Seamless... to CT

so, I was regretfully shocked recently when I discovered at my ‘discharge’ appointment that my clavicle had NOT JOINED UP AT ALL, and the consultant recommending surgery (which arguably should have been done right at the start of the injury).  Internet searching (which the consultant criticised me for doing) suggests that pinning is more likely to take if done at the start with the initial wound, rather than creating a new/artificial one, which is what is needed when the pinning is done at a later stage.

I have been for a CT scan as a next stage in this process.  I thought I would just note a bit about it, since I realised I was unclear what it was, and a friend of mine asked.  A CT scan seems to be a lot of X rays done to give a 3D picture of a body situation – eg in my case, where the two ends of the clavicle now are, and whether they are joined in any place at all.  The hospital said it was considered potentially damaging to a foetus, since it was a ‘high dose of radiation’ [alarming].  The machine is like a giant polo mint, and you lie down with the particular area to be scanned in the middle of a bed.  The [polo mint] machine then (with others outside the room) moves to and fro [around the body - clavicle/shoulders in my case]; I was asked a few times to breathe in and hold my breath for a few seconds, presumably to be still.  I wasn’t clear when the rays were doing their thing – throughout? just when I was breathing in?  The whole process took maximum 15 minutes.  I would have found more explanation helpful, though the process was conveniently timed for me in the evening, and the hospital was not busy at all, and having arrived early I was out before my actual appointment time.

Moving on to my point about ‘seamlessness’, what has shocked me is how there has been (from my point of view) no acknowledgement of my transition from a break due to have healed up within 10 weeks, and no hint that it might not, to the situation of it having joined up at all.  I have also missed out on an understanding of why this has happened – very unusual? to be expected for this kind of break? – [when shown the Xray in my fracture clinic appointment 2 weeks after the break, I couldn’t believe it could join up by itself, but was assured both by orthodox and complementary practitioners that it would, and the new bone cells would seek out the other half so to speak.]

At the same time, I have been marking essays for my Open University teaching on health and social care, where for example, a model of transition is mentioned where the sequence of change may include initial anger, ultimately with being reconciled and adapting to the situation.  This also reminds me of the Kubler Ross model of bereavement.  I haven’t felt any knowledge of this kind of process really from any health professional that I have come in contact with, except a physio who observed that my confidence had been shaken.  Too right.