Tuesday, July 29 2008 was the date that I forfeited the use of my right hand due to an idiotic spurt of the rage virus. I broke the fifth metacarpal's (pinky's) neck above the top knuckle. I have to refrain from detail due to pecking on the keyboard with my left hand. However, I may update every odd day. Keep in mind that it takes a lot of time even to type out a sentence void of grammatical errors.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008. I lost my job the following day as a web designer, the job that I depended upon for basic survival. I live alone and have the full brunt of monthly bills to contend with along with the mortgage. I have one month's living allowance expense via credit card self-cheques(checks), I am not sure what is going to happen after that. I received more bad news that the hand specialist cannot see me until two weeks, on August 12.
Regret is a very jagged and bitter pill to swallow. I am full of self-loathing. But hey, who hasn't done something regretful? I rarely need to go to the hospital. The last time was for stitches from glass about eight years ago. I am not one to plague hospitals from alcohol/drug induced incidents every weekend. Yes, this is my third testosterone induced visit during my life and guaranteed last time. Three strikes and I'm out, three strikes too late or at least one. Regardless and perpetually moot. I am at the mercy of medical staff and I have good reason to be scared. Read on for a shocking revelation.
During the incident and currently still, I search the web endlessly to find out what I am up against. The prognosis does not look good. It seems either most people do not have their fracture tended or it is likely a rash of medical malpractice cases. From all the personal accounts of Boxer's Fracture, everyone is slighty disabled. The popular consensus is that the pinky finger has a deficient arc and tends to fold over the ring finger thus impeding a proper formation of the fist. This occurrence can have a detrimental effect on the hand's grip and other dexterity-type of needs. The typical depressed knuckle may be aesthetic to some, but most people have rightful vanity issues. I do not really care about a depressed knuckle or bump over the metacarpal fuse, but I have to wonder if these are also the effects of shoddy medical repairs. At this point, I am thoroughly flustered and do not know what to make of anything. There is much more reading for shock value.
I have read medical debates over the proper technique regarding the 'allowable' rotation of the fractured metacarpal and my guess is that the mainstream procedure is faulty, therefore allowing abnormal rotation to occur and is why most post fracture patients have lifelong problems. It could be that most patients abuse the healing process to offset the setting of the metacarpal alignment, but I sincerely doubt it as some patients had full arm/hand casts. In my case, there were initial X-Rays done, but none after the the bone setting was performed. I also cast doubts of uncertainty that simply straightening or motioning my hand into a half brace was proper alignment to set for the fusing stage. It is highly likely that the metacarpal neck is crooked and/or out of the 30 degree 'allowable', meaning a misalignment is fusing during the two week wait to see the hand specialist. This tends to make me think that I will be the next victim of a debilitated hand at the expense of 'splash and dash' hospital visits. If I have to get the fifth metacarpal reset in two weeks, well... I just lost two weeks of healing. Not to mention a potential loss of income from not being able to even sign a job application form. This is NOT acceptable and another testament of an already poor health care system.
This is why I am documenting what is happening. I will surely file a malpractice suit is my hand becomes partially disabled from a fracture. I have read enough information over the web to fear the worse. I understand the hand is the most delicate of the body's design other than the brain and spinal cord. As humans, we depend on the dexterity of our limbs for everyday functions. Shoddy medical attention is not excusable for a disability. Many Boxer's Fracture patients have lost the ability to play instruments up to and including the loss of careers. This does not sound like a text book fracture repair to me.
Going back to the grotesque arcing of the pinky, something my 'humorous' medical attendant echoes within my nightmares, "On a lighter note, your pinky will be easier to touch your thumb with." After reading online accounts of abnormal finger arcing, I distinctly tasted vomit in my mouth.
18 comments:
I broke the 5th metacarpal 12 months ago. 2 external pins were drilled into it, called a k-wire. On the 6th week post operation they were removed. 12 months on and i have a crooked little finger with an arthritis type of feeling in it everyday. I believe that the post op hand therapy was of poor quality and the people providing the therapy were in training. If anyone out there is going for an operation make sure the post therpy/physio is the best you can get and do the exercises everyday. Also get your hand out of the plastic moulded cast asap. Push your self to do the stretches as it will save you from having a crooked finger for the rest of your life.
Firstly, thank you for stopping by and posting.
Secondly, my sincerest condolences.
Your incident and many other untold stories have documented medical carelessness. Again, I am no expert nor even a novice in the medical field, but awareness must be brought forth.
My minor disability is not comparable, but my pinkie does not function properly and doubtfully never will. I have to wonder if that is because of simple negligence.
Has the medical field lost touch with a patients basic needs? Perhaps there is some kind of phenomenon of medical burn-out at play. Like an automotive mechanic, cheating with excess silicone instead of properly addressing the issue, who is to know?
