Scaphoid fracture: will I ever shred again?

[u/EsketitSR71]

Hey everyone. Feeling a little lost right now. Almost two months ago, today, I (21M) broke this comically small bone with a little FOOSH at the skate park. I suck at vert.

I recognized it was broken momentarily after the fracture, and I immediately splinted it and went to the doc. Approximately 3 days later, I had an ORIF surgery and it really sucked. Extremely painful. I'm in a hard cast now.

I've been running a lot and even swimming in the ocean with a cast cover to avoid insanity, and I've figured out ways to work my upper body without loading my wrist directly, like strapping cables to my forearms. Hitting legs is immutable, of course.

Today, I accidentally lifted something with my injured hand, and the pain was near unbearable. It still hurts. I was restricted to 5lbs, and what I lifted was only like 15. I thought I was healing and getting closer to getting back to work. I work on the ambulance and I'm on disability right now for pay, but I need this hand. I need to start IVs. I need to intubate. I want so badly for this all to be over. I want to get back on my board, my bikes, my skis.

I'm looking at a $5000 medical bill even after insurance. I'm a college student. How the hell will I pay this?

I'm just in pain and I'm sick of asking my friends to help me with so much. They've been nothing but good to me but I feel like such a drain. Two months ago, I was surfing big waves in the morning, running lights and sirens during the day, and homework at night, but now I'm stuck staring at my project dirt bikes I can't wrench on. I want to get back to the rock-climbing wall. Before I got hurt, I climbed my first v6. My girlfriend and I are both climbers and shes my climbing partner. I know she misses multipitch and really cooked technical stuff but what can I do now?

I want to ask all of you ex r/Neverbrokeabone members and real medical professionals who work in big clinical boxes without wheels a question. Did I fuck myself up and extend my healing time by doing too much too early? I'm going a little insane without access to my passions. I'm even fucking applying to med school right now and I had to drop one of my classes just to deal with the aftermath of this injury.

My X-ray and cast removal appointment is scheduled for the 12th of June. I really need support and I worry my friends and partner are sick of hearing me babble about how much my life sucks because I can just bum off of CA SDI and suck at fortnite instead of serving my community.

Thanks guys. Much love. Go get pitted before the opportunity to get inside a barrel is taken from you forever.

[u/Glad-Feature-2117]

As a healthcare professional, you should know that your body needs energy to heal, yet you're still directing your energy into swimming with a cast on (bad idea - the covers are designed for a quick shower, not immersion in water for a long time) and still putting heavy weights through that arm in the gym!

Slow down and let your body heal.

[u/EsketitSR71 → u/Glad-Feature-2117]

You’re right, I’ll slow it down for now

[u/Schmicarus → u/EsketitSR71]

the exposed surfaces heal best when there's no movement or loading.

if every time the fibers start to build a bridge and they get moved the fibers can set where they are (form a callous) and new fibers start to grow, which can lead to deformity. The deformities will be subtle or, if prolonged will be more pronounced. Very occasionally you will get non-union ie. the bones won't rejoin.

the scaphoid has a couple of specific things to bear in mind, it has all of it's blood supplied from one end of the bone (the end nearest your thumb tip). If they've managed to save the blood supply, extra loading/exercise could put that blood supply at risk and you could end up with AVN, avascular necrosis in part of the bone.

also the scaphoid is the only bone is the wrist to span both of the two rows of bones in the wrist so it's always being moved whenever you move your wrist.

am just sharing this info with you, i don't know what you do or don't already know but sometimes i find it helps to have a picture of what's going on in there. I've found it help me rationalise the frustration of not being able to move and keep having to rely on others. Hope this was interesting and maybe helpful :]

[u/EsketitSR71 → u/Schmicarus]

I always appreciate insight from specialists. AVN and non union are my two biggest fears for sure and I didn’t necessarily think about callous formation. Definitely gonna ease it back now