Broken Arm Again - 3rd Time the Charm?

[Evo]

The X-ray tech's responsibilty is to check the film is ok - not to make any medical diagnosis. In the USA they are probably explicitly told NOT to say anything in case that is construed as medical advice and you sue them.

ps. Sorry about your arm. I would have commiserated earlier but I asumed this was an old thread. I thought you were you supposed to be being careful now!

Yes, I am on the phone, they just said, "oh, we don't know if a radiologist has seen it yet". Well, let me tell you, I can see the bone pressing against the skin and can feel it moving. That might be an indication of a break.

And my car was totaled when some teenaged girl ran a red light and hit my daughter while she was driving through an intersection, so she was going to let me borrow her car until I get a new one, but her car is a STICK SHIFT. Well, there's this little inconvenient thing about not being able to move my arm, because it won't bend.

And the doctor's office has two locations, the after hours one where I had the x-rays done, will not transfer the x-rays to where my doctor is. Nor will they fax the radiologist's report. If one exists. And they bent that policy before, because "they" wanted the report.

I am about to have a STROKE.

 

[rewebster]

Shouldn't there be any action against those technicians? It seems like they make these mistakes too often (same thing happened to my mom - only once).

I had a broken right fifth metacarpal one time --it's the small finger, the break was in the palm area--its called a 'boxer's break--from a fight. I had it re-cast about three times, and the x-rays kept showing that it still wasn't healing and 'in place' after about 5 weeks if I remember right. The doctor said that it should be pinned in place, otherwise 'bad' things could happen. He set up a surgery time and told me get get one last x-ray before the surgery.

He used a Bier block--that's where they put a tourniquet on around the upper arm and anesthetize the lower part of the arm. Part of the process to get to the bone was they have to 'split' the tendon on the upper part of the hand--that 'ribbon' that pops up when you raise your fingers upward. He got to the bone (I was awake) and he said that the bone seemed to be healing in place.

I said, "Didn't the x-ray show that?"

He said, "What x-ray?"

I said, "The x-ray that I brought in with me."

He turned around and opened the envelope with the x-ray, looked at it, told one of the residents to 'close', and walked out of the room.

The tendon that he split (he later said that it may 'hurt' for a while--'maybe a couple years') scar tissued down against the bone, and still after 25 years still hurts when I write, type, work with my right hand --I'm 'right-handed'.

so, there's my excuse for doing 'typos'--(and not doing much with the guitar either anymore.)

I forgot--moral of the story:
be careful who the doctor is, and talk to him/her about EVERYTHING!

 

[Evo]

I had a broken right fifth metacarpal one time --it's the small finger, the break was in the palm area--its called a 'boxer's break--from a fight. I had it re-cast about three times, and the x-rays kept showing that it still wasn't healing and 'in place' after about 5 weeks if I remember right. The doctor said that it should be pinned in place, otherwise 'bad' things could happen. He set up a surgery time and told me get get one last x-ray before the surgery.

He used a Bier block--that's where they put a tourniquet on around the upper arm and anesthetize the lower part of the arm. Part of the process to get to the bone was they have to 'split' the tendon on the upper part of the hand--that 'ribbon' that pops up when you raise your fingers upward. He got to the bone (I was awake) and he said that the bone seemed to be healing in place.

I said, "Didn't the x-ray show that?"

He said, "What x-ray?"

I said, "The x-ray that I brought in with me."

He turned around and opened the envelope with the x-ray, looked at it, told one of the residents to 'close', and walked out of the room.

The tendon that he split (he later said that it may 'hurt' for a while--'maybe a couple years') scar tissued down against the bone, and still after 25 years still hurts when I write, type, work with my right hand --I'm 'right-handed'.

So, there's my excuse for doing 'typos'.

I just tried taking a picture of my "finger that was not broken that now looks like this ^. The "radiologist" couldn't dfind the break for 3 months. Probably because it was multiple fractures, including a spiral fracture and pieces of the bone had been chipped off. The broken finger next to it faired a bit better, it's just a little crooked.

I should have gone to the ER and paid the $125 co-pay and had more experioenced people work on my arm. Noooo, I went to to the "Urgent Care" clinic with the trained monkeys instead.

 

[rewebster]

yep--


---and don't worry about your typos

 

[Monique]

Is it any better? I remember when you were having that pain from standing on a broken foot all day.

