It all happened in a flash: I was biking on a warm Friday afternoon before Labor Day and all of a sudden I hit a pothole. I found myself lying in the street in agonizing pain with my left wrist tremendously swollen. At the emergency room, the doctors set my wrist somewhat in place and placed me in a cast up to my bicep. But they told me that I needed to have my wrist examined very soon (see photos 1, 2 and 3).
The following Wednesday I saw Dr. Aaron Daluiski after his office staff graciously squeezed me in. Dr. Daluiski said that I had suffered a very serious injury and unfortunately, my wrist would not heal well on its own. He recommended that I undergo surgery very soon, before the bones began to set on their own. Considering the gravity of my injury, Dr. Daluiski's staff was able to arrange for me to undergo surgery that Friday, less than 48 hours after I saw Dr. Daluiski.
In the recovery room after surgery, Dr. Daluiski said that everything went well, even though it was a very severe accident. He inserted multiple plates and screws to help set my wrist (see photo 4). It was pretty painful for 2-3 days after surgery, but after that my wrist began to feel progressively better. I saw Dr. Daluiski about one week after the surgery and he said everything looked great so far (see photo 5 and 6). I was amazed that my wrist began to look like a normal wrist and that I was able to begin performing gentle range of motion exercises with the occupational therapists at the hospital. About six weeks after the surgery, I had a second surgery to remove some of the hardware in my wrist. The second surgery also went very smoothly. Throughout this process, I continued working with the occupational therapists to regain the motion and strength in my wrist.
It's now five and a half months since the accident. The strength and motion in my wrist are almost back to normal, but just as noteworthy is that I can do practically everything that I did before the accident and my wrist looks practically back to normal (see photos 7 and 8). I'd most like to thank Dr. Daluiski and his extraordinary skill in helping piece me back together. But I'd also like to thank the entire HSS team for helping me recover from this severe injury, Dr. Daluiski's physician assistant Sarah Rufo, occupational therapists Emily Sloane, Sophie Goloff, and Jenna Rizzuto, and Dr. Daluiski's office staff Jessica and Nicole. I'm very grateful for everyone's assistance in helping me recover.
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