Shoulder

Ok, so it's time that I write about my shoulder accident. I've been meaning to for weeks, but, well, it's been a long few weeks. :)

Inky Johnson is a football player for UT. The day my accident happened I was talking to Dr. Nice about him and his injury. Inky really, really screwed up his shoulder during a game - damaging the nerves so extensively that he will never play football again and might never have useful function of his arm. Pretty terrible.

And it was fresh on my mind when my arm lay behind my body unable to move.

Thankfully, my injury was MUCH less severe than Inky's. Whew.

Since I've been in VA, I've done a lot of horse work. Though I didn't grow up with horses, I have a knack for dealing with them (so I've been told.) I'm not scared of them - they can't bluff me. I'm also pretty stubborn when I'm working with them, which I have said numerous times is going to get me hurt 'one day.' 'One day' has come and gone.

That 'one day' was Friday, September 22nd. I was doing pre-purchase exams on two yearling Irish Sport horse colts. Though only a year of age (horses grow until they are 2-3) they were both very large. Typical for the breed. One of these horses was a stallion - and though he was very good for most of his exam (especially considering he was a baby) the owner told me he was very needle shy. I needed a blood sample from his jugular and he didn't exactly like the idea.

I tried numerous tricks to get this blood. I have never NOT gotten a blood sample from a horse. Never. At one point I had a half a tube of blood - enough - then the tube fell from his neck and he stepped on it. I cringed as I watched the glass break beneath his hoof and his blood spread out on the ground - useless to me. bah. At my wits end, I blindfolded him with a towel over his eyes and then attempted to put a twitch on his nose. A twitch is a metal clamp of sorts that causes an endorphin release and usually has a calming effect on horses. That's once you get it on their nose. I need to set this up for you visually so you will understand what happened:

I was standing in front of a very tall, young stallion with his eyes covered. His owner was holding a lead rope attached to his halter and she was standing to my right. I approached him from the front and grabbed his nose with my left hand in order to put the twitch on and hold it closed (think clamp) with my right. He immediately jerked his head back (as I would) and pulled his nose free from the twitch. I repeated the process again, only REALLY holding on with my right hand this time - very tightly. He backed up - I went with him. He pulled his head up - I hung on. (This is where my stubbornness got the better of me....) He then reared up on his back feet and he pulled me underneath him (cause I didn't let go). I turned to my left to get out from under him but as he brought his front legs back down to the ground, my shoulder got in the way. And how.

Now, he was blindfolded - he couldn't see me. I really don't think he was trying to hurt me. He was just fed up with me messing with him.

Anyway, he knocked me to the ground, but somehow didn't step on me. The owner calmed him down, removed his blindfold, and put him away. I was knocked to my left side and as I sat up, I realized that my right arm was behind me - and I couldn't move it.

Insert horror flash thought of Inky Johnson.

I used my left arm to bring my right arm to my lap and then the worst tingling and burning I have ever felt commenced to overtake my forearm and hand. I can only figure that I hit my elbow (and the not-so-funny bone) in the process. The owner of the horse is an ER nurse and she asked me if I was ok. I replied "I don't think so." I was very calm. Very cool. I started to wiggle my fingers. Sigh. That's good. I felt up and down my arm - nothing was broken. Yeah. Then I tried to move my arm - uh oh. It no workey. Without taking my clothes off, the nurse figured that I had dislocated my shoulder. Crap. I was supposed to work all weekend!

I was doing a pre-purchase exam, which is an exam before a horse is purchased, so both buyer and seller were present. (We like to name things accordingly in vet med so no one is confused.) The buyer and seller helped me to my feet and got me to my truck. I got my cell phone and called the clinic to let them know I was out of commission for at least the day and on my way to the ER. Then I started to cry. I'm not sure why. I wasn't hurting that bad. I guess it's the adrenaline rush let-down.... I don't know.

It was decided that I would leave my truck there - and the buyer of the horses would drive me to the hospital 40 minutes away and someone from the clinic would come and get my truck. The nurse gave me 4 Advil before I left - and I'm SO thankful that she did - cause it really started hurting on the way and they didn't give me any pain meds at the hospital.

I cried off and on all the way to the hospital - being very upset with myself that I was crying. (Which only made me cry more!) Rachael, my office manager, was waiting on me when I got to the ER. Then I really started crying. I cried as I told the admissions nurse what I thought was wrong. They took me right back to a room and helped me get my clothes off so I could get a good look at my non-functioning arm. I cried as I told the nurse what happened. I cried as they took my x-rays and as I looked at them. (No dislocation! But why can't I move it?!?) And I cried as the very cute doctor told me what actually was wrong - a separated shoulder. I cried as Rachael called Matt and as she told me that he would be there as soon as possible. And I cried most of the night when I tried to talk about it. Maybe I just needed a good cry. :)

The next day I felt like I had been hit by a truck. I guess this horse was in reality only slightly smaller than a truck - hah! My left neck and back were so sore I could barely move. Matt was my hero - he took very good care of me all weekend. And Dr. Nice and Dr. Bowman took over my work duty. They are great friends to me.

A separated shoulder is a ligament injury. It's a tear between the collarbone and the shoulder. There are a lot of muscles that attach there and that's why I couldn't lift my arm. I saw an orthopedic surgeon a week later and he said that time would heal it.

It's been a month now - and my shoulder has improved everyday. It still hurts like crazy sometimes, but I can now lift it above my head!!! Yeah!!! My bicep has shriveled from non-use. And though it was never big by any means, it now is soooo tiny!!! So sad.

Will I keep working on horses? You bet. Am I scared of them? No… but perhaps I’ll be a little more cautious. Will I be smarter and less stubborn now? For the time being. But in a couple of years I'll probably be back to hanging on to twitches 2 seconds longer than I should.....

Yee haw!