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RE: [RC] broken ribs/punctured lung - Mcgann, BarbaraRoxanne, Drugs and more drugs! I have done that not only once, but twice...both times a result of a horse falling on me. There is not much you can do for it...by the time they let her leave the hospital (4daysish), the lung will be reinflated and well on its way to healing, but she will have 6-8 weeks of agony with the ribs. The biggest thing is that it is absolutely miserable to try to lay down in a bed. If she doesn't have a hospital type bed that she can crank up, then the next best thing to do is to sleep in an easy-boy style chair for the first couple of weeks. After that, I made a makeshift hospital bed by piling pillows behind me on my bed until I was sleeping almost in a sitting position (1 under the knees to keep you from sliding down). As the ribs got better, I was able to recline more and more, but it was a good six weeks before I was able to turn over and sleep on my side. The chiropractor can help immensely - they can use a "thumper" to keep the rib bones in position so they don't heal slightly out and "electric therapy" to help keep scar tissue from adhering to the ribs and pulling. Despite the fact that it just plain hurts to walk, to turn, to sit, to get up and down (you have to hold your upper body very still to avoid the pain), I actually started riding at about 4 weeks by putting an elastic backbelt on over my t-shirt. It looked really funny (the belt was over the breast area instead of around the waist), but it really helped hold everything in place while riding. You do get paranoid about falling while they're still sore, but it can be done. Barb McGann -----Original Message----- From: ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of koppj@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Friday, August 12, 2005 11:50 AM To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [RC] broken ribs/punctured lung I just found out a friend had a riding accident on Tuesday and has four broken ribs and a punctured lung. She gets out of the hospital today, and before I sit down to write her a letter I was wondering if anyone has had this combination of injuries and can send me some words of wisdom I can pass along to her. I know about broken ankles and concussions but not ribs and lungs! Thanks, Roxanne Kentucky =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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