Night Elf Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 My stepdad was in an auto accident Sunday night. He broke his arm in 2 places, cracked a vertebrae in his neck, and broke his collarbone. My mom gets flustered when she's presented with too much information so she's not remembering everything the doctors tell her. She does have my sister and aunt to help her, but I'm not kept in the loop except talking to my mom. They are doing surgery on his neck on friday and he'll be in a neck brace. What time frame are we talking about here? He's currently immobilized and can't even feed himself. I don't know when they are going to discharge him from the hospital. Mom remembers that they told her it would take up to 3 months for his arm to heal but she doesn't remember what they said about his neck. After surgery, will he be able to move his head while in the neck brace/collar? She also told me they've strapped down his arm to help his collarbone. Will his arm need to stay strapped to his body until the collarbone heals? Anyone with experience with these things? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 Did his dominant arm get broken? Is that the same side as the break in his collarbone? He may qualify for physical therapy and occupational therapy, to help him figure out what he can and can not do on his own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 No experience, but I would strongly suggest she keep a notebook and pen with her to take constant notes. It is HARD to keep up with medical details. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted March 4, 2015 Author Share Posted March 4, 2015 Did his dominant arm get broken? Is that the same side as the break in his collarbone? He may qualify for physical therapy and occupational therapy, to help him figure out what he can and can not do on his own. Yes, his dominant arm and the collarbone on the same side. He and my mom are on a very tight budget and they depend on his working part-time. I hate that he's going to be out of work for so long. Thankfully my grandmother can help them out but I know this will be quite stressful for them. I hope that doesn't interfere with his healing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted March 4, 2015 Author Share Posted March 4, 2015 Thank you for the good thoughts. And I like the idea of a notebook. I'll tell Mom. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 If you're nearby, could you go and sit in on the doctor meeting? He would have to give permission of course. The time frame will depend on what kind of surgery he's having, the surgery result, and what kind of job he has. Is it a desk job? There's the potential for recovering lost wages from car insurance. If he has short (long? depending...) term disability (through work or privately held), that should kick in. I hope his surgery goes well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 It's really impossible to know a timeline without knowing a lot more details. Even then you never know with injuries to the neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted March 4, 2015 Author Share Posted March 4, 2015 Aw well.. I'll just have to wait and see then. His arm surgery is tomorrow and his neck surgery is on friday. I told Mom to take notes and she promised she would. The hospital is about 90 minutes away. She's okay with me not coming but I think I'll have my sister tell my stepsister she should be there when he's discharged. I just feel so bad for them. They were in an auto accident 16 years ago where my mom broke both legs. It was horrible for her. And she's been so cautious ever since, insisting on driving all the time. She doesn't like to ride in a car with someone else because she was the passenger in her accident. Stepdad ran off the road and flipped his car a couple of times because a car was coming around the curve on a back road with their bright lights on. It startled him and he thinks he jerked the steering wheel. So she's kind of freaking out knowing his accident could have been much worse. I think that is what is making her uneasy and feeling vague. She insists she's fine but I've seen her be this way before. It's just a bit unnerving for me. Hopefully, it will all work out okay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 OK...I consulted my bone guy. ;-) He said he'll be sleeping in a recliner for a long time. Is collarbone ORIF? Open reduction internal fixation? Or just set in place? Is arm the humerus? (Bicep) or forearm ? Neck could take awhile...Probably just a crack of spinous process...Not to worry just another area of discomfort He asked how old because it factors into healing. 50 - 60ish will heal in about 3 months. 60-70, 5-6 months. 70+ 6 months to year. Over 80, a long time. Edited to add: I'm very sorry your stepdad and family is going thru this! I was so busy getting the info in the post, I forgot to add (((hugs))). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wonderchica Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 My grandma broke vertebrae in her neck as well as her pelvis and her tailbone (hit by a car while walking across the street). She didn't have surgery on the neck but she was in a brace for 4-5 months. She was only in the hospital 5 days, which we found shocking. She was really only in that long so Medicaid would pay for rehab. She was in a rehab facility for 6 weeks, then discharged home and was (supposed) to go weekly physical therapy. She went back to work after the brace came off. We felt her recovery was pretty fast and remarkable, but she was in her 70s, working full time and in excellent health. Her biggest difficulty was boredom while in rehab. They did tell her it would take a year for her bones to completely heal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted March 4, 2015 Author Share Posted March 4, 2015 OK...I consulted my bone guy. ;-) He said he'll be sleeping in a recliner for a long time. Is collarbone ORIF? Open reduction internal fixation? Or just set in place? Is arm the humerus? (Bicep) or forearm ? Neck could take awhile...Probably just a crack of spinous process...Not to worry just another area of discomfort He asked how old because it factors into healing. 50 - 60ish will heal in about 3 months. 60-70, 5-6 months. 70+ 6 months to year. Over 80, a long time. Edited to add: I'm very sorry your stepdad and family is going thru this! I was so busy getting the info in the post, I forgot to add (((hugs))). I have no idea about the collarbone or where the break is in his arm. He's 74 and has health problems. He's on medication for his heart, blood pressure, and diabetes. It's just all a big mess. Tonight, Mom told me he might have a problem with his knee as well. He flinched when the doctor touched it and they xrayed it, but she doesn't have the results of the xray yet. She's hoping it's just bruised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 I'm really sorry to hear this. Hope things turn out in the best way possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 I can't answer your questions, just wanted to say I am so sorry to hear it. :grouphug: :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 How is your step-dad doing today, Beth? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted March 6, 2015 Author Share Posted March 6, 2015 How is your step-dad doing today, Beth? Thanks for asking. He had surgery yesterday on his arm. The doctor put in a pin so no cast. He only has to care for the incision. I didn't know they did things like that. Unfortunately, he still hurts. At the last update, my mom said his pain is a 5 on a scale of 1 to 10, but I don't know if that is good or bad. His neck surgery is tomorrow. Mom said she was going to talk to the doctor after the surgery to find out what to expect. A sad turn is that he is having nightmares about the accident. He even had one coming out of surgery. His doctor told him to tell the anesthesiologist that, so they can adjust his meds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Thanks for asking. He had surgery yesterday on his arm. The doctor put in a pin so no cast. He only has to care for the incision. I didn't know they did things like that. Unfortunately, he still hurts. At the last update, my mom said his pain is a 5 on a scale of 1 to 10, but I don't know if that is good or bad. His neck surgery is tomorrow. Mom said she was going to talk to the doctor after the surgery to find out what to expect. A sad turn is that he is having nightmares about the accident. He even had one coming out of surgery. His doctor told him to tell the anesthesiologist that, so they can adjust his meds. My bone guy said the arm surgery is called an "ORIF" open reduction, internal fixation. It's nice not to have a cast. And he said watch for redness and swelling. Oh, that is sad, about the nightmares. My DD had nightmares about our car accident for months. A car ran a stop sign and Tboned us. It hit the passenger side where DD was. The other car hit us so hard we rolled over on to our roof and spun 180 degrees. My DD would yell in her sleep, "no, no, watch out, watch out!" :grouphug: I hope things go well tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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