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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 13 of 13. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by alexandra_k on June 13, 2009, at 22:07:22
Since a big expense seems to be the material they 'print' them on (not sure whether that is the correct term) the hospital keeps those. They gave them to me on CD to give to my GP, though. Amazing. Followed the instructions to download OsiriX (freeware) so I could have a look. Weber C fracture of left leg where looks like they did some kind of fusion - though a little hard for me to tell. And definately a subtalar / calcaneus fusion of right ankle with a single screw. Still have the plate and all the screws in my left leg. Not sure whether they will want to take out a plate. Not sure whether they will want to take out the fusion screws... Not sure how fused the bones ended up. Trying to teach myself but I get the impression reading x-rays (getting a sense of normal vs abnormal variation) is a tricky thing that I can't master in several hours with only internet resources. Sigh.
They might be able to stretch tendons so that my toes aren't so curled, though. Maybe... 4 weeks in a walking cast (per leg). Not sure... They did it in Ireland and no relapse 6 months post-op. But... That is only 6 month follow up so who knows... I dunno... Might be my imagination but I think I can feel how the screws are limiting my movement now that I understand where they are. Might be my imagination. Hard to know how much movement vs pain I might have were they to be removed... Other people... Do seem to have more movement than me... What is really very hard for me to tell is how the rest of my feet are doing (metatarsals etc). I remember them saying that they were all pretty smashed up really. I can't tell from the x-rays how much cartilage they removed / how damaged the cartilage was not only in the ankle bones but in the rest of the feet. Might be my imagination that the bone isn't quite as dense there... I so wish I could get hold of the originals that they took pre and post op... I wonder... If they could / would email them to me or my GP since they seem to have them stored on computer now...
Posted by alexandra_k on June 13, 2009, at 22:19:22
In reply to got my x-rays, posted by alexandra_k on June 13, 2009, at 22:07:22
http://www0.sun.ac.za/ortho/webct-ortho/ankle/ankle.html
Weber C. Though my screws are a little different....
Posted by alexandra_k on June 13, 2009, at 22:26:14
In reply to Re: got my x-rays, posted by alexandra_k on June 13, 2009, at 22:19:22
Its pretty cool really. It is like they are actually pictures of me. Of my bones. Not some textbook reconstruction or some average across a population actual pictures of my bones. I so wish I had the ones from before. Think there were some CAT scans or maybe MRI of my brain and stuff, too. Something weird about it, but kinda cool. Maybe I'll be a radiologist. If only it didn't involve physics. And I'm sure anatomy gets tedious eventually sigh. Pictures of my bones. Bizarre.
Posted by Phillipa on June 14, 2009, at 0:03:44
In reply to Re: got my x-rays, posted by alexandra_k on June 13, 2009, at 22:26:14
Alex still don't know what happened to you. Is it not talkable? If so that's fine Phillipa
Posted by alexandra_k on June 14, 2009, at 1:14:43
In reply to Re: got my x-rays » alexandra_k, posted by Phillipa on June 14, 2009, at 0:03:44
'cause doing philosophy was a curious thing. guess they had images of me sitting in cafe's wearing berets and black trench coats talking about satre and camus and how life is like an egg and generally embodying whatever kind of angst was popular back whenever / was popular with philosophy students now. la belle indifferent. or whatever. think that term occurs more than once in my file. along with such things as 'manicured fingernails' which is clearly false since i've bitten them to the quick since forever. smug / curious questions where the answer was already assumed 'and does it help?'
they didn't know i was the top in my class with a genuine shot at getting a fully funded place at one of the best institutions in the world. they didn't know. they didn't care. why should they? there are resource limitations on health and as for inpatient services apparently i 'didn't belong there'. what does it take to belong? the absence of interest in philosophy, i suppose. perhaps a more obvious state of poverty. florid delusions at times so that couldn't have been it. i don't know. i don't know what they wanted from me.
i remember having a weird dream on some kind of benzo once. they told me (in the dream) that i had schizophrenia. all of a sudden everyones attitude towards me (in the hospital) changed. now i was 'supposed' to be there. now the nurses and doctors were empathetic. now they had hope that they could help me. that i could genuinely get better. now i was welcome to stay for as long as i needed and now they were motivated to try. crazy f*ck*d up dream i know. but i woke up with warm fuzzies. whatever was wrong with me wasn't a legitimate acceptable way of being wrong. i... didn't understand. i still don't.
Posted by Deneb on June 14, 2009, at 1:47:56
In reply to Re: got my x-rays, posted by alexandra_k on June 14, 2009, at 1:14:43
((((((((Alex)))))))))))
Sorry you didn't get the caring you needed back then.