Sure, we all make mistakes in life. If we cut ourselves, we have to hope that someone takes pride into the stitching to minimize the scarring. Obviously, when we break a hand bone, we have to do more than hope... but what else can we do? I suppose we are not empowered for much else, but to merely hope for the best.
It is a sad state of affairs. I suppose I got off easy being that no surgery was involved. I appreciate that seeing how many others go through a lot worse than I could imagine. Then again, a lot of people come out of the deal with a near perfect finger/mobility. I guess it is all a crap shoot in the end.
When I broke my metacarpal, I did not know where to go asides from the local hospital and let them take me through the motions. Without express knowledge or guidance, I was at the whim of total strangers. I knew something was going to be wrong when a half-cast was slid on. For mercy sake, an ever so slight tweak of my pinkie could have made a world of difference before the break fused crooked. In my personal opinion in regards to surgery-based... there should not be cases of crooked fingers.
How does one medical board have the express right to dictate throughout the entire medical field of what the best method is, when the perceived 'best' is just not working in many cases?
The power of the Internet, we are to be heard or rather 'read'. I suppose this is our last stand, we only have a soap box and nothing more. If I could warn everyone not to let emotions take over... funny that I never knew what I know now when I let emotions take over. You know, I a man (pounds chest). It is hard to gain experience or prudence beforehand. Now, every passing day is just another day of regret.
I think schools should teach how fragile our bodies really are. We all have this 'immortal' ignorance/complex embedded into our skulls. Perhaps they taught that our bodies are indeed fragile in biology, for shame because I opted for physics and chemistry. Whoops, I can hear a faint voice saying something about "Newtons' Laws of Motion", riiiiight. All in all, probably easier preached than trying to have an ounce of common sense during a episode of rage.
Regretfully, one must cross their good fingers in hopes for straight fingers.
Again, welcomed visitor, thanks for sharing your tale of woe and spreading the word.
people like you make me sick. you want medical schools to teach how fragile bones are???? Maybe you should of thought twice before you did the dumb ass thing that hurt yourself- maybe you should treat yourself better instead of blaming it on someone else. You screwed yourself and then are going to whine about a less than perfect outcome? Even with good treatment, bones rarely heal perfectly.- you should not have gotten yourself in the predicament to begin with. God made you, you broke you - DEAL WITH IT!!!!!I feel sorry for the poor doctor who had to treat you.
"I feel sorry for the poor doctor who had to treat you." LOL Hmmm... I don't feel sorry for the "poor doctor" because my taxes and health care payments pay for treatment. I believe this is all over your young head, but thanks for the self-righteous/holier than thou input though.
I have to say I never really thought bones the bones in my hand to be quite so fragile, (mine was sustained from a fairly standard blow) to a phone booth which was plastic.
perhaps our entertainment culture conditions us to think of ourselves as stronger and more substantial than we really are, and that minor injuries don't carry long term consequences..
do you still have any stiffness pain or reduced mobility incidentally?
Condolences for accidentally joining the club.
I was never a habitual puncher since I was probably eleven-years-old when I hammered my fist 'down' into a plate glass window and received a large Y-shaped scar near my wrist. However, alcohol and a broken heart can make the fists do stupid things in the past. The last time was from coping with stress while dealing with abstaining from cigarettes and alcohol (these two 'buddies' had been with me for years and years). I didn't think straight and when I buckled over to punch my carpeted floor ... there was only so much kinetic energy the underlay could absorb. Hhaha. Ah, well, silly us for ignoring our mortality and weaknesses.
I concur with you. With an supersaturated dosage of violence coming from supposedly innocent children cartoons to mainstream TV, it was normal and seemingly safe for some good ol' fist lunges to release some testosterone-charged steam. Oh, sure, we were taught to be strong men while we were still children. So much to add, but so little space and time.
I suppose my main gripe about my pinkie is the negative rotational angle. When I grip the steering wheel, my pinkie tip tends to dig into the next. It really pisses me off to be blunt. If I place my left hand fingers onto the computer table edge, just before the main hand knuckles, I can pivot my hand up and down without any finger issues. However, I do the same motion with my right hand, the frickin' pinkie will try to buckle because its main knuckle doesn't rotate properly or likely the tendon is FUBAR. When that pinkie buckles at its knuckle, it will begin to angle into the next finger ... the byproduct of that damn malrotation. So, this deformity is very evident while gripping any object from a steering wheel to a can of soda. Well, I can feel the pinkie dig when forming a fist. Also, I can hear and feel a faint 'crack' when the pinkie main knuckle pivots.
I'm still thinking that I got the ol' patch up and boot out job from the hospital without setting up the break properly with that preformed half-brace thing. I haven't really heard from anyone else with the same symptoms therefore my suspicion of malpractice still stands in my mind. Then again, I'm not educated in the medical field enough to judge.
