Have you ever had a traumatic injury before?

Question

Last Monday at around 5 am, I took my puppy out to do her morning potty. I live in the Midwest, specifically IL and there was still a little snow/ ice on the ground. I walked on our patio and to our mulch (as I had done the day before because it was dry), as I was walking I'm not sure if I tripped or something but I just fell on my butt. I called for my dad because he was in the kitchen and he came out, asked me to stand up and I couldn't. I just told him to take Remy Rose in (that's our puppy, I didn't want her to be scared). Then my mom came out, she was begging me to stand up and I couldn't, so my mom called the ambulance. They got me up and took me to the hospital.

I broke my hip, there's more fancy wordage but that's essentially what I did. I'm 35 and in one day, I did 5 things I had never done before. That is, be taken by ambulance, go to the hospital, break a bone, have surgery and have anesthesia.

I had surgery Monday night and by Tuesday evening I was being released. I now have a rod and two screws in my leg/ hip area. This whole thing has made me feel very vulnerable and emotional. As crazy as it sounds, in some ways I feel different some how but I don't know how.

That's why I asked this question, to see how other people who had traumatic injuries felt after. So, how did you feel? Any advice to share? Thanks.

ShiftingMonke · Accepted Answer

34 year old guy, next door in Indiana. I've broken many bones in my life, apart from the initial nausea, the pain goes away rather quickly and there's hardly any lasting issues. Surgery- especially anesthesia- has never concerned me because I'm either gonna wake up fine, or die while asleep and it was beyond my control so there wasn't a point in worrying about it.

I will share a recent one that has kind of shaken me a bit tho. I was helping some friends move and I carried a washing machine out of the back of my truck and into their house. I'm on the big side- 6'5" and +/- 300 pounds- so carrying heavy stuff is just one of the things I've always been good at. But that day my back started to hurt, as it sometimes does, and I ignored it. As the day progressed, it was really starting to hurt and I disregarded it. By the end of the day, I couldn't get out of my truck. Too proud to call an ambulance, I hobbled to the hospital but left the emergency room after not getting treated in what I thought was a reasonable amount of time. I tried it again 2 days later, but left before a diagnosis for the same reason. Finally a mutual friend called in a favor to a neurologist who ordered a scan, and found that I had 2 herniated disks and several other bulging disks, as well as arthritis in almost every joint of my spine. Turns out years of being a donkey ground my back down to nothing. I asked the surgeon what can be done, and he said 'basically nothing'. Whether or not he was telling the truth, I do not know. I just took it easy and eventually the pain died down and I'm going about life as normal, albeit more cautious about what I carry.

Insofar as advice, the only words I can give you is to be mindful of your limits. While still young, we need to do what we can now to keep ourselves intact for our golden years. The days of bouncing back up are behind us, so a little precaution will save us a lot of pain in the long run.

What you feel, if I had to guess, is mortal. When we we were young, we were on top of the world. We had vigor and energy and imagination. We never noticed it slowly ebbing until faced with our own mortality, so it feels like an innocence has been robbed from us, but that's just life. I'm sorry to hear you were in pain, but I'm glad you're recovering. Extract what lessons you can from it and be glad it wasn't worse. Remember an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Lliam · Accepted Answer

I'm so sorry that happened to you. I hope you fully recover and quickly.

I could have been badly injured or killed several times. But, fortunately, I've never had any very traumatic injuries.

I broke two fingers in 9th grade. And I broke another one years later.

In my teens, I was driving a delivery van, got broadsided and knocked unconscious for several minutes. But I wasn't badly injured.

In 11th grade, I rear ended someone and banged my lower lip on the steering wheel. Both cars were built in the 60s and there was no damage. But I had to go get my lip sewed up and I looked really ugly for a while.

I am a guitarist and, in 12th grade, I cut the tip of my left index finger badly. I had to get stitches and was unable to play guitar for several weeks.

Potteplante · Accepted Answer

Well, my first traumatic injury - happened in a traumatic situation, I was being abused and started bleeding out of my vagina. 9 year old me panicked and thought I was about to die. I don't think I need to explain to much how I felt afterwards.

When I was about 12-13 my silk blouse caught on fire - and what I felt afterwards was pain, a lot of pain and fear of fire that I still carry around. Though I can now have cozy lights - at distance.

Whatthefluff · Accepted Answer

Holy crap that’s rough. Are you in a lot of pain now?

BCRanger10 · Answer

Do the aneurisms I sometimes get while reading posts here or on other social media platforms count?

eagle1951 · Answer

in 97 had to have my lower back fused. so i have 4 screens 6 screws and 2 rods  my neck i have a lot more metal just done in 2021

Guardian45 · Answer

General Anesthesia does have after effects. It takes a while to wear off, maybe 2 weeks.

Agape93 · Answer

Yeap

Have you ever had a traumatic injury before?

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