When I was at the hospital, they said I didn't belong too. A nurse told me it was very expensive and others needed the bed more than me. They were right though, because I wasn't suicidal.
But you really hurt yourself badly. Did those pdocs regret letting you go after you hurt yourself?
Posted by alexandra_k on June 14, 2009, at 1:56:48
In reply to Re: got my x-rays » alexandra_k, posted by Deneb on June 14, 2009, at 1:47:56
> Did those pdocs regret letting you go after you hurt yourself?
when it was looking like my parents were going to lodge a formal request for an inquiry they were sh*tt*ng their pants. once they went on about how f*ck*d up i was (and made them feel bad for various things for not being ideal parents) then everyone basically just kind of opted out. my therapists remark was left standing and DO NOT ADMIT in bold on my psych file. discharged from psychiatric services altogether about 6 months after that. the actual discharge mostly consisted in some senior p-doc getting the short straw and this theatrical 'playing chicken' phone call where he said he would just LOVE to work with me but given the shortage of funding and the serious need of the severely delusional schizophrenic people in the community... they left the orthapedic surgeon and registrars and the pain management team (who wanted to put me on methodone indefinately) to deal with me. they were absolutely thrilled about that as i'm sure you can imagine
Posted by Deneb on June 14, 2009, at 2:17:29
In reply to Re: got my x-rays, posted by alexandra_k on June 14, 2009, at 1:56:48
I'm sorry that happened to you. I think it is amazing how far you've come despite how people treated you. What do you think helped you get better?
Posted by BayLeaf on June 14, 2009, at 10:30:51
In reply to Re: got my x-rays, posted by alexandra_k on June 14, 2009, at 1:56:48
Jeepers. How r u walking around? Crutches? Cane? Wobbling free form? Sounds painful.
Owie.
Posted by alexandra_k on June 14, 2009, at 19:05:49
In reply to Re: got my x-rays » alexandra_k, posted by BayLeaf on June 14, 2009, at 10:30:51
I'm not sure how 'better' I am. I certainly have my moments. I hate saying this but I think the biggest difference has been environmental change. Moving countries. My t being there for me. Etc.
My feet / ankles are pretty rigid now with not much movement. That enables me to basically clunk around on my heels. Most people don't notice anything wrong with me so I need to say that I have injuries and that is why I can't play soccer etc. They didn't know me before my injuries to see how my gait is different. People back home used to say I was 'walking well' but they noticed a difference, yeah. Don't take the strides I used to that is for sure. My aim was basically to walk at normal walking pace so people wouldn't need to wait for me if they were going to get lunch or whatever. I can do that. Harder crossing the road when you can't (mostly) lapse into a light jog.
I don't know if taking out the screws would (with lots of exercises) result in more mobility so I could do such things as lapse into a light job or handle stairs / uneven ground better. Might do, or might give me more 'wobble' and more pain, too.
I think it would help significantly if they were able to stretch the tendons for the clawed feet in particular. Wouldn't help with ankle movement but I am capable of shifting my weight to the ball of my foot while walking- if only my toes didn't claw into the sole of my shoe / the ground about then. That would help a lot. Would help my lumbar spine too because at the moment I've developed a gait which isn't very good anatomically even though it is the best (most normal, fastest) way of my getting around.
Posted by Phillipa on June 14, 2009, at 20:08:46
In reply to Re: got my x-rays, posted by alexandra_k on June 14, 2009, at 19:05:49
Oh Alex I truly had no idea. No words to describe how I feel. Pure malpractice and patient abandonment. I feel so horrible for you. You're such a wonderful talented person. And you always have been. Love Phillipa and I mean the love
Posted by Deneb on June 18, 2009, at 17:48:10
In reply to got my x-rays, posted by alexandra_k on June 13, 2009, at 22:07:22
Hey Alex, look at this:
http://health.yahoo.com/news/healthday/artificialankletakesgiantstepforward.html
Posted by alexandra_k on June 30, 2009, at 23:28:20
In reply to got my x-rays, posted by alexandra_k on June 13, 2009, at 22:07:22
though it would be funny if my recent hospitalization was because of depression resulting from that. funny odd rather than haha.
i was still a bit worried though because one of the bites in particular was still fairly itchy and not healing very well... i was trying hard not to scratch it since i made a mess of it already trying to get the head out (till i read about them working their own way out eventually in animals and kids heads at least). but i couldn't help myself and scratched last night and... the head popped out. yay. it isn't itchy or anything anymore so guess the itching was just part of the process of it actually working its way out. phew. grotty little things.
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