It took a very long time to get better, I still can not walk on shoes with heels for some reason, that really hurts. About two months ago it really started acting up again, I had to put ice packs on it any time I sat down to keep the inflammation down (probably damaged my tendons). If I just had rested for two weeks, or walked with a crutch continuously it would have healed fine, but they told me to keep walking on it and not use crutches in hindsight it was just too stupid for words (especially since I was working all through the weekends, instead of taking some rest). Oh well, it doesn't compare to what you have to go through

 

[Redbelly98]

Wow. Just looking through today's new posts and came across this. Wow. Hope things start healing soon but looks like it's going to take a while. Wow.

 

[Tsu]

Has she been posting anywhere today or is she off getting her arm fixed? All we need now is bubble wrap and duct tape. That'll fix 'er.

 

[turbo]

Has she been posting anywhere today or is she off getting her arm fixed? All we need now is bubble wrap and duct tape. That'll fix 'er.

Send her up here. I'll splint her with some sticks and baling twine (no frou-frou casts!) and she can live in the junked Olds Rocket 88 down back near the beaver bog (no old GMC pickup or Ford station wagon for Evo - the other two accommodations available - she gets the presidential suite). I'll chain her up and give her enough slack so she can get out to take care of "natural" functions. If she's good and doesn't re-injure herself, she'll get regular food, water, etc. When she's healed up, I'll ship her back (after the garden is weeded and next winter's wood is cut and split). I don't take payment from major health-care plans, but the Maine redneck barter system should defray costs as long as she pays for the air-fare, gas, etc. I haven't had the Rocket 88 rented out for a while so I can afford to give up that revenue stream for the sake of a PF sister. By the time she's ambulatory, I expect the garden to be weed-free, then we'll start on the firewood. The turbo-spa will whip her into fighting trim in just a couple of months.

 

[Redbelly98]

Has she been posting anywhere today or is she off getting her arm fixed?

Seems to have been active all day, up until 2 hours ago (5:30 pm Eastern USA time):

https://www.physicsforums.com/search.php?searchid=1215460

Hmm, there is a mysterious absence from PF between 11 pm last night and 9 am this morning. I wonder what possible legitimate reason could explain this! OMG, this is just like the gap in the Nixon tapes.

 

[rewebster]

Seems to have been active all day, up until 2 hours ago (5:30 pm Eastern USA time):

https://www.physicsforums.com/search.php?searchid=1215460

Hmm, there is a mysterious absence from PF between 11 pm last night and 9 am this morning. I wonder what possible legitimate reason could explain this! OMG, this is just like the gap in the Nixon tapes.

well, she may have been on a date (with that x-ray tech)?

 

[Borek]

next winter's wood is cut and split

Wow. Evo and axe. Maine massacre.

 

[turbo]

Wow. Evo and axe. Maine massacre.

Naw! I'll let her use my hydraulic wood-splitter instead of an axe. I'm going to stand very far away while she fells and bucks up the trees with my big Huquevarna saw, though.

 

[Moonbear]

Lovely, I just got a call from the doctor's office saying they just looked at my x-rays again and it appears to be a REALLY BAD fracture (gee, no kidding) and NOT TO MOVE IT! They don't know what to do though yet, so I am supposed to NOT MOVE IT until I hear back from them. I told the nurse I CAN'T MOVE IT, because there is so much pain and swelling.

Oh no! They didn't even splint it for you? Surely it should have been immobilized before sending you home? Actually, shouldn't they have checked the x-rays before sending you home? It sounds like you have some of the WORST doctors out your way! I've never heard of someone with a likely fracture being sent home before the x-rays are read and a splint and compression bandage put on to immobilize it until the swelling goes down enough to cast it.

 

[Moonbear]

Naw! I'll let her use my hydraulic wood-splitter instead of an axe. I'm going to stand very far away while she fells and bucks up the trees with my big Huquevarna saw, though.

Just let her shove her arm in. Cheaper to just amputate it than to keep patching it back up.

Evo, when you get it patched up this time, ask if there's an extended warranty offered on their work. It sounds like you could use one.

 

[turbo]

Oh no! They didn't even splint it for you? Surely it should have been immobilized before sending you home? Actually, shouldn't they have checked the x-rays before sending you home? It sounds like you have some of the WORST doctors out your way! I've never heard of someone with a likely fracture being sent home before the x-rays are read and a splint and compression bandage put on to immobilize it until the swelling goes down enough to cast it.

