My Car Crash and Humerus Fracture

On 3rd September I had a car accident, we were going about 120 km/h when a tyre burst and my uncle lost the control of the car. Car hit the back of a truck going about it’s speed, due to the collision the front bumper contracted all the way along the end to the battery, truck driver lost its back tyres, shaft and some other components.

I knew immediately my arm was broken as I couldn’t move my arm, it was broken in between my elbow and shoulder called humerus bone as for my brother who was sitting in the back and my uncle who was driving the car, both were fine.

Police came along with an ambulance and I was shifted to the hospital, that journey from the site to the hospital was immensely painful, there were bumps on the road due to which my arm moved and I felt the bone vibrating inside as I was sitting in the back without any support, that was a horrible feeling.

After drive of 20 kms, I reached hospital, there was no one to operate x ray, so x ray was impossible at that time, situation of hospital was miserable, even doctor didn’t immediately come for checkup.

When he came after a while, he suggested that it was not fracture at all, but only a soft tissue muscle injury and I was only making a mess out of it, that I was afraid, nothing’s wrong with my arm, he made me move my arm and my brother standing behind me, noticed a curve above my elbow and changed his expression in such a way that I was afraid to even ask, I didn’t want it to be the fracture, I wanted it to be a muscle injury.

“You aren’t feeling any pain, so it can’t be the fracture” he said.

They put a sling around my arm and we left the hospital to go to my hometown which was almost 250 kms away.

When we reached, I consulted an orthopedic surgeon, he diagnosed humerus fracture only by looking as my arm was so swollen and it seemed like it was trying to tear open the sleeves, which I didn’t notice before. X ray showed a clear humerus fracture.

Dr. suggested a surgery for tomorrow, they’d attach a metallic plate to my bone so that the broken pieces stay together, surgery was successful, they put almost 8-inch metallic plate with 11 screws into my arm, it was necessary as the bone had broken in such a way that natural healing was not possible without surgery. I had a little complication during the surgery, radial nerve damage, which means I could not move my hands and finger freely as I did before, it’s always a struggle just to lift the hand or move the fingers.

They put me on heavy anti biotics for a week but I recovered over time.

Those 6 weeks passed as I recovered with the help of my family especially my brother, I took a lot of healthy nutrition and eventually I was recovered from all kind of weaknesses and nerve damage, which means I could move my fingers up to certain extent. Bone healed well over those 6 weeks. Now it was a time for another painful event which I never thought will put me in this much agony, it was time to reopen my arm, it was time to strengthen my muscles, it was time for therapy.

I was 6 feet, 23 at a time, I worked out and could lift heavy weights pretty easily, I enjoyed lifting weights but after the surgery it was very difficult for me to lift even my arm, I could lift my right hand easily but left, that arm felt heavy as hell.

But by the grace of God, with time, I recovered, I could fully open and close my arm, I could rotate my arm around my shoulder, I started rotating my wrist, moving my fingers but arm still felt heavy though I build the strength to lift it up to certain angle.

Therapy ended after 30 days but struggle didn’t, sometimes at night I couldn’t sleep because of the pain in my elbow and picking blanket over my head became a struggle in cold winter nights but slowly the pain passed away.

It was a morning in February when I decided to go to the gym, my surgeon already gave me permission to lift some light weights.

The weights I thought to be so light and little I didn’t bother to use them before. Now, I couldn’t lift them, I started from lightest weight in the gym, 1kg or 0.5kg dumbbell and bare barbell rod without any added weights, I struggled to lift them, but I continued ignoring the pain and just in two days the pain faded away completely.

Now, it’s almost 10 months post operation, I am working out with moderately heavy weights, not heaviest I once used to lift, but I am happy with it, my arm is completely normal I use it like it was never broken, as for the plate, I don’t feel it and it never disturbs me, it’s like a part of my bone now, but I feel itch in my scar from the stitches left behind after surgery.

I just wanted to share my personal story here so that I can spread awareness about the horrors of accident, please drive safe and fasten a seat belt.