What Severe Injuries Have You Had?

[BearClaws]

Guys sitting in the bar or around a campfire inevitably get around to comparing old scars or old football injuries.
I destroyed my right ankle (ankle, tibia and fibula) while racing motorcycles.Repair = 14 screws, two 6 inch plates and a bone graft out of my hip.
Big injury # 2 was nearly severing my index finger on a band saw.

What kind of "Macho Tough Guy" injuries have you lounge lizards sustained?

[short bus president]

1. I sprained my tongue once,

but I can't really get into that here...

;-)

[caledesi]

18. "Get into?" No, we don't want to go there. LOL! nt

[VelmaD]

60. I know all the gory details...

but if I told ya I'd have to kill ya. Sorry. ;)

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

2. Destroyed my right shoulder

I dislocated it during a pre-season football game during high school. Decided to play through it for the entire season. Wound up destroying just about everything there was left to my shoulder and needed to have it completely fixed. Doc said it looked like a grenade went off inside there.

I've had friends who've since dislocated their shoulder and have earned a lot of respect for playing through it. They didn't understand how much pain I was going through at the time, but they sure as hell do now!

[livetohike]

8. See my post #7

I feel your pain.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

22. Yeah, then imagine spending the next 4 months

throwing your body at well trained 250+ pound individuals every single day, many times over.

Most people I talk to who've had that injury said they found it hard to do anything.

I must've been the dumbest man alive.

[livetohike]

24. Not dumb - just young!

I was 51 years old when I dislocated my shoulder. They couldn't pump enough morphine into me to erase the pain before they went to put it back in place. About three hours had passed after I injured it. The ER doctor said that if I had it put back in place immediately, it wouldn't have been so bad.

Actually, after it was back in place, it hardly hurt at all.

[Midlodemocrat]

3. I gave birth three times.

Top that.

[TNDemo]

13. I gave birth three times and had fourth degree episiotomies

so they cut through my a-hole, which all ripped open a couple of weeks later so poop was literally flying everywhere. I kept telling the doctor I had a lot of pain, couldn't walk, when I stood up it felt like my insides were falling out. He told me I needed to exercise more. Went in three weeks later and he saw what had happened so to help it heal he stuck electrocautery up my butt and started firing away (no warning, no anesthesia). Pisses me off because I had no idea he was going to do that and then I had to drive with my six-week-old across town with my butt on fire. Had to do that every two weeks for three months to try to get it to heal. With the second kid (different doctor, different city), I ended up in ICU after he was stuck in the pelvis and the anesthesiologist did not show up and the OB gave me general anesthesia (bad idea). All in all, just a walk in the park.

[Redstone]

19. Ouch! Arrrgh! Jeeeeee-ZUS!

You win. Your story makes me hurt more than remembering my own story does. Holy shit, you must be tough.

Everything OK now?

Redstone

[TNDemo]

26. Gee, isn't that the way all people give birth?

I used to see people walking around and cry because I never thought I would walk again. I just thought I was such a big wimp because I had to hang onto a wall to walk and all my friends seemed to do okay after giving birth. I could just jack that doctor's jaw now. You know why I went to him? WORST REASON EVER. He was a Christian. Jerk. He also didn't tell me what he had done - just parted my crack and said "she had a big head for your behind" (while I was on the phone to work). The third kid was a planned section (a day at the beach). My water breaks a month early and I groused all the way to the hospital because it was ruining my schedule. Turns out she had a true knot in the umbilical cord and would not have lasted much longer. So all my deliveries were eventful! And they have all turned out really great. And yes, I probably have repair work in the near future. They justified my C-section because of all the damage done previously and only a thin piece of skin being where a wall of muscle should be.

I don't know about the pain thing - reading the rest of these posts makes me feel really lucky!

[cynatnite]

69. More pregnancy and labor stories

First pregnancy was a cakewalk. Had no problems unless you want to count the horrible doctor I had. It hurt so bad to walk that I was crying after I had my oldest. Come to find out the idiot doctor left gauze up inside of me.

