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So if you're reading this you obviously have an interest in either me or broken bones. I have a bone condition that runs in my family named Osteogenesis Imperfecta. "Osteo" meaning bone, "genesis" meaning family or genetic, and "Imperfecta" meaning not perfect/normal.



Last Friday, the 8th, I was taking my brother to the hospital and broke my left ankle. This is the 7th time I've had a cast on one of my legs due to a brake/fracture in the leg.ankle.foot area. I have also had 3 broken arms, 2 ribs and countless toes and fingers. My first brake was when I was about 2 and was my femur bone. I was out with my aunt when it happened and there is some controversy over how the injury occurred. However, I do know that they put me in an A frame body cast from my ribs to my feet. They had to put both of my legs in the cast so I didn't have one leg grow longer that the other.



It's been about 4 years since my last break which was in my right foot. I got that one just walking down the street with my children. My youngest wasn't even 1 year old yet and still in a stroller. I knew I was about to walk over some broken up side walk, but some how I tripped over a chunk of the side walk and my ankle gave out A very kind hearted woman was sitting out side of a laundry mat at the time and saw what happened. she promptly put her child down in her own stroller and ran over to help me and the kids into the laundry mat so I could call some one for help.



However, here's how I acquired my most recent injury. I had to work late Friday night so I didn't get home until almost 2 a.m. My brother needed to go to the doctor and we decided to stay up until he could be seen by the doctor since it would be in a few hours and any sleep I would have gotten wouldn't have done any good any way. We went to the emergency room about 6a.m. and the doctor would be there about 8a.m. We figured that by the time we got through all the paper work and traditional E.R. waiting the doctor would be walking in. Which we did time it pretty well, but there were at least 4 people ahead of him to be seen by the doctor as well. So, we waited.



At least my brother was in a room and comfortable. I stayed in the room with him while he was waiting, I was trying to get comfortable in the chair in the room. This chair*rolls eyes* looked like a computer chair but was as tall as a bar stool on it's lowest setting. I wasn't really comfortable in it because of how high off the ground I was, but some how I managed to doze off a little bit. My feet were turned in all cockeyed because of the bottom bar on the chair.



Then the nurses popped her head in the room to tell me my husband was on the phone and wanted me to go to the nurses station to take his call. So I was a little startled when she came in because I was in that awkward nodding off/fighting sleep phase. I went to climb off the chair before I realized my feet were asleep and as my feet were numb and couldn't support keeping me standing, all the weight on my already weak ankles caused them to give out. I felt a snap as I hit the floor and since I've been through this before I instantly told the nurse it was broken.



Okay, I was already whimpering and not nearly as calm as this entry makes it sound. So they took me back to the front desk to get registered and seen by a doctor myself. And as usual with the history of my brakes and fractures, the x-rays show nothing because of all the swelling holding everything in place. I explained that to them that usually nothing shows up until a few hours pass and the swelling goes down. So they discharged me with a "severe sprain and possible torn ligament." They put a half assed splint on my foot and leg and referred me to see an orthopedic doctor. Joy, joy, here we go again.



So this doctor finally gives me a cast, but he has me walk on it before the plaster is completely set, and I don't realize it until about 7 at night when it feels like my foot is being crushed. My big strong hubby used some pliers to loosen up the cast around my toes to give me some immediate relief. If I would have gone back to the E.R. and waited for them to do anything, I would have been crying and screaming for someone to shoot me.



So I think the biggest disappointments to come out of all this is that #1. I cannot be there for my brother the way I feel I should be, as his older sister and main source of support/guardian type person and #2. that I'm going to fall behind on all my bills and rent from missing work, and I'm not completely sure if I'm even going to still have a job when I am able to go back to work. Sometimes it's really hard to smile!