Broken Clavicle Journey Part 1 - Surgery to put plate in
This is my journey of breaking my right clavicle, getting surgery to put in a plate then having the plate removed over a year later. This blog is part 1 of 2.
Day one:
October 6, 2018 I broke my clavicle when I and my bike fell avoiding another cyclist. I have fallen off bikes many times so as I started to fall in slow motion and couldn't unclip my right foot, I just braced myself for the hit. But this time, instead of just rolling off my shoulder, I heard a pop and I knew it wasn't good. I laid there waiting for the pain as friends and strangers came to my aid unclipping my shoe from the pedal and moving me to the side of the road. I was participating in a charity race so the other riders wanted to contact the race director for instructions instead of calling for an ambulance. They tried in vain so someone rode to the next rest stop to alert the volunteers there. The race director was summoned and he came back to see what was going on. About 30 min had now passed and the adrenaline shock of the bone break has passed so now I was in a lot of pain. You could see the jagged edge of the clavicle trying to poke through the skin so the race director called for an ambulance.
The ambulance driver was a sweet Irish guy who gave me Fentanyl and I felt no pain after that. They took Xrays and decided surgery wasn't needed since the bone ends were touching so they put me in a sling and gave me more Fentanyl (Lovely stuff, it really killed the pain but didn't make me drowsy. I can see why people get addicted to this stuff.)
My two friends drove to the hospital ER where I was and stayed with me the whole time (such sweethearts) then drove me home stopping to eat lunch along the way. My arm was in a sling and they cut my jersey off of me so I just wore the hospital gown home (and lunch). They stopped by the pharmacist for me so I could get some Norco for later.
I got home, fed the dogs lunch and felt fine.
Then the Fentanyl wore off. I was in excruciating pain. I couldn't lay down nor lift my arm. I took some Norco but it just made me drowsy and took a little edge off the pain but not enough to make me happy. I ended up sleeping in a reclining chair that night (and for the next 4 months.)
Day 2:
Rough sleep, shoulder hurt, hurt to get up from chair. Dogs need a walk but I can barely move around the house. Norco just makes me drowsy but raises my heart rate so I decided to just stick to Ibuprofen and I can't tell the difference in the pain abatement so will stick with the non-opoid stuff. I am right handed and came to realize how dependent I was on my right side. I couldn't brush my teeth nor wash my face effectively.
Day 3:
Feeling better so decided to walk the dogs. Just a short walk holding leash in my good arm. They tried to run after a cat and that was not fun holding them back (I have undisciplined chows) so am limiting the walk to non-cat neighborhoods.
Day 4:
I need to get groceries so I drove my car with my left hand. I know I'm not supposed to drive but I'm living alone now (husband is on business assignment in East Coast for another 6 months.) Pain is lessening but still hurts to get out of recliner in the morning. My arm is in a sling continuously since I don't want the bones to move out of place as they heal.
Day 5:
Follow up appointment with Orthopedics Nurse (Rita). Drove myself there and they took Xrays again. Nurse says no surgery needed but asks about my activity level and reports to Doc. The doctor comes into speak to me after seeing the movement of the bones after only 4 days and suggests I get surgery to put a plate in. Normally a woman my age (over 50) would not be a good candidate for surgery but I'm pretty active and was planning to run 2 marathons in the next couple months so he thought at this rate the bones would never get a chance to heal.
Day 20:
I get a metal plate with 7 screws put in. Fortunately, my husband was able to come home for a week to hang out during the surgery but he left 3 days after surgery.
Day 24:
I cannot raise my arm enough to wash under my arm and I can't reach under the left arm either so I can't wash my arm pits. The shower feels wonderful but I'm trying to be careful about keeping the bandage dry. I can't wash my hair, I can't wash my hair by left hand. I decided to invest in dry shampoo sprays.
In light of the trouble, I'm only going to shower every other day. It's not like I'm doing anything to warrant daily showers.
Day 25 +
All the pain I had when I first broke the clavicle came back after the surgery. The skin was swollen for about a week but then the swelling finally went down and the skin really started to wrinkle and I could see the scar more clearly.
But the the great thing was that my shoulders were even again and my scapula that was protruding in the back was back to normal. There was still a lot of pain but I wasn't sure if the shoulder pain was from the impact to the shoulder or just the surgery.
I was so grateful Dr. Lucas OK'd the surgery. I know the Nurse Practitioner was just going by the book but assuming I wouldn't get the surgery but the doc assessed my activity level and decided this was the right thing to do.
Coincidentally, I have a friend who was in a bike/car accident earlier in the year and also broke her clavicle. She did not get the surgery and has had a worse time recovering than I. She had to have 8 months of physical therapy and her shoulders are visibly uneven where one side is lower and shorter than the other.