The second one I had problems. I had atrial fib (irregular heartbeat) which required hospitalization. During the week I was due to deliver I started bleeding...placenta previa...and had a c-section. Then I got Bell's Palsey from the surgery which corrected itself in about three months.

The third one was agony. All back labor. The kid was stuck up pretty high inside of me and he had trouble getting out because he was wrapped up in the umbical cord to such a degree, they had to cut it off of him. He had breathing problems and was in ICU for a few days. Oh, and I also had atrial fib with that kid, too.

The last pregnancy was the hardest on my body. My blood pressure was starting to go out of whack and I had difficulty walking as well. Doctor said it's a good thing I opted for tubal ligation. He didn't think my body could take another baby.

[Wickerman]

4. Not too macho, I cried like a baby

but I filpped my bike and put a hole in my upper lip big enough to put my finger thru. I was five and the doctor did a fantastic job so all scaring was minimal. My poor mother though fainted when I showed her how I could put my finger thru my lip.

[movie_girl99]

5. i broke my ankle once while wearing a Chuck E. Cheese

mouse costume. I worked there when i was in High School. some stupid kid pushed me and i tripped down 2 stairs.

[Arkana]

50. Ouch.

I bet you wanted to throttle the little bastard, eh?

The worst injury I've ever had was breaking my arm at 9. I was climbing on a stone wall in my yard with my cousin, and I fell off. Damn, it still hurts to think about it.

[movie_girl99]

70. you bet i did

i hated that effing job.

[ralps]

6. I broke both ankles at different times.

One time i fell down some stairs and broke one, the second time I slipped on some ice and broke the other. I still have pins in each ankle.:shrug: :hi: :hug:

[livetohike]

7. Broke my shoulder (fell while jogging)

Then I dislocated the same shoulder when I tripped over a rock and tried to stop my fall. Had to hike out 3 miles to get to the car and ride 50 miles to the nearest ER. OUCH! That was the most terrible pain of my life.

Tore a tendon/broke a finger in my left hand last spring. Had surgery and it still isn't right :cry:.

[kick-ass-bob]

9. I blew out my knee playing volleyball in college.

That's what I get for joining a rec league...
:eyes:

[Dogmudgeon]

10. Let me count ...

I appear to have lived a "storied" life.

• Ear surgery (three times) to remove recurring tumors
  
• Torn neck ligaments from a car accident
  
• Concussions from car accidents (2)
  
• Left ulnar neuropathy from a car accident
  
• Surface and sinus soft-tissue damage, concussion from a mugging
  
• Hypercapnia/hypoxia (CO2 poisoning and asphyxiation) from a defective kerosene heater
  
• First and second degree burns on my chest, neck, and face, in an explosion
  
• Rectal damage from botched hemorrhoidectomy
  
• Torn knee and chipped kneecap in bike accident
  
• Sinus damage from blow to face during Tae Kwon Do tournament
  
• Heat stroke in a heat wave (100F+) in a traffic jam on I-95
  
• Severe case of flu in 1990 (posted elsewhere at DU in bird flu thread)
  

Did I mention that I'm fat and ugly, too? :)

Remember to dump a pail of water on that campfire when you're done.

--p!

[ret5hd]

11. my cousin once cut my little toe off with a shovel...

does that count as severe? (they sewed it back on and pinned it)

[johnnie]

12. No broken bones but

My cousin stuck a stick in my ear and poked it though my eardrum when I was about 7, and then 6 months later my sister went to slap me and hit me in the same ear and blew the eardrum open.
I had a key jabbed into my eye on my 8th birthday and tore it up. Then when I was 30 I was shooting a rubberband at someone and it snapped. It tore my cornea in the same eye.
My spit gland burst (long and pretty funny story).
That's about it for "major" injuries.

[Bunny]

14. Hemorrhoid. Childbirth injury.

Don't even TRY to tell me it wasn't serious! :silly:

[Redstone]

15. I fell five or ten feet (not saying from where)

with about 50 pounds on my back, landed on a locked-straight right leg (like a moron); broke ankle, ripped knee, compressive damage to hip, shifted stuff in lower spine because of torque, tore muscle in right flank.

