneyland next year I should be in pretty good shape.

Spiral Fracture of Humerus - Week 11

I think it was a good idea to take it easy this time around. I'm changing diapers without too much trouble these days. I can lift the beast with my left arm just enough to get a fresh diaper underneath without feeling any pain. There is a little discomfort from not having any muscle. I've also started some very careful baby lifting. I stand him up using mostly my right arm while steadying him with the left. He does most of the work. Then I can lift him a short distance to my lap for reading.

I've worked out a lawn mowing method since I still can't hold the mower with my left hand while pulling the starter. I put a clamp on the throttle and then pull the starter. The mower moves since I can't hold it in place with my bad arm but I get it started after a couple tugs. Thankfully it's self propelled so I can maneuver it with one arm.


TREATMENT
This is hopefully my last week with the brace. With any luck I can start physical therapy next week. I've been moving my arm as much as the brace will allow. It keeps the bicep constricted so this isn't always easy. I've gone from being able to point at my nose and head to being able to hold a Kleenex to my nose and wash my hair. As always I'm still careful when I'm in the shower since I don't have the brace on. I can also touch my right shoulder and apply deodorant with my left hand. Exciting stuff.

Shoulder is also getting better. I can't point my arm straight up in the air but I can get my elbow up almost as far as my right arm when I bend the elbow.

My range of motion isn't great but it's usable. My brain knows what the arm is supposed to do but the fact that it won't makes certain tasks difficult. It's like my arm doesn't have any depth perception.

I've been lifting a little more than the 2lbs I've been restricting myself to. I can do about a half gallon of milk and I can carry my 32oz water bottle without any pain or discomfort. I'm not doing anything with actual weights though just to be safe.

SENSATIONS
At this point it's just the occasional pinch from the brace. I should have gotten a large instead of the medium which would have made things a little more comfortable but it's likely a bigger brace would have sucked as well. I don't get those warning pains when using my arm anymore so I can move about freely. Every now and then I bump my arm and the panic sets in but I'm getting better about that. I'm sure a few months from now I'm going to hit my funny bone and have a heart attack.

CHALLENGES
Range of motion and zero muscle are the current challenges. Both can be corrected with physical therapy though so really the name of the game is being as helpful around the house as I can without overexerting myself.