Co-worker injured in DUI accident

[Dave1982]

Please forgive me if this is the wrong forum for this....


One of my co-workers (who I've referred to as "Lisa" here on the forums) was hit by a drunk driver last night. She will be fine, Thank God, but she suffered a badly broken leg that required her to undergo emergency surgery this morning.

Her car was totalled. We do not expect to see her back at work for a month or more.

No word on what happened to the DUI driver who hit her.

Everyone please keep her in your thoughts.......

[BusBus]

I'm glad to hear that she's okay. What a senseless accident!

[Andara Bledin]

My loathing for those who drink and drive knows no boundaries.

Of all the evil things that have been plotted against people and Manitoba, drunk drivers deserve it all.

^-.-^

[Dave1982]

I have an udpate, for those who are interested.

Anotehr co-worker visited her in the hospital this morning. I would have gone, but my schedule makes that very difficult this week.

He said she's doing remarkably well, considering, and that she has a "huge steel rod" in her leg now. He also said they were trying to get her up and walking already?! That I found hard to believe. I've had ankle sprains that kept me from walking longer than this, and she suffered a far worse injury. But I wasn't there.

Hopfeully her recover will continue as well as it seems to be going now.

[the lawsmeister]

He said she's doing remarkably well, considering, and that she has a "huge steel rod" in her leg now. He also said they were trying to get her up and walking already?! That I found hard to believe. I've had ankle sprains that kept me from walking longer than this, and she suffered a far worse injury. .

yep that's how they do it these days. I broke my leg skiing a few years back. I snapped the femur (thigh bone for those of you playing at home). They put a titanium rod down the inside of the bone and secured it with a screw above the knee and another in the upper thigh. The physio had me out of bed and walking around (with crutches) the day after surgery. Apparently it heals better and quicker this way.
Hope all goes well for your friend. please pass on my best wishes.

as for the drunk driver. I hope he spends a long time in a cell with Bubba.

[Andara Bledin]

Sprains take a lot longer to heal than breaks. With a break, you set it, make sure it won't move or heal badly, and that's all you can do. Movement keeps the blood flowing to aid in healing. With a sprain, you have to wait until there is no longer a danger of additional strain or tearing, and that can take well over a month.

I spent 6 weeks during the fall of the first three years in high school on crutches due to weak ankles. It takes a long, long time to get used to using a leg again after being off of it for so long.

And spending Thanksgiving in a crowded house with a badly sprained ankle and an over 100° fever is miserable. But my friend has me beat when his lung colapsed on Christmas day due to his having had walking pneumonia.

^-.-^

[ditchdj]

He said she's doing remarkably well, considering, and that she has a "huge steel rod" in her leg now. He also said they were trying to get her up and walking already?!

Oh man. My wife's got one of those in her leg from a car accident from when she was in high school and she's always in pain. I think I'd rather just have the damn thing amputated altogether than have to go through a lifetime of pain and misery keeping it.

[Mighty Girl]

It blows me away that they make you move so soon after surgery. After my c-seciton, they waited a whole 12 hours before making me walk to the bathroom, and I cried every step of the way, I was terrified I'd rip a stitch open or something and even though it was only about 10 feet total, it felt like a mile.

She's in my prayers.

[Broomjockey]

I was back in school 3 days after hip surgery in Grades 4 and 5. Granted, not as severe as the other examples given, but still. It's not a new thing to make people get up and around quickly.

[toomanycalls1]

Walking after surgery

While it hurts like all get out it is medically good to walk after surgery.

I had to get up and walk after major knee surgery and after a C-section. Not fun.

[MadRocketScientist]

My wife and I and her two sisters got hit head-on by a drunk last year. My wife and I got away with cuts and bruises (airbags are awesome), but the sisters in the back had a broken leg and broken ribs. The un-insured drunk was killed.

Not a fun time, so I understand what your friend is going through. Tell her to keep her chin up and play hard-ball with the insurance companies.

As for healing, when I shattered both my arms some years ago (motorcycle wreck), the gave me Wolverine bones (steel plates and screws along both arms, airport security is soooooo much fun) and had me start doing light weightlifting right away, partly for healing, partly to prevent muscle atrophy, partly to keep my arms from losing range of motion.

[Dave1982]

UPDATE:

*WARNING! Somewhat squeamish details!*

Lisa came into the store today to collect her pay (which she hadn't been able to pick up until now). She's still on crutches of course, but was able to put her weight on her leg. She seemed to be in good spirits, partially because she's getting a new car courtesy of the drunk's insurance (though I imagine she had to pitch in the difference) next week.

She also brought in photocopies of her post-op X-rays. Man......there were two breaks very close to each other. One all the way through the bone and the other halfway through. It clearly showed the huge metal rod which goes all the way through the bone from the hip to the knee, plus two screws down close to her knee, all permanent. At first I was surprised the the rod went all the way through, though on further reflection it makes sense; if she were to have another injury to her leg, it would probably break right where the rod ends otherwise, which would like screw everything up.

She'll be back at work August 13, which is sooner than we expected to see her. So, although she may need some furth work on her knee (which is still hurting her), everything seems to have turned out well.

[Dave1982]

This will probably be the last update.

Lisa stopped by again yesterday with her brand new car, walking without crutches but still having trouble with her knee. We also finally learned a little bit about the drunk that hit her. 24 yo male, who was - shall we say - a long way from home (like, at least 2 hours). How he expected to make it all the way there while DUI is beyond me.

Oh yeah, he suffered a BROKEN PELVIS for his trouble. Can't say as I have any sympathy. Nothing like months (if not years) of recovery to teach you lesson.

[Andara Bledin]

Nice to know that the drunk suffered some damages.

I hate reading stories about drunks hitting people and crippling and/or killing them only to walk away with a few bumps and bruises....

I used to know a guy who went to jail for a DUI that killed a person. The scary part is that witnesses and forensic evidence both suggested that he was in the passenger seat at the time of the accident! Yeah, they had someone who was in the car, it was his car, and he was too drunk to know his own name, much less where he was in the car, so they went for the easy conviction rather than do the right thing.

Sometimes the system pisses me off worse than the people actually comitting the crimes...

^-.-^

[Rapscallion]

The problem, as I was told when in biology class many moons past, is that the best way to be when in a traumatic accident is relaxed. Drunk people tend to be more relaxed - they fare better.

Rapscallion