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Software Development with a Broken Arm
March 07, 2005
So that's why I haven't posted in a month. I wasn't going to blog this till I read Jon Eaves blog a similar injury.
After reading Jon's post and picture, I consider myself lucky since mine isn't nearly as bad. It happened about a month ago while snowboarding. On the east coast the mountains aren't nearly as big but the slope conditions tend to be more icy (codeword: "machine made packed powder"). I've done that double-black slope several times, but this time I landed wrong causing a "compression fracture" right above my left elbow.
I remember people (surgeon, nurse, social worker, friends, family) were pretty concerned that this would affect my ability to make a living, since I couldn't use my left hand for a while. I could take comfort in the following facts: (1) 3 years ago, I'd worked on a project with someone who had lost motor control of his left hand completely, and he was one of the most productive people on that team; (2) I had motor control of my hand and fingers, which I remember testing on the slope while waiting for ski patrol.
I can't think of many desk jobs these days that don't involve sitting in front of a computer and typing. And not all jobs in software involve a lot of typing. The average consulting role involves a good mix of roles like analyst, manager, architect, programmer, troubleshooter, and all the sub-roles for those roles. Needless to say, I spend a lot of my day not typing at all. Having block/right-click/copy does help also.
Things are a lot better now and I've been able to type with both hands for a couple of weeks, although I'm still working on elbow flexion and extension in physical therapy. Here are some other observations:
- Accepted but unpracticed fact: Wearing a helmet helps - I know lots of people who ski, bike, raft, whatever without them. Myself included sometimes (Yes, I was wearing one this time). But you can't deny that when you go down, it helps to have them on.
- When you have a broken arm, not traveling every week, switching planes, renting cars and staying at some hotel helps.
- Will the metal screws in my elbow cause trouble with airport security?
- Even though I haven't posted in a month, my blog has received more hits than any prior month. Why? My iPod Shuffle pics. People really are fanatics about that product.
One thing I did not do is try out other ways of input besides keyboards. Just copy-pasting more. I've had bad experiences with voice recognition in the past. Enough to not bother with it for a while. I actually went to 100% blackberry for email and stuff for several days including 3 days at the hospital. Cheers for that device!
March 7, 2005 at 12:29 AM in General | Permalink
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Comments
Very sorry to hear about your arm Vik. It sucks, but the good news is the body is an amazing thing, and you're very likely to get out of it with minimal hassles.
It's much better to break a bone than to do what I did, so take some comfort in that. Bones heal really quickly and the only thing is to take care with your physio.
I've got a chunk of metal replacing my radial head (I squooshed it beyond repair) and that's about the size of a wine bottle cork.
That doesn't set off the metal detectors here in Australia, and I've been through Melbourne, Sydney, Hobart airports.
I did ask a security guard about it, and they said it will make it more likely that change in my pocket will set it off, because the overall mass of metal in my body is "larger".
If you've got any questions about physio, rehab, work life, then drop me an email. I'll be happy to talk to you about it.
Good luck, it does get better.
Posted by: Jon Eaves | Mar 8, 2005 4:25:02 PM
my arm looks just like yours. And I have the cork bottle implant as well. Surgery was last tuesday and they just took the stitches out today. Ive been in a lot of pain the last couple weeks, but after today I feel my pain has just begun. I was just wondering if you had to go through pysical therapy and what that pain was like. I dont think I can handle much more pain. let me know what you think.
Posted by: Suzette | May 6, 2005 2:49:19 AM
Suzette- The pain lasted for 3-4 weeks after surgery, but I was on pain killers so that was a BIG help. Definately ask your doctor about that! I started physical therapy 5 weeks after surgery, thankfully the pain was mostly gone by then. They do push you in phsyical therapy and there's discomfort when that happens, but not real PAIN compared to what you've already been through. It's 3+ months later now and I'm still going through physical therapy. Hope that helps.
-Vik
Posted by: Vik | May 6, 2005 3:32:19 PM
Suzette,
i am sure you must be much better by now.
For those young people interested in helping people like you they should check out: Physical Therapy Schools
Posted by: David Hunter | Dec 2, 2005 4:25:28 PM
Hey guys, I just read the blogs on physical therapy and I hope I'm posting to the right forum. I, too, smashed the radial head on my left arm after a 12 ft fall. Therapy has been hell. The extension is coming back but the flexion hasn't improved for a week to date. The therapist has not been pleased and she works the flexion even harder to get results. For me, the pain is horrendous. With an outlook of a few months this does not bode well. (It's been 2 weeks since the surgery, 4 since the accident).
Posted by: Edward Jansen | Feb 23, 2006 7:47:40 AM
Edward, the extension was "easier" to get back compared to the flexion for me as well. You have entered PT sooner than I did. My therapist recommended I take some over-the-counter pain relievers before each session -- you might want to try that.
Posted by: Vik | Feb 24, 2006 9:17:53 AM
Well, I can understand not typing because of pain, but dont worry you will get back to everything soon. I am in a full arm thumb spica cast and have been on alot of painkillers lately. But thankfully I can type and scribble a little bit so you should have no problems.
Posted by: Elizabeth | Apr 30, 2007 3:55:06 PM
Thanks for posting your trials and tribulations with broken arms and physical therapy. I'm recovering from April 1, 2007 to fix mine and celebrating the return of upper case now that I can type with both hands. Without the computer, recovery would have been much more difficult!
PT is very important and not much fun. Do not give up. No one tells you what to expect - within certain parameters, everyone's recovery must vary. Extension seems easier to recover than flexion. I work for the best but remain cautious. Would anyone care to update their post a year or two down the road?
Posted by: Liz K | May 31, 2007 11:38:57 AM
It's been 1 year and 11 months since my injury. I ran out of money/time for physical therapy a year ago (long story). During therapy I had severe pain & some numbness in my fingers from a compressed ulnar nerve. (Numbness has subsided). I sort of ran out of motivation although I still do 5 mins here and there of "home PT". I have about 95% back on the extention and about 85% on flexion. The arm still looks a bit warped. It's a bit undersized and I have a "ball" on the elbow where the tendon(s) keep stretching out and swelling up. Pronation & supination is back, I have no pain & I'm still very optimistic that almost everything will be back to normal in 6 months. I just need to use weights to get a little more definition in the arm.
Posted by: Edward Jansen | Nov 21, 2007 11:39:07 PM