Then tipped to the left while falling after leg impact and stupidly put arm out; broke finger, wrist, elbow; compressive injury to shoulder, shifted several upper vertabrae.

Splinted / taped /patched all up as best possible (straightening the broken finger was a real riot); got to place where real medical treatment was available eleven days later.

I'm not going to do that again.

Redstone

[TlalocW]

16. When I was in between Kindergarten and First Grade

I apparently fell off the high dive at the local pool... onto my head and was knocked out and had a big ol' lump on my forehead.

In high school, I had both of my knees injured in one wrestling match by some guy I had beaten before. I beat him that time too, but I was sidelined for about a month.

My right shoulder is now injured from lifting weights and doesn't appear to want to heal - probably because it's under constant repetitive stress from my blowing up balloons with a hand pump (to twist the balloons at festivals and restaurants and such). The pump is one the you hold in your left hand while you hold the balloon on the nozzle then pull the nozzle out and push it in to force air into the balloon. I do that motion with my right arm.

That last one sounds so wimpy. :)

TlalocW

[LostInAnomie]

17. Had my jawbone driven into my sinus cavity, broke my tail bone...

... slid my knee cap over to the side of my leg, and tore my ACL.

The tail bone by FAR was the worst.

[NorthernSpy]

46. jawbone driven into your sinus cavity!

God, that's horrible! May I ask how this happened?

Yikes!


:think:

[LostInAnomie]

52. Playing football in middle school.

I stood up too fast and the guy across the line from me got underneath my face-mask and hit my chin with his shoulder-pad. It drove my jawbone where it connects to the skull on the left side into my sinus cavity. It sucked. The injury itself wasn't too bad because the jaw went back into place. What hurt the worst was the piercing headaches that the injury to my sinus cavity caused.

I'm all better now though. No worse for wear.

[NorthernSpy]

76. yow!

Well, good thing it didn't remain stuck like that, at least.

[xmas74]

20. Broke my left hand,

cracked 2 ribs, concussions, once had a tree branch stuck in my leg (stitches), sprained ankles, twisted knee-not including the hamstring injuries and ligament tears from when I was a runner (I really hated those).

[Lavender Brown]

21. Schoolbus accident in 1st grade

I was in the very back seat and went flying when we hit a huge pothole, and broke my ankle. Luckily that's the worse injury I've ever had.

[alwynsw]

23. Does getting shot count?

I thought it was pretty severe.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

28. Depends on where.

Points awarded on major organs being hit.

[alwynsw]

32. In my hallway. n/t

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

34. Well, if it wasn't gang related or a "drive by", sorry, not macho enough.

Again, major organs also need to be involved.

As that asshole AHnold would say, "Girlie man!" :evilgrin: :silly: :dunce:

[alwynsw]

62. Actually, it was a burglar.

I called 911, shouted that I had. He shot. Got me in the leg. I shot back. Got him better.

He won't rob anyone ever again.

[no name no slogan]

25. Got hit by big tree during a tornado

I was two years old at the time, and a big tree got blown on top of the tent I was in with several other people.

I suffered a crown-to-ear skull fracture and a concussion. My mother, who was next to me in the tent, broke her collarbone and had severe bruising all over. One other guy broke an arm, a leg, and his neck, too. All of us recovered, eventually.

BTW it's also one of my earliest memories. Even 33 years later, it's still very vivid.

[NoPasaran]

27. Had my soul crushed

Last November

[Freebird12004]

61. ditto

January, two years ago

[Tafiti]

29. I broke my collar bone twice, on the same side.

However, it wasn't the same "bone". There is a large and small bone that together make up the clavicle, and I broke each one, about 7 years apart.

I also have a scar on the right side of my face from a German Shepard biting the shit out of my face when I was four.

[auburngrad82]

30. Paper Cut twice

And my horse ran me headfirst into a fence post. 10 stitches on that one plus my first-ever ride in an ambulance.

[taught_me_patience]

31. Torn ACL

I wouldn't wish the rehab from surgery upon my worst enemy.

