MAG I think he's going to be done.

[buttercup]

So the past week has been a good news bad news story. Last Monday we saw our 3rd ortho trying to figure out the wrist pain that has had ds (16) off his left wrist totally for the past 5 months. (Modified training for dec and jan, and No apparatus work whatsoever since the last weekend in January.) Good news is this doc listened a little more and dug a little deeper and we know what he's done to the wrist. It is a surgical fix- and ds confirmed with ortho that it should be good to train on after. Ortho wants 2 tests done then we will schedule surgery. Ds was thrilled. Until we got date back on the contrast mri. It's 3 months out. Then talked to ortho office about surgery dates. They are booking 8- 11 months out, and won't book the date until after the mri. So a minimum of another 11 months plus rehab. Plus the 5 he's already been out means about a year and half with no skill work. I'm thinking that's just too long to get back into it.

His goal was always figure out the wrist- get back in the gym, get back to full training and then make a choice. It sucks that wait times (both to get to this point and to go forward) are going to be the deciding factor!

Also sucks that it is going to be another 16 months plus of not being able to open doorknobs, do up buttons, ride a bike, paddle a canoe, spot kids while he coaches, type with both hands, and so many other things too.

So sad right now!

 

[GymDad9.9]

Sorry to hear. Have you considered seeking treatment in another country that does not have the scheduling backlogs?

 

[skschlag]

That is very sad. I cannot believe that they cannot get him in sooner Poor guy. Just to have to make that decision based on the medical stuff is sad

 

[sce]

That is so frustrating, so sorry

 

[profmom]

Wow, how incredibly frustrating! I assume you're on cancellation lists for the MRI and surgery. Any chance of getting in any earlier? Or if they know they're doing the surgery anyway, do they need the MRI first? Sigh.

 

[munchkin3]

So the past week has been a good news bad news story. Last Monday we saw our 3rd ortho trying to figure out the wrist pain that has had ds (16) off his left wrist totally for the past 5 months. (Modified training for dec and jan, and No apparatus work whatsoever since the last weekend in January.) Good news is this doc listened a little more and dug a little deeper and we know what he's done to the wrist. It is a surgical fix- and ds confirmed with ortho that it should be good to train on after. Ortho wants 2 tests done then we will schedule surgery. Ds was thrilled. Until we got date back on the contrast mri. It's 3 months out. Then talked to ortho office about surgery dates. They are booking 8- 11 months out, and won't book the date until after the mri. So a minimum of another 11 months plus rehab. Plus the 5 he's already been out means about a year and half with no skill work. I'm thinking that's just too long to get back into it.

His goal was always figure out the wrist- get back in the gym, get back to full training and then make a choice. It sucks that wait times (both to get to this point and to go forward) are going to be the deciding factor!

Also sucks that it is going to be another 16 months plus of not being able to open doorknobs, do up buttons, ride a bike, paddle a canoe, spot kids while he coaches, type with both hands, and so many other things too.

So sad right now!

OMG!!!! buttercup I FEEL YOUR PAIN!!!! Your poor son!
this was my son a few years ago! He hurt his wrist at 13. We did the 'stupid mom' method where just work through it, if is still hurts in a couple of weeks we will go to check it out. We got it xrayed- nothing...the ortho said it was probably a sprain......wait 4 weeks......after 4 weeks, no change and he had the same pain so the ortho requested an MRI which we got the following week.......back to the ortho a week after that, and he said the MRI showed inflammation so he put him in a sling and no usage for a few more weeks.....(8 weeks post injury)....no improvement.
I then took him to a hand specialist and took him the MRI results where the specialist said the MRI quality was garbage and he could not see anything. Instead of ordering a new one, he assumed it was a TFCC injury and casted him above the elbow for 4 more weeks.....we came back after 4 weeks and the Dr. removed the cast and within seconds my son said....'its the same Mom'..... OK, we are about 4/5 months into the injury. I demand a new MRI and the Dr. agrees so we get it done 2 weeks after that! (everything is a week or 2 right???). After getting the final results which showed an old fracture of the ulnar styloid, and inflamation all around it, the specialist says the probability if the fracture to heal is low, so he said to give it a few more months, or quit gymnastics. We asked him for surgery and he said he would never operate on a 13 yo...he tells my son to look for a different sport.