I'm tellin' ya, Moonie - Evo would be better off with redneck ER. The city-grads that come to Maine to intern are often just going through the motions.

 

[tribdog]

breaking your arm once is sad. Breaking it again, in the same manner and in the same place while doing the same thing is...well, not that smart. If you keep falling into a ravine, quit standing near the edge. I used to cut my hand ALL the time, then I turned the knife around and started holding it by the handle, ta dah, no more cuts.

 

[rewebster]

I think its Kansas, right?---Kansas has got to be one of the flattest states in the US, but still..."The Trench of Sighs"


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridge_of_Sighs

 

[Evo]

Send her up here. I'll splint her with some sticks and baling twine (no frou-frou casts!) and she can live in the junked Olds Rocket 88 down back near the beaver bog (no old GMC pickup or Ford station wagon for Evo - the other two accommodations available - she gets the presidential suite). I'll chain her up and give her enough slack so she can get out to take care of "natural" functions. If she's good and doesn't re-injure herself, she'll get regular food, water, etc. When she's healed up, I'll ship her back (after the garden is weeded and next winter's wood is cut and split). I don't take payment from major health-care plans, but the Maine redneck barter system should defray costs as long as she pays for the air-fare, gas, etc. I haven't had the Rocket 88 rented out for a while so I can afford to give up that revenue stream for the sake of a PF sister. By the time she's ambulatory, I expect the garden to be weed-free, then we'll start on the firewood. The turbo-spa will whip her into fighting trim in just a couple of months.

Naw! I'll let her use my hydraulic wood-splitter instead of an axe. I'm going to stand very far away while she fells and bucks up the trees with my big Huquevarna saw, though.

:!) :!) I get to use the Huequevarna?

 

[Kurdt]

She wants to see the wizard but hasn't quite got her transport sorted.

 

[wolram]

Send her up here. I'll splint her with some sticks and baling twine (no frou-frou casts!) and she can live in the junked Olds Rocket 88 down back near the beaver bog (no old GMC pickup or Ford station wagon for Evo - the other two accommodations available - she gets the presidential suite). I'll chain her up and give her enough slack so she can get out to take care of "natural" functions. If she's good and doesn't re-injure herself, she'll get regular food, water, etc. When she's healed up, I'll ship her back (after the garden is weeded and next winter's wood is cut and split). I don't take payment from major health-care plans, but the Maine redneck barter system should defray costs as long as she pays for the air-fare, gas, etc. I haven't had the Rocket 88 rented out for a while so I can afford to give up that revenue stream for the sake of a PF sister. By the time she's ambulatory, I expect the garden to be weed-free, then we'll start on the firewood. The turbo-spa will whip her into fighting trim in just a couple of months.

That is cruelty, she should have INTERNET privileges.

 

[Evo]

Oh no! They didn't even splint it for you? Surely it should have been immobilized before sending you home? Actually, shouldn't they have checked the x-rays before sending you home? It sounds like you have some of the WORST doctors out your way! I've never heard of someone with a likely fracture being sent home before the x-rays are read and a splint and compression bandage put on to immobilize it until the swelling goes down enough to cast it.

They have absolutely no idea what they are doing. So funny to get the frantic call this morning "DON'T MOVE YOUR ARM!"




I feel so sorry for the guy with the broken foot they sent home with nothing, not even a prescription for pain killers. And there was something wrong. He had numbness and fell when he broke his foot and almost passed out in the waiting room. AND THEY SENT HIM HOME! He said he didn't feel right and asked to lay down, but they closed at 8:30PM. I wouldn't be surprised if he was having a heart attack. I can't believe that they didn't send him to the ER. He was in his 50's and rich, from his clothes and watch, so this wasn't some uninsured bum.

 

[Moonbear]

I feel so sorry for the guy with the broken foot they sent home with nothing, not even a prescription for pain killers. And there was something wrong. He had numbness and fell when he broke his foot and almost passed out in the waiting room. AND THEY SENT HIM HOME! He said he didn't feel right and asked to lay down, but they closed at 8:30PM. I wouldn't be surprised if he was having a heart attack. I can't believe that they didn't send him to the ER.

He could have been having a stroke! He should have been taken straight from there to an ER, not sent home. They need to know when a case is beyond what they can handle, and send those to the ER. Okay, that's it, you're not allowed to go to Urgent Care anymore when you break yourself...only the ER from now on (though, I'd really prefer you just stopped breaking yourself...what happened to your safety harness to keep you from sliding into the ditch of doom?)