I don't really feel any pain from the pinkie as soreness goes. All in all, I would have to say I have reduced mobility in my pinkie because its knuckle doesn't pivot properly and then it's crooked when it does pivot. It's been a couple of years now since the mishap happened, but I have daily reminders that make me moody because it bugs the hell out of me and makes the regrets a too sharp of pill to swallow. :*(
^+1 "/"
I have the exact same problem, it also annoys the sh%t out of me each and every day.
i broke the the metacarpal too on my hand not finger and had to have surgery. Being a single mother being out of work was a nightmare. Although now i kind of regret forcing myself to use my hand and go back to work because it swells everytime i use it, i have a lump on my hand and it feels like some-thing is loose inside. have looked every-where for some information as to whether i may have to have a operation to correct it again or whether i will just have to put up with it.
Jennie. Thanks for stopping by. I don't think any specialists came by this blog. We're pretty much all in the same boat, albeit some better than others.
Basically, my pinkie is screwed up. The break has caused the bone to set maladjusted as in rotational, so when I move my pinkie as in making a fist, the tip wants to claw into the next finger. Also, the knuckle doesn't flex properly, it's hindered. I think poor 'DugNpinky' has the same outcome. I really don't know if it's the type of splint used or that's the nature of the beast when it comes to bone fractures. Though, I wonder if someone fractured their arm... if their arm would become twisted after. Hhahaha.
Yeah, being a single mom with only one hand would be a lot of work indeed. Luckily, I sold my car and used credit when I broke my metacarpal. I'll still be paying it off since all those bills had to be consolidated into my already bloated mortgage. It's a dismal reality how much life really costs per month. :(
Jennie, I would go speak with whomever the specialist was who performed the surgery because I would think there would be a follow-up examination scheduled depending on the time lapse since the surgery.
Oh, mind if you fess up about how you broke it... these tidbits make the blog more interesting. :)
Hey there. I'm in the same boat per se, but I type for a living. Prior to my injury I could type 60 wpm. Now I don't even want to know. It's become a disability and an annoyance. I even asked "Is it gonna stay like that afterwards?" because I saw my pinky was curved when it was in the cast and they were like "No. It'll be fine." Went back yesterday and though they can't guarantee it, they "think" physical therapy could help. Just give me the damn surgery so I can do my damn job.... :( I can live with the large lump and hell, I could even slightly tolerate my finger trying to touch the middle of my palm, but I can't deal with the inability to type.
well. My 16yr old son had a burst of rage, over a girl, punched the wall, broke his 5th whatsit. surgery 2 weeks after (xmas eve) to insert kwires. they are still in, his hand still hurts like a 'biatch' and i hope that after everything, thereapy will help regain its use. hmm.. will see!
reading the experiences depress me, my hand has been off the cast for 2 weeks now. i now notice that my pinky slightly digs towards my ring finger every time i try to grip on something. i enjoy weight lifting as a hobby, feels like that will be gone now.
After doing some online research, I wanted to ask if anyone has used this product called new grip. Looks like it may help with light malrotation of the pinky while lifting.
i broke my 5th metacarple neck when i was over seas. I was on vacation and a drunk driver almost hit me and from the anger i punched a wall and broke it. I went to the emergency room and they tried to do reduction, and i was in Serbia and they did not use any type of anesthesia or any type of medication before or after. They did this 3 times and could not reduce my fracture. When i got back to the states i went to the hospital and i got x-rays and now i have a 65 degree angulation on my 5th metacarpal.I do not have any problems with movement, so unless you broke it worse then i did you should be fine.
Boxer’s fracture is one of the most common injuries in the hand where the bone leads up to the pinkie finger. Learn about the different treatments available for this condition: cost of hand surgery.
My break occurred 35 yrs ago. Over the past six months suddenly I'm woken up by the pain daily. My hand is always swollen around 5th metacarpal. My life my turns in so much if I make a tight fist I feel the knuckle pop. I tape my pinky to my ring finger daily. The pain I tolerate is a ten. The hand specialist says she's stumped. ( x-rays and MRI) say normal. She shot my hand with cortizone twice and now I'm scheduled to see a sports medicine hand surgeon next week. Its my dominant hand. Im 55 and self employed contractor. I can't swing a hammer or lift any thing. I'm a conga player and have passed on countless gigs which I'm customed to help earn my living. I teach karate and still actively compete as a childhood dream, eventually even training in Japan. I'm going to get through this somehow I pray. The pain pills I've had prescribed are helpful but knock me out so I don't take them for my liver. I feel a voodoo doll of me somewhere has a nail driven through my pinky knuckle. If anyone finds it please remove it for God's sake before I cut you pinky off.
I broke my 4th and 5th metacarpals 6 years ago and had to have surgery and k wire put in my hand for 6 weeks till they took it out. it was then 5or 6 months before the hand was really right again but since then ive had no problems and can hit as hard as i did without an issue.
Very informative, thank you for sharing
Broken Knuckle/Boxers Fracture
Post a Comment