6 months after initial injury and no improvement, my son was going to gymnastics and he was able to do very little. Add in a coach who had NO experience with injured athletes and, well, you could imagine the mental abuse he got....That coach routinely would tell him he was a liar and was making up injuries. He would send him to the side with a list of conditioning and then would focus on the others.
I made him try other sports since I refused open wrist surgery. He tried several things but kept going back to gymnastics.......I eventually found an excellent surgeon who specialized in hand wrist/problems and he performed arthroscopic surgery and fixed it up in 20 minutes. This surgery was 11 months after the injury. After 2 months of serious rehab, he was trying to get back in after 13 months. ( 2 full seasons in the crapper) We then changed gyms....

I think my son would have made it through this injury had he a more understanding and experienced coach. I think this is so critical when athletes get injuries, especially the 12/13/14 year olds. Unfortunately for my son, he tried to come back but just did not have the mental stamina to 'come back'. Plus he had grown 4 inches and gained some weight.....All of which made 'coming back' harder. A good coach would not have cast him aside but would have tried to keep him menatlly engaged.....I should have taken him out of the gym when it was obvious the coach was behaving badly........maybe its just me still trying to blame....
He 'retired' at 15 and is now coaching at his new gym. He has learned tons in the 9 years of gymnastics, especially what kind of coach he does NOT want to be........But i still hold a tiny bit of hope for him to go back....he could specialize easily and he is still so young.

I really feel for you and your son and all that he has gone through. It is such a frustrating injury and it seems like it will never get better. It will......
Feel free to PM me.....if I can offer any help I would be happy to.

 

[buttercup]

Thanks for all the replies. He's on the cancellation list for the mri, but apparently this particular kind of mri is only done a couple days a month, so the chances of a cancellation aren't that high. They won't even book the surgery until at after the mri, but will get him on the cancellation list for that too when we can.

Or if they know they're doing the surgery anyway, do they need the MRI first? Sigh.

Since the damage he's done is relatively rare (rupture of the ECU subsheath, so the tendons dislocates every time he moves his hand), and usually only happens with other trauma the ortho wants to make sure he is aware of any other damage before the surgery. That's why the specialized mri. I love the fact he's looking to make sure he gets everything in one shot- just hate the timeline.

Have you considered seeking treatment in another country that does not have the scheduling backlogs?

I have no idea how to even start figuring out how this would be done- And not sure we could afford it! But at this point I wouldn't rule options out. I think I'm going to be spending a bunch of time on line this week. Complicating issue is he doesn't have a passport- but that's relatively easy to fix.

He does have an awesome coach who has been fantastic to him through all of the injuries - I know he's going to be just as crushed when he hears the timeline too. I honestly believe ds would have been done long before now without the support he gets from the staff at the gym. It is where he trains, where he works and is truly his "happy place".

 

[Iwannabemargo]

I have no idea how it works in Canada, but here you could pay for the MRI (usually about £300-£500) as a private patient and then jump back into the NHS system for the surgery, is that an option ?

 

[munchkin3]

I don't think he has to be done. Even with the timeline, he is young!!!! If he keeps in shape, eats healthy and focuses on healing he will be able to go back in.
We have a 12th grader come back after 1 1/2 years out and he is catching up quickly.
If you must wait the 6-12 months, can he just take a sabbatical and try other things?

 

[gracyomalley]

nothing helpful to add, but hoping for the best!

 

[profmom]

He does have an awesome coach who has been fantastic to him through all of the injuries - I know he's going to be just as crushed when he hears the timeline too. I honestly believe ds would have been done long before now without the support he gets from the staff at the gym. It is where he trains, where he works and is truly his "happy place".

That clinches it for me. Do what you have to do to keep him in.

 

[raenndrops]

Thanks for all the replies. He's on the cancellation list for the mri, but apparently this particular kind of mri is only done a couple days a month, so the chances of a cancellation aren't that high. They won't even book the surgery until at after the mri, but will get him on the cancellation list for that too when we can.



