I broke my wrist

In July 2026, I broke my right wrist, had surgery and got a plate put in.

Breaking my dominant hand sucked, of course, but it was interesting to see all of the technology involved. My wrist isn't fully recovered yet, but I do appreciate that I'm unlikely to face long-term consequences.

07/09

I fell off my bike and broke my right wrist, though at that time, I thought I'd just sprained it. It was around 7 p.m. and urgent care might be closed. The ER could be too expensive for a sprain.

Unfortunately, the rest of my family was in Japan; I took pain killers, iced the wrist and slept.

07/10

I went to a nearby urgent care to get an X-ray. The first surprise was that the bone was broken and I probably should have gone to the ER the day before. They referred me to the ER.

At the ER, I got a splint and had another referral for a specialist visit.

After that, I bought Kensington's trackball for my left hand, wa aterproof cast cover for showering and a box of Top Ramen to avoid cooking.

07/14

My family was back.

07/16

I had a specialist visit. The second surprise was that they recommended surgery. The bone was healing but it wasn't fully aligned and that could cause a long-term problem. I booked surgery.

07/21

I had surgery. It went well. Well, actually, I was under anesthesia and didn't remember anything during the surgery itself.

Post-surgery, once the nerve block wore off, was the worst. I wouldn't say mine was worse than others, but it was a pain I hadn't experienced before. I had Acetaminophen, Ibuprofen and Oxycodone in rotation. I had a little spreadsheet to manage the dosing schedule.

07/24

It was the first work day after the surgery. I took a few days off because of the pain.

07/26

I bought a pill organizer to take pain killers in rotation.

07/27

The new splint I got after the surgery was shorter and I could use both hands to type. However, it was causing acute pain. Icing worked well this time.

08/06

I had a post-op visit and finally took off the splint. It was a huge relief since the splint was making my skin itch. The surgical scar was gross, to be honest.

Then I got a new thermoplastic splint. Unlike the previous one, it was designed to be taken off occasionally.