Took 2 years to fully recover.

taught

[shesemsmom]

33. I was throw from a car and broke darn near

everything. Including major organs

[Jersey Devil]

35. I got smacked on the youknowwhat by a nun with a ruler

during the Pledge of Allegiance in 6th grade. Any guy who ever had to either lead the pledge or read the Bible in front of the class back when he was about 12 knows exactly what I am talking about. You'd just be sitting there, minding your own business and BOOM, Mr. Peabody decides to stand up at full attention for no particular reason and then, to your horror, you are called to the front of the class and the snickering begins.

[Pawel K]

36. I fell off a mountain

We were climbing a mountain and on the way back I lost my balance and instead of falling on my ass my stupid ass started running down a steep rock to try and catch my balance; I flew (literally flew) through a pile of rocks hitting my head running full speed. Somehow I didn't get very many injuries, just a sore arm for a couple weeks and a minor scar on my head.

The interesting thing about this was some guy saw me and came to help. What got to me was that he tried to hand me a bible and said God saved me. He did help me and he was nice about it so I didn't go off on him; but amazing what some people will do.

[Bouncy Ball]

37. Nothing very severe

but I've broken my left arm six different times.

[1gobluedem]

44. Me too!

Then had two surgeries on it. Broke the right arm once, right ankle once, various toes, and a rib. All that caused osteoarthritis to develop and I'm allergic to all anti-inflammatories including aspirin.

Had neurosurgery for a brain tumor fourteen years ago and lost the entire inner ear mechanism on that side and now have a balance disorder. Does that count?

[Bouncy Ball]

38. My daughter injured herself being born.

She messed up her neck and shoulder. Silly girl.

Had to have physical therapy for three months.

[skygazer]

39. Broke my back in a fall off a horse

The macho part was when I got back on and rode home.

[NorthernSpy]

40. sprained my ankle while ice skating...

Also, I got teargassed, which gave me a rash.

[Redstone]

56. Your skating must have been pretty goddamned awful

that they tear-gassed you for doing it.

Redstone

[NorthernSpy]

77. LOL!

:D


Actually, the teargassing and the skating accident were different incidents.

[El Fuego]

41. Broken arm from a SUV rollover accident.

Snapped in two just below the shoulder. VERY horrible experience. Fortunately I had surgery shortly afterward to put me back together with a steel rod.

[fudge stripe cookays]

42. Jesus Christ, people!

I feel remarkably lucky!

-I fell down a slide when I was about 9 and my knee got all gnarly and infected. It took many weeks of antibiotics and Neosporin to heal it up.
-I dropped a ceramic bowl and cut the inside of my right index finger almost to the bone.
-I had pneumonia in 1990.

Honestly, that's pretty much it for me.

I feel awful for all of you who've had to deal with some of these horrific accidents. I'm expecting to leave work this afternoon and be hit by a truck, with that ironic sense of timing I seem to have.

FSC

[barackmyworld]

43. I cut my finger in half, vertically

required 7 hrs of reconstructive surgery. I have pics if anyone desires.

[CanuckAmok]

45. Where's WJMS? He'd win this one!

n/t

[trof]

47. I was decapitated once.

Luckily one of my buddies tossed my head into the beer cooler, applied a tourniquet to my neck, and we made it to the ER in time.

[edbermac]

59. I hope there wasn't any beer in there at the time!

What a waste that would have been!

:beer:

[Solon]

48. Only a few...

I have a scar on my eye where a bottle rocket exploded in my face. It misfired out of the bottle and flew straight at me when I was about 12, blew up and parts of it lodged in my eye. Went to the eye doctor immediately, and they had to remove the stuff, gunpowder and all. The messed up part was, no anesthesia and no knocking my ass out. They put a suction cup over the eye, told me NOT to flinch or move the eye, then they pulled it out of the socket and put a q-tip behind the eye to remove all the stuff that was in it. It was the freakiest thing I have ever been through.

Also crushed the tip of one finger on a steel door by accident once, to this day my finger nail on my left hand index finger grows at an angle. The only bone I broke, so to speak, was while playing basketball in gym, I had a hairline fracture on my left hand middle finger and sprained my index finger. Swelled up to 3 times their size, and hurt like hell, also I couldn't write, I'm a southpaw, and had a big brace over those fingers. That was annoying in middle school.

