Another update on Erik - still waiting for good news!

First blog post ever. Might be my last, too - we'll see how it goes...

Before anything else, I have to say THANK YOU so much for all the prayers and support - emotionally, spiritually, and physically - that you all have given us over these past 2 weeks! We really do have some pretty amazing friends!

So, for an update on my injuries, we'll start with diagnoses.

1. Complete fracture of the acromion, which is part of the scapula (or shoulder blade).

2. Avulsion fracture of the clavicle (or collar bone), which means a ligament that attaches the coracoid part of the scapula to the clavicle was disrupted and yanked off a chunk of bone on the underside of the clavicle.

3. Separated shoulder (coracoclavicular).

4. Neuropraxia, which is definitely the worst part since the bone issues will heal up and aren't really that big of a deal, relatively speaking. Neuropraxia is an injury to the nerves, in this case likely a stretching injury, that should heal but can take many months. There is a complex weaving together of nerves between your neck and shoulder called the brachial plexus and part of it called the posterior cord is what is likely injured, specifically the axillary and radial nerves and possibly a couple others (e.g. suprascapular nerve).

At this point, I still have absolutely no firing of my deltoid or triceps muscles and there are some other smaller muscles, but these are the main players. This means I cannot abduct, flex, extend, or externally rotate my left shoulder, nor can I extend my elbow. In other words, I basically still have no movement at my shoulder at all (can't hold my arm out away from my body, forward, or backward) and can't straighten my arm without the help of gravity. As you can imagine, this is quite worrisome.

This neuropraxia can also happen to infants when they are being delivered through the pelvis when something called shoulder dystocia occurs and the anterior shoulder gets stuck behind the mother's pubic bone.  This stretching of the shoulder and neck is the same mechanism of injury and typically gets better with time.  It is also commonly seen in football players when they come down on their head and neck or with a hard collision.

On top of this, it still hurts! Really, that should be expected.

I think the main reason Kara wanted me to update the blog, other than to just update the blog, was to post some pictures of a few of the x-rays. I am amazed at how many x-rays I've had! I think we've met our deductible this year just with the radiology department alone! I've been seen by multiple specialists and the orthopedic surgeon who has focused on the bones (vs. the other ortho guys focused on the nerves and hands) has been fantastic. He has recommended surgically fixing the scapular fracture with internal fixation (i.e. plate and screws), but I'm hesitant and after obtaining a few more pictures, including a CT scan with 3D reconstruction, he agreed to let my body try fixing it by itself. He still thought surgery was the best bet, and only gave it 50:50 chance of healing without eventually needing surgery, but since I'm going to be in a sling for at least the next month anyway, I'm going to give it a try.

I'm getting a repeat x-ray on Wednesday this week followed by another ortho appointment to ensure that there hasn't been interval displacement of the distal fracture fragment and the EMG that's scheduled for March 7th and the follow up appointment with the brachial plexus clinic that same day.

Again, we are so incredibly thankful for all the support we have from our friends and family and for now, we've been prescribed a generous portion of time and copious amounts of prayer.

You can click on these pics to make them bigger.  Look closely and you'll see the fracture line through the acromion.

There is a horizontal lucency below the head of the humerus.  That's the acromion fracture.

3D reconstruction of scapula, looking from the front.  There is a small fragment of bone under the clavicle, as well.

3D reconstruction of scapula, looking from the back at an angle.

3D reconstruction of scapula, looking from the top downward at a slight angle from the front.

3D reconstruction of scapula, looking from the top downward at a slight angle from the back.

The scene of the crime.  Slid under the ribbon and missed the 4" x 4" posts - thought I was lucky, until SMACK!  There was no padding when I crashed - this was one week later.  This week they actually had a fence up instead of the ribbon.

The culprit!  The winner...