The Little-Known Hazzards of Curling

oh, my. what an interesting week this has been.

Dick took his team out on a morale event on Tuesday afternoon. You know, a fun, team-building experience, where everyone has a great time together...

They went Curling. You know, the Olympic sport involving brooms, granite stones, and ice.

Ice. As in an ice rink. As in, a very hard, frozen, slippery surface.

I hear that the whole team had a really great time.

Everyone except, poor Dick, that is.

Dick slipped on the ice early on, and fell hard on his right knee.
He said it really, really hurt.

He had a friend drive him home, and we went to the ER that evening.
They took Xrays and confirmed that he had broken his patella. Actually, I believe the word they used was "crushed".



We went to see an Orthopedic Surgeon yesterday morning. He looked at the Xrays and said that yes, Dick's patella was in at least 3 pieces, maybe more. This surgeon only performs surgeries on Wednesdays and Fridays. Lucky for us, he had room in his schedule, and we were able to get all of the paperwork through quick enough for us to schedule Dick's surgery for this morning.



We were told to arrive for the surgery at 9:15 this morning. I brought Dick to the office, and stayed with him as long as I could before they brought him in. The surgery started around 10:15am, and finished around 12:30.

The surgeon came out to talk with me soon after he was finished. He said that Dick's patella was actually broken into 4 pieces. They had to use 3 pins, wire, and a circular wire to hold the circumference of the patella together. Poor Dick will never be able to go through a security checkpoint of an airport easily again.

The surgeon was very happy with how the procedure went. We are scheduled for a follow-up appointment next Thursday.

Until then, Dick has an immobilizer that he must keep on until he is instructed that he can take it off. He also has a cooling machine that we got to keep his knee/leg cool (instead of ice) to help with the inflammation. I have many meds to give him for pain, inflammation, infection, etc.,

So far, Dick is doing well. He managed to hop up the stairs (very carefully) and lie in bed.

Thanks to all who sent Dick well-wishes. We both really appreciate it.

I'll try to keep you all posted.