 

[Evo]

He could have been having a stroke! He should have been taken straight from there to an ER, not sent home. They need to know when a case is beyond what they can handle, and send those to the ER. Okay, that's it, you're not allowed to go to Urgent Care anymore when you break yourself...only the ER from now on (though, I'd really prefer you just stopped breaking yourself...what happened to your safety harness to keep you from sliding into the ditch of doom?)

Oh geeze, it could have been a stroke! numbness on one side, he was rather slow and disoriented. Kept saying he couldn't feel anything on his right side. I kept talking to him because he just seemed to be needing help. A couple of other people in the waiting room noticed and began questioning him.

 

[Moonbear]

Oh geeze, it could have been a stroke! numbness on one side, he was rather slow and disoriented. Kept saying he couldn't feel anything on his right side. I kept talking to him because he just seemed to be needing help. A couple of other people in the waiting room noticed and began questioning him.

They're going to have one heck of a malpractice lawsuit to deal with if someone with that obvious of stroke symptoms (not to mention a broken foot) was sent home without treatment. Even if it wasn't a stroke, the symptoms are ones that should not have been ignored.

 

[GeorginaS]

Good heavens, Evo. That's to cover everything about that Urgent Care place. I hope that guy with the foot had someone with him who had enough sense to get him to ER.

But, you, Evo. Yes I'm talking to you. Did you go to your doctor today and get stuff done? Like splinting and whatnot and, at the very least, good drugs?

Also, I'm sorry you wiped out again. Stop it. Please?

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

They're going to have one heck of a malpractice lawsuit to deal with if someone with that obvious of stroke symptoms (not to mention a broken foot) was sent home without treatment. Even if it wasn't a stroke, the symptoms are ones that should not have been ignored.

I wouldn't wait for someone to have a lawsuit.

Evo you should report these numbskulls. Are they the same place you went to last time that sent you home after your surgery even though you had an infection?

 

[JasonRox]

He was in his 50's and rich, from his clothes and watch, so this wasn't some uninsured bum.

Exactly how I don't want my health care system to run. Anyone and everyone can get help here.

I had to go see the doctor today and only waited like 15 minutes. Long wait times only exist in busy hospitals, which would happen anywhere in the world.

 

[Saladsamurai]

You should put a trampoline in that ravine Think about it for a second. . . you get the visual yet?. . . I do!


But seriously. Get the trampoline.

 

[turbo]

That is cruelty, she should have INTERNET privileges.

Internet privileges?! An important part of rustic luxury is freedom from modern distractions. The Olds does not even have a battery in it, so the AM radio won't work, either. Nothing to distract from the soothing croaking of the frogs, buzzing of the mosquitoes, yipping of the coyotes, growling of the bears... Ah, the great outdoors!

 

[Moonbear]

Exactly how I don't want my health care system to run. Anyone and everyone can get help here.

The source of payment for care doesn't prevent the incompetents from opening a practice. Unfortunately, it is part of why health care costs increase, because the incompetents are the ones driving up the malpractice insurance costs.

I'm curious, though, because I don't know how this aspect of it works in Canada. What are the options for the patient and/or their next of kin in the case of malpractice? Are there restrictions on lawsuits? Who pays if there are actual damages awarded? Does the government cover that, or is there private malpractice insurance like in the U.S.?

In the situation Evo described, with the symptoms that guy had, method of payment is not an issue here either. He should never have been allowed to walk out the door. An Urgent Care center is not an Emergency Room, so really wouldn't have been able to treat a stroke victim. Nonetheless, they do have the responsibility and obligation to call an ambulance and have him transported to an emergency room, where an emergent case (i.e., possible stroke) would receive treatment regardless of insurance. They are supposed to function as after-hours gatekeepers, essentially. They can treat the non-life-threatening problems that arise during inconvenient hours and you don't want to wait until morning to call and schedule an appointment with your regular doctor that might not be until later in the afternoon the next day. For example, a toddler screaming in the middle of the night with an earache is not something parents want to wait until the next afternoon to get treated, though it could otherwise wait that long. In the case of a broken arm, getting it stabilized and splinted and checking that it can wait for an orthopedist appointment for proper casting can be provided. More serious, life-threatening problems get referred to an ER. For example, stroke, heart attack, or even the case of a broken arm where blood flow is compromised by the fracture.