Two months after the surgery, I started physical therapy because I could not raise my arm above shoulder height. The doctor gave me exercises to do and I was diligent about the practice and was able to cut my therapy time to only 5 sessions. I also went back to riding my bicycle and easy weight lifting within 8 weeks.
I wore the sling constantly for 6 weeks after the surgery and had to learn to do everything with my left hand. I ended up buying button down shirts since I couldn't raise my arm to put on an over the head shirt. I got an electric toothbrush since I wasn't good at brushing my teeth with my left hand. Thank god I have a bidet toilet already. I also bought several ponchos (that happened to be in season this year) to wear as coats.
Day one:
October 6, 2018 I broke my clavicle when I and my bike fell avoiding another cyclist. I have fallen off bikes many times so as I started to fall in slow motion and couldn't unclip my right foot, I just braced myself for the hit. But this time, instead of just rolling off my shoulder, I heard a pop and I knew it wasn't good. I laid there waiting for the pain as friends and strangers came to my aid unclipping my shoe from the pedal and moving me to the side of the road. I was participating in a charity race so the other riders wanted to contact the race director for instructions instead of calling for an ambulance. They tried in vain so someone rode to the next rest stop to alert the volunteers there. The race director was summoned and he came back to see what was going on. About 30 min had now passed and the adrenaline shock of the bone break has passed so now I was in a lot of pain. You could see the jagged edge of the clavicle trying to poke through the skin so the race director called for an ambulance.
 |
| Broken but still close together. |
 |
| Lunch stop |
My two friends drove to the hospital ER where I was and stayed with me the whole time (such sweethearts) then drove me home stopping to eat lunch along the way. My arm was in a sling and they cut my jersey off of me so I just wore the hospital gown home (and lunch). They stopped by the pharmacist for me so I could get some Norco for later.
I got home, fed the dogs lunch and felt fine.
Then the Fentanyl wore off. I was in excruciating pain. I couldn't lay down nor lift my arm. I took some Norco but it just made me drowsy and took a little edge off the pain but not enough to make me happy. I ended up sleeping in a reclining chair that night (and for the next 4 months.)
Day 2:
Rough sleep, shoulder hurt, hurt to get up from chair. Dogs need a walk but I can barely move around the house. Norco just makes me drowsy but raises my heart rate so I decided to just stick to Ibuprofen and I can't tell the difference in the pain abatement so will stick with the non-opoid stuff. I am right handed and came to realize how dependent I was on my right side. I couldn't brush my teeth nor wash my face effectively.
Day 3:
Feeling better so decided to walk the dogs. Just a short walk holding leash in my good arm. They tried to run after a cat and that was not fun holding them back (I have undisciplined chows) so am limiting the walk to non-cat neighborhoods.
Day 4:
I need to get groceries so I drove my car with my left hand. I know I'm not supposed to drive but I'm living alone now (husband is on business assignment in East Coast for another 6 months.) Pain is lessening but still hurts to get out of recliner in the morning. My arm is in a sling continuously since I don't want the bones to move out of place as they heal.
 |
| Comparison of clavicles after accident and before surgery. |
Day 5:
 |
| Movement of bones after 4 days |
Day 20:
I get a metal plate with 7 screws put in. Fortunately, my husband was able to come home for a week to hang out during the surgery but he left 3 days after surgery.
Day 24:
I cannot raise my arm enough to wash under my arm and I can't reach under the left arm either so I can't wash my arm pits. The shower feels wonderful but I'm trying to be careful about keeping the bandage dry. I can't wash my hair, I can't wash my hair by left hand. I decided to invest in dry shampoo sprays.In light of the trouble, I'm only going to shower every other day. It's not like I'm doing anything to warrant daily showers.
Day 25 +
All the pain I had when I first broke the clavicle came back after the surgery. The skin was swollen for about a week but then the swelling finally went down and the skin really started to wrinkle and I could see the scar more clearly.
But the the great thing was that my shoulders were even again and my scapula that was protruding in the back was back to normal. There was still a lot of pain but I wasn't sure if the shoulder pain was from the impact to the shoulder or just the surgery.
Coincidentally, I have a friend who was in a bike/car accident earlier in the year and also broke her clavicle. She did not get the surgery and has had a worse time recovering than I. She had to have 8 months of physical therapy and her shoulders are visibly uneven where one side is lower and shorter than the other.
Two months after the surgery, I started physical therapy because I could not raise my arm above shoulder height. The doctor gave me exercises to do and I was diligent about the practice and was able to cut my therapy time to only 5 sessions. I also went back to riding my bicycle and easy weight lifting within 8 weeks.
I wore the sling constantly for 6 weeks after the surgery and had to learn to do everything with my left hand. I ended up buying button down shirts since I couldn't raise my arm to put on an over the head shirt. I got an electric toothbrush since I wasn't good at brushing my teeth with my left hand. Thank god I have a bidet toilet already. I also bought several ponchos (that happened to be in season this year) to wear as coats.
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