Patient Story: Submitted by Carol

“When traveling through the Sierras a couple years ago, I was hiking through a stream when I suddenly lost my footing on a slippery rock and fell backwards. I threw my arms back to catch myself, and as my hand landed, it wedged in between two rocks, shattering my wrist. In shock, I wrapped it in a t-shirt for support and hoped it would feel better the next day. With much despair, I woke up with my wrist completely swollen and in a deformed shape, so I went to urgent care in the area. After taking X-rays, they splinted my wrist and told me to go to orthopedic specialist when I got home to Ventura.

My wife and I had two weeks left in our trip, so we continued to Utah with an appointment with Dr. Gluck awaiting me the day we returned. Upon our return, we had only a week in town before catching a plane to Chicago for another planned trip. I thought Dr. Gluck would just put a cast on my arm for further treatment and we would be on our way. To my surprise, not only was my wrist severely fractured, but I also detached a ligament from the bone. I was informed it would not heal properly unless surgery was performed. Dr. Gluck and his team went out of their way to get me into surgery the next day so I could continue my travels. He treated me as the active person I am, making sure I could continue to travel and eventually use my hand.

For the procedure, a metal plate was placed in my wrist to hold the ligament and bone together. It took me a year to fully recover my range of motion and be able to do things such as grab both hands behind my back. It has been two years now and it feels as if I never broke my wrist. The only time I am reminded of the injury is when I go through security at the airport.”