I went to the my hand surgeon today for a follow up on my wrist surgery. I hurt it a couple of weeks ago turning a doorknob so I've been worried about it. It was an interesting visit. He thinks I've probably just strained my wrist and I'm back in a splint for two weeks and on steroids. He pulled up my x-rays and he pointed out something interesting. This part requires a little back story.
I was in the Army from 1983 to 1992. While I was stationed in Hawaii, another soldier was horsing around and kicked my feet out from under me. He thought I was holding on to something and I wasn't so I took a spill. I extended my right arm to try to break my fall and fractured my ulnar. I also landed with the back of my head pounding the ground and my right shoulder slamming pretty hard, too. My head kind of hit in a ditch so my shoulder caught the edge. It was very painful! The soldier felt awful and was deeply apologetic, he even drove me to the hospital.
As it turned out, I tore some cartilage in my wrist and had the fracture. Later on I discovered I also compacted a bone in my shoulder. I ended up having an ulnar shortening done. They go in, cut the bone in half, slice off a piece of bone, then put the two pieces back together with a steel plate. It's left to heal for a year and then the plate is removed. The Army hospitals are all pretty much teaching hospitals. The hand surgeon that was in charge of my surgery allowed her resident to do my actual surgery. He flubbed it. I didn't know for sure at the time that he flubbed it, but, I strongly suspected he flubbed it.
My doctor yesterday pointed out that my ulnar looks really long, like it has never been shortened at all. And, as he pointed out, he's done a lot of those surgeries. I told him that I wasn't surprised because another Army ortho doctor had mentioned to me that my ulnar measures 1 mm longer than it did before I had it "shortened." Of course, she was just a resident, so my doctor quickly dismissed her from the room. Lord forbid someone tell the truth! It would certainly explain why I've continued to have pain in my wrist for all of these years, this all started around 1988. Can you imagine having pain in your dominant hand and wrist for thirty years and it could have been prevented? I'm pissed!
I'm pissed enough that I've made the decision to seek the assistance of a lawyer. I've never been a litigious sort, it's really not my nature, but, this was one of the pieces of the puzzle that ended my career in the military. I was already at the 9 year mark. I was almost halfway there. I do receive disability from the Veteran's Administration, however, none of it is for my wrist. Not one dime. I think it's time I did something about it. I think it's time I stand up for myself against the giant. Instead of a rock and a slingshot, I've got a better plan, a lawyer!
wish me luck,
leadonna
I was in the Army from 1983 to 1992. While I was stationed in Hawaii, another soldier was horsing around and kicked my feet out from under me. He thought I was holding on to something and I wasn't so I took a spill. I extended my right arm to try to break my fall and fractured my ulnar. I also landed with the back of my head pounding the ground and my right shoulder slamming pretty hard, too. My head kind of hit in a ditch so my shoulder caught the edge. It was very painful! The soldier felt awful and was deeply apologetic, he even drove me to the hospital.
As it turned out, I tore some cartilage in my wrist and had the fracture. Later on I discovered I also compacted a bone in my shoulder. I ended up having an ulnar shortening done. They go in, cut the bone in half, slice off a piece of bone, then put the two pieces back together with a steel plate. It's left to heal for a year and then the plate is removed. The Army hospitals are all pretty much teaching hospitals. The hand surgeon that was in charge of my surgery allowed her resident to do my actual surgery. He flubbed it. I didn't know for sure at the time that he flubbed it, but, I strongly suspected he flubbed it.
My doctor yesterday pointed out that my ulnar looks really long, like it has never been shortened at all. And, as he pointed out, he's done a lot of those surgeries. I told him that I wasn't surprised because another Army ortho doctor had mentioned to me that my ulnar measures 1 mm longer than it did before I had it "shortened." Of course, she was just a resident, so my doctor quickly dismissed her from the room. Lord forbid someone tell the truth! It would certainly explain why I've continued to have pain in my wrist for all of these years, this all started around 1988. Can you imagine having pain in your dominant hand and wrist for thirty years and it could have been prevented? I'm pissed!
I'm pissed enough that I've made the decision to seek the assistance of a lawyer. I've never been a litigious sort, it's really not my nature, but, this was one of the pieces of the puzzle that ended my career in the military. I was already at the 9 year mark. I was almost halfway there. I do receive disability from the Veteran's Administration, however, none of it is for my wrist. Not one dime. I think it's time I did something about it. I think it's time I stand up for myself against the giant. Instead of a rock and a slingshot, I've got a better plan, a lawyer!
wish me luck,
leadonna
Good luck!
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear that they screwed up so badly.