Let's see, about four years ago I fell on a steel plate at work, split open, to the bone, my eyebrow over my right eye. Broke every blood vessel in my right eye also, plus my lower canine tooth on the right side went through my lower lip, leaving a pretty good size hole in the lip. I have over sized canines, and for years I would get bloody lips from accidentally biting my lips while eating, but never all the way through, it hurt like hell. Also, get this, because of my repeated problems with my canines biting into my lips, I had them filed down, they ended up growing back, now that is weird. These were and are permanent teeth, I didn't think they would do that, but they did, I learned to eat with them by now.

About 2 years ago I was in a car accident, 4 car, I was hit by the car behind me, they were pushed into me, I was pushed into the car ahead of me, by an old lady who hit the car behind me at 40 mph. My tail bone hit the frame of my seat, that hurt like hell. By the next day I had a swollen chest cavity around my lungs and my sternum swelled up and compressed my heart and lungs as well. Neck whiplash in the front, strained ligaments etc. Also suffered from "Shaken Baby Syndrome" (Jerked back and forward)where I "Lost time" up to ten minutes of not being aware of my surroundings, first time I ever suffered a concussion.

Also split open my knuckles on my left hand when I was younger, flipped over my handlebars on my bike while trying to get up a hilly street. Chain fell off and I lost control, that was the first time I ever saw bone without skin, good thing the bones didn't break.

Also stabbed my hand while cutting a bagel about 3 years ago, that left a scar, and didn't help much.

About a year ago, I woke up with severe pain in my left shoulder, with a tingling leading to my pinky and ring finger in my left hand. I have a pinched nerve, and after a lot of pain and PT, I have full use of it now, though my fingers still tingle, even now, its worse in the morning but fades after I been up a while. I think this injury is related to the car accident, though can't prove it, but I was wearing my seatbelt, which went over my left shoulder, it had to of suffered some trauma, even though it took a year for that trauma to appear as symptoms.

ON EDIT: Hell I forgot, at 8 years old I had my tonsils and adenoids taken out. My tonsils almost choked me to death, they were the size of Golf Balls by the time they were taken out.

[BearClaws]

49. Oh yeah,

When I was just a kid, I was sitting on our portable dishwasher.
The thing got clogged up somehow, and boiling hot water exploded all over my back, cooking the skin to my clothes.
Doctors were fearful that I had cooked my kidneys.
After a miserable healing process, everything turned out OK.
Burns Suck.
My heart always goes out to people with serious burns.

[MrSlayer]

51. Dinsdale nailed my head to the floor.

Well he had to, didn't he? I mean there was nothing else he could do, be fair. I had transgressed the unwritten law.

[Padraig18]

53. Broken my femur, blown out both knees, fractured a vertebra...

Orthopaedically, I'm pretty much a mess, and that's even without the arthritis.

:)

[Wapsie B]

54. Head injury, which left me unconscious

for quite awhile and damaged an optic nerve. It was a car wreck but not anything you could call macho. I was about 1 when it happened.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

55. Broken heart

It's my own fault for engaging in risky behavior. ;-)

[Beware the Beast Man]

57. Gouged my index finger on a broken glass.

My first real (knock on wood) requiring-stitches-type injury. Did it three weeks ago.

[uppityperson]

58. Broke ankle landing in tree skydiving, not serious but stupid

Skydiving in the SW USA desert, aiming for a tree in the middle of a clearing. It's getting closer so I turn to land in the clearing, my hand slips swinging me directly into the tree. Broke my ankle but worse was straddling the branch 1 inch higher off the ground than my feet reach. I was young and dumb and was too embarrased to ask the ER doc for stitches. Had to pee in water for a couple wks. Didn't need an episiotomy yrs later when giving birth, so perhaps all is well that ends well?

[Dave Reynolds]

63. Herniated nucleus pulposa (ruptured disc) L5-S1

Removed in 1989, making me 1" shorter.

Fractured skull age 18 months.

Every finger on both hands broken at least once.

Concussion and three "bulging" discs in the neck from a car accident.

