Away for a weekend break with my hubby and friends, having a brilliant time! Decided to go and grab some food before settling down to watch another entertainment act. We ate our food and were just leaving the fast food diner when the accident happened. The step was shallow and unmarked and the lighting inside the food hall was poor. I didn't notice that it was even there when my left foot unbalanced on the edge of the step and my ankle twisted, sending me crashing down onto the floor below the step with my right knee taking the brunt of the fall. I rolled back into a sitting position with my knees bent up in front of me, and this is when I noticed the jagged lumps on my knee cap protruding underneath the material of my skinny jeans. We didn't need to be medical experts to know that this was going to need more than an ice pack to fix it!
A First Aider was called who took one look and telephoned for an ambulance immediately. Unfortunately, there was no ambulance in the area at the time - the nearest A&E department being over an hours drive away, so a paramedic was sent to assess the situation in the meantime. He checked my knee, my pain levels and made sure I was kept as comfortable as possible until the ambulance arrived, two diversions and an hour and a half later. I was stretchered into the ambulance and given entinox as pain relief whilst the knee was examined. By this time, my knee had a swelling the size of a tennis ball on the knee cap and was already bruising nicely. The initial protrusions were no longer visible due to the swelling and the ambulance medic suspected that my patella was dislocated. The entinox was increased whilst he tried to manipulate it back into place.
Over an hour later, with the help of the entinox we made through the winding lanes to the hospital A&E department. A doctor made a quick assessment and two Xrays were taken. I was told that I'd "made a good job of it". An orthopedic doctor was sent for to explain further.
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| Fractures of the Patella. (Mine was a comminuted displaced fracture similar to the 4th diagram here) |
I was diagnosed with a comminuted displaced patella fracture, which basically meant my knee cap was broken into at least four pieces. I would require surgery as soon as possible to pin and wire it back together. I was put on the trauma list for the following morning, my leg was put in a plaster of paris half cast splint and I was taken to the orthopedic ward where I was given diamorphine, ibuprofen, paracetamol and codeine for pain relief. It was a very long night, and the beginning of a long road to recovery.
Hi Celticep - I too have a broken patella and your blog cheered me up as I face the long, slow journey to independence and mobility. Your experiences have mirrored mine very closely (currently on week 9) and I found the tips you provide very helpful. It is hard not to get downhearted and to feel that all the effort reaps little reward so to read of your progress has been very helpful. You are quite right about how hard it is to find information and how little people in general know about this injury. I must admit that when I learned I had fractured my patella I too thought it would just be a matter of weeks until I recovered. Coming to terms with how long it will take to fully recover has been my biggest challenge. Thanks again for sharing your experience.
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