Mark has had an EVENT in his life and I asked him to share with us the experience. Here goes:
Grandma,
Here is my report:
Since I was about 11 years old,
I can recall having elbow soreness/achieness/pain that sometimes left me on the
floor after playing baseball. It wasn't a real problem until about two
years ago. I finally went to the doctor and I was diagnosed with a partially
torn UCL ligament. I went through six months of rehab and nothing really
changed afterward. Well, in early August, I was doing some pull ups and
my elbow hurt like it never had before. I went to a orthopedic surgeon
and was told (after an MRI and Nerve Conduction Test) that my ligament was
still torn and my Ulnar Nerve needed to be repaired and moved. So below
are the pictures that tell the story.
Before Picture - This is what my
elbow looked like before. It was like I had a "sink hole"
forming in my elbow that was pink and a shade of black/blue. It was
happening between my elbow and the smaller elbow on my right arm and had been
growing the past two years. I could not shake people's hands nor pick up
anything more than a gallon of milk. It was time to get it fixed.
Before Picture
Me on the hospital bed - I was nervous to say the least. I have never had stiches or a cavity so I was not used to anesthesia or anyhting like that. The nurse gave me a sedative to help me relax before I was put to sleep. It definetely helped. But after about 30 agonizing minutes of prep for the surgery they wheeled me into the operation room.
Hospital bed (and the guy has perfect teeth!)
Me sleeping on hospital bed - I woke up here after the 2 hour surgery. I was in the recovery room for about an hour where I was nauseus and in some pain, but Liz took great care of me. I got home and was on 2 pills of vicatin every 4 hours. My mom and my brother stopped by to take care of me as well that day too.
Recovery room
Michelin Man
Picture of my cast - I felt like the Michelin Man. This cast is what I had for the next eight days. Liz woke up with me in the middle of the night every night to help me take my pills and had to prepare all of my meals for the first couple of days. I was not able to move my arm and slept a lot and watched EVERY playoff baseball game. If there was one week in the year for me to be home all day, this was the week because of all of the baseball games. I went outside of my house twice for about an hour spending time with my nieces and nephews which helped me get better as well.
A visit to the doctor yesterday (Tuesday)
Picture of my incision - I got
my soft cast removed yesterday (Tuesday) and this is what I found - a 5-6 inch
incision on my elbow. I feel a lot better and taking less and less
vicatin. I am still at home this week as I can't drive due to the medication,
but hope to go back to work next week. The doctor told me I would be back
to normal by Christmas. I am just glad that I can take showers now.
All in all, I am happy to have
it over with. It hurts, but it is worth it so I can play sports and shake
people's hands again.