More stitches than I can remember from riding dirt bikes, also one broken rib.

Shot with an arrow in the right shoulder. (My brother said I was in the way, I think he's an asshole.)

[B Calm]

64. Blew up my bare footed R foot with an M-80 firecracker, fell off a semi

trailer and broke both wrists, fell out of a tree while cutting it down as a favor for my neighbor and broke my back ending up having lower back surgery... Thats the ones right off the top of my head...

[sakabatou]

65. Okay

burnt my hand on a pot (still have a scar), almost cut off my tongue while licking icing from a knife, partially paralyzed, 3 conconssions from Kung Fu tournaments, dislocated knees, shoulder and elbow, cracked breast bone, intestines that twist every six months, frost nip, kicked in the crotch countless times.

[BearClaws]

66. Damn,

There is a lotta pain in this thread!

[two gun sid]

67. Busted Pelvis.

Fell off a utility pole fuckin' around with a new pair of hooks. I guess I cracked it really, hurt like a motherfucker. I still walk funny.

[nytemare]

68. Broken wrist with pins and screws, playing women's football

That hurt. I have broken my arm as a kid, had a stress fracture in my hip in the Army (which I think was the most painful injury), broke my wrist and had pins and screws in it, broke my ankle the next year, tore my acl the next year, and had ACL reconstructive surgery a year and a half later (I wanted to lose weight for the rehab).

I am no stranger to injury..lol.

[Freebird12004]

71. an 18 pound box fell on the back of my neck

and now I'm retired from lots of things, but I'm too tough to give up. I'll never fully recover so I make the most of my good days.

[ProfessorGAC]

72. Two Incidents

When i was 21 in an industrial league, i partially tore a tendon and had a 3rd degree ankle sprain, playing b-ball. Man, that hurt.

When i was 16, i got jumped in a parking lot & got the snot kicked out of me. Three broken ribs, a dislocated finger, a sprained wrist, and a slightly punctured lung. Only time i was in the hospital, except for a tonsillectomy when i was 3.
The Professor

[Earth_First]

73. Two incidents:

The first was bouldering a waterfall when I lost a grip and fell nearly 45 feet landing my weight on my left foot, completely separating my medial malliolous (sp) from my ankle. Two pins and two screws to replace it, not to mention a full cast from the hip down for 6 months. This was the day before 9/11. Surgery was on 9/11. I went in for pre-op, went under, and when I awoke, all the news. I thought it was the anastesia wearing off. Crazy stuff, really.

Second incident was having a 13 (great number!) bowling ball fall on my foot from a 6 foot high shelf in my garage. Completely shattered three toes on my left foot from left to right, and blew out the skin between four of the toes.

Nice scars to show.

[tsakshaug]

74. Lets see....

Blew out right knee playing basketball took three surgurys to get it ok
Blew out left knee playing basketball took two surgurys to get it better
Broke left fibula playing basketball. never had it set, still hurts

dislocated left thumb playing baseball
dislocated right thumb playing volleyball

Ripped up right foot on a rock in the back yard 120 stitches

2 buldging disks in my neck

1 pinched disk in my lower back

[BearClaws]

75. OUCH...

I am cringing at some of these stories.
Makes me want a big shot of Demerol!

[ProfessorGAC]

80. You Might Have To Stop Going Outside

You're a lightning rod for injuries, or something. Wow! That's a bunch of pain.
The Professor

[Guaranteed]

78. I've got a broken ankle right now (fibula).

Broken right above the outside ankle nob. Was wrestling with a buddy of mine, my ankle caught under me somehow and snapped that outside bone. Couldn't tell if it was broken until they X-rayed it. Hurt like hell, though, especially when I twisted my ankle one way or the other.

Continued wrestling for about 10 minutes after the fact, too. I won, IMO. :) But I paid the price for it.

[nini]

79. Broke both ankles at the same time in a car accident

spent a year in a wheelchair.

dislocated my left foot at the talus bone.. the foot turned completely backwards (ouch)

the right ankle had a compound fracture with broken fibula also. I have 14 screws and a plate in that ankle/leg still.



That was by far the worst.