61 The Drill That Got Away
During a doctor visit, I was asked to describe the type of pain that I felt. Although I felt like I’d pretty much achieved a Master’s Degree in pain, I still wasn’t able to quite put into words the extremely sharp pain that I experienced above my ankle.
The surgeon prompted me, “Well, is it like a knife being jabbed into your ankle?” To which I answered, “No, it’s more like a screwdriver. A screwdriver that is plunged into my ankle, and then twisted and twisted.”
At this, the doctors sheepishly looked at each other and all-too-casually remarked, “Oh, that’s probably because during surgery we accidentally drilled through your leg!” They pointed out the still-healing scar above my heel, the exit point of the drill bit, adding, “Yeah, we drilled right through your Achilles tendon, but that should be pretty much healed by now.”
I was flabbergasted. Close to a month after my operation and I was just now finding out about this! I couldn’t find words to express to do the subject justice. So I did something that I rarely do. I just shut up. It was going to take me some time to absorb this.
[If you double-click the photo, it gives you greater detail, specifically the scab above my heel showing the exit point of the drill, when the first hole was drilled.]
I later found out that the density of my tibia bone, which was quite badly shattered, was different than what the doctors had anticipated. So when they were drilling the first hole into my shin, the drill had kind of gotten away from them and continued right through my leg, passing through the Achilles tendon above my ankle and exiting on the opposite side of my leg.
I always try to identify the “good news” within the “bad news”. About all I could come up with on the spot was, “Well, thank God the drill didn’t go right through my ankle bone!”
The surgeon prompted me, “Well, is it like a knife being jabbed into your ankle?” To which I answered, “No, it’s more like a screwdriver. A screwdriver that is plunged into my ankle, and then twisted and twisted.”
At this, the doctors sheepishly looked at each other and all-too-casually remarked, “Oh, that’s probably because during surgery we accidentally drilled through your leg!” They pointed out the still-healing scar above my heel, the exit point of the drill bit, adding, “Yeah, we drilled right through your Achilles tendon, but that should be pretty much healed by now.”
I was flabbergasted. Close to a month after my operation and I was just now finding out about this! I couldn’t find words to express to do the subject justice. So I did something that I rarely do. I just shut up. It was going to take me some time to absorb this.
[If you double-click the photo, it gives you greater detail, specifically the scab above my heel showing the exit point of the drill, when the first hole was drilled.]I later found out that the density of my tibia bone, which was quite badly shattered, was different than what the doctors had anticipated. So when they were drilling the first hole into my shin, the drill had kind of gotten away from them and continued right through my leg, passing through the Achilles tendon above my ankle and exiting on the opposite side of my leg.
I always try to identify the “good news” within the “bad news”. About all I could come up with on the spot was, “Well, thank God the drill didn’t go right through my ankle bone!”
<< Home