Add a year and this is me. No idea how, though; it’s not like I’ve been careful.
I did dislocate my knee at 14, which broke the cartilage, which then lodged under my kneecap. Worst pain I’ve ever experienced. I wore an immobilizer for a few weeks after the surgery, but no cast.
And about 15 years ago, I slipped while getting out of a rowboat and slammed my calf HARD into the oar lock. This ripped my leg open to the bone. Yes, I actually saw my own shinbone – but it didn’t break. And it didn’t hurt as much as you might think. Many stitches, staples, and bandages (and some good pain meds) later, I was good to go. Left a cool big scar, too.
I spent a good bit the first year or two of my life with casts on both my lower legs. I was born with club feet, and had multiple corrective operations during this time. I don’t know how many time I had to wear a cast, but I know it was more than once.
At one point during this my mom went to new doctor, and thus I was examined by a new nurse. She was looking me over when my mom told her that she should hold my legs down or I might kick her. The nurse looked at my mother like she was an idiot and told her that a child this age couldn’t possibly kick her wearing casts like that. She didn’t know that I’d been wearing casts for a while, and had gotten used to them. About 30 seconds later I kicked the nurse right in the face, who then continued the exam while holding my legs down.
Broke arm as a kid falling off a picnic table during an apple fight with a friend’s neighbor. I barely remember the cast.
Nother operation on my right foot in 2nd grade, nother cast.
Two surgeries to immobilize my ankle and fix a few other things about 6 years ago, 5 months apart. Wore a cast for about 3 months the first time, and 2 months the second time. Was on crutches for over a year.
This doesn’t include the 3 surgeries on my right knee, cuz I didn’t have to wear a cast for them. More people have stuck knives into my right leg than have had sex with me.
No fractures yet. Worst thing I ever did was sprain my thumb carrying a laundry basket (yeah, I know). The thumb went totally over backwards and there was a snapping sound. The base joint swelled up black and blue, which spread across my palm. I didn’t do anything about it because I figured if I could move it it wasn’t broken. In hindsight, at least immobilizing it for a bit might have helped it heal better. It was a week before I could put any pressure on it and it took months to get my grip strength back. 2 years later, that thumb still has less range of motion and fatigues more quickly than the other one.
Public service announcement: ‘being able to move it’ does not indicate the bone is not broken. If you hear a snap, have bruising, swelling, and pain - get it checked out. Otherwise you can end up like chizzuk here and have an important part of your body permanently affected. My doctor told me all this when I went in in August with a suspected broken foot - x-ray was clear, thankfully.
Broke my thumb skiing when I was 12. Hairline fracture. Hurt a bit, but only required a splint for about a month.
Stress fracture in my foot (I can’t remember which bone, one of the ones in the arch) when I was 20. Direct result of bad genes (my dad and I both have too much arch), bad shoes and walking like 3 miles / day (Madison is a big campus).
Haven’t broken anything. Haven’t been under general anesthesia, either. Knock wood.
Through my early 20’s I rode horses, was thrown a few times, and stepped on. Managed to avoid injuries worse than bruises. I sprained my ankle once when I was 11, but that’s been the extent of my injuries. I’m 40 now. Knock wood again!