Since the damage he's done is relatively rare (rupture of the ECU subsheath, so the tendons dislocates every time he moves his hand), and usually only happens with other trauma the ortho wants to make sure he is aware of any other damage before the surgery. That's why the specialized mri. I love the fact he's looking to make sure he gets everything in one shot- just hate the timeline.



I have no idea how to even start figuring out how this would be done- And not sure we could afford it! But at this point I wouldn't rule options out. I think I'm going to be spending a bunch of time on line this week. Complicating issue is he doesn't have a passport- but that's relatively easy to fix.

He does have an awesome coach who has been fantastic to him through all of the injuries - I know he's going to be just as crushed when he hears the timeline too. I honestly believe ds would have been done long before now without the support he gets from the staff at the gym. It is where he trains, where he works and is truly his "happy place".

If you can't get one sooner by paying privately, out of pocket, look into US University Hospitals and MRI Centers affiliated with them. UCLA and Ohio State University both have phenomenal ones, just to name a couple.

 

[rosiekat]

No advice, just sympathy. I hope it all works out well for him sooner than soonest, both health- and gym-wise.

 

[buttercup]

Thanks everyone for the encouragement and thoughts. I've learned alot in the past two days including that there are private surgery clinics here in canada - just not in all provinces. I've found a couple that might work and contacted them but it will really come down to the price tag.

I've also tried looking at places across the border into the states but am finding it overwhelming. Given where we are located traveling to some American cities would actually be closer then the private clinics in Canada- so I will keep digging.

Hopefully one of these avenues works out for him! If anyone has any hints for navigating through this they would be appriciated!

 

[Deleted member 18037]

I have no idea how it works in Canada, but here you could pay for the MRI (usually about £300-£500) as a private patient and then jump back into the NHS system for the surgery, is that an option ?

Sorry to interrupt. I find it disturbing that paying cash can jump you to the head of the line.

Hope all goes well with your son. This thread also disturbs me as my daughter is what we are hopefully thinking as coming off her first wrist injury. It's not excruciating but still gives her a little "niggle" for BHS. We have done the clear XRay and brace rest thing. Back to ortho after our vacation. Now I'm worried.

 

[QueenBee]

@Deleted member 18037 - I highly recommend you get an MRI done at this point...often X-rays just won't show enough detail for accurate assessment of gymnastic injuries. You may also want to spend the time now to find a sports medicine specific ortho (ideally who is also pediatric specialized) who can really stay on top of what is happening physically with your gymnast.

Having a great specialist who really understands what kind of stress these athletes put upon their body has been a huge help in our family with rehabbing injury correctly.

 

[Iwannabemargo]

Sorry to interrupt. I find it disturbing that paying cash can jump you to the head of the line.

Not really, in the situation above the OP needs a scan before the treatment. There is limited funded scanning, those who can afford it go elsewhere, those who can't get a shorter wait as they have left the queue, and the NHS doesn't fund that scan.

 

[buttercup]

Sorry to interrupt. I find it disturbing that paying cash can jump you to the head of the line.

For us it's not jumping to the head of the line- it's abandoning the line all together and finding a new line, that is much shorter. Our changing where and how we do his surgery and scan has no negative impact on others, only our wallets.

It's not excruciating but still gives her a little "niggle" for BHS. We have done the clear XRay and brace rest thing. Back to ortho after our vacation. Now I'm worried.

I would have it looked at again. X-rays don't show everything so an mri might be better but hopefully you have found a "hands on " ortho. What got us in trouble was specialists relying too fully on the test results and not fully examining the wrist. His xray, bone scan and first mri don't show the problem- but the 3rd ortho took the time for a thorough exam, and could see/feel the problem. His issue still won't show on any standard testing because it can only be seen if the wrist is rotated.
Good luck and I hope it's nothing!

 

[JBS]

Wow...doesn't make sense to me...we can usually get an MRI for our athletes in 3 days

 

[Iwannabemargo]

Just a thought, being part of British Gymnastics requires us to pay an insurance payment each year, which then entitles us to some treatments, does Gym Canada have anything similar ? Would that help any ? I always forget about it.