Do it yourself Splint

3 weeks ago My wife and I went to Mexico to camp with a bunch of friends in a beautiful Palm oasis with Hot Springs. This is our 4th year making this spring trek. It's not an easy place to get to, with 50 miles of increasingly bad dirt road, which keeps all but the hardy out.

Seems like there is an injury among the group of 400 people every time because it is a very rugged canyon. This year was my wife's turn. Late in the Day on Saturday she mis-stepped and fell off a small boulder and onto the ground. It was about a 4 foot fall and she got scraped up pretty good, but even worse, broke both the Radius and the Ulna at the right wrist.

Fortunately for us, we have medical people i the group and after I got her sitting up and started to assess her injuries, a doctor friend and an EMT both agreed we needed to splint her before moving her back to camp. I had tape, but no SAM so I built an improvised splint from native materials.

After we got her stabilized, we got her back to camp and another medical friend showed up with some pain killers.

The next day I got us all packed up and we bugged out at 1PM. The ride out through the rocks, 2 river crossings and then 30 miles of Washboard was not good for her, but we all breathed a sigh of relief when we hit pavement, and a bigger one when back in the US. Next stop, the ER where we found the extent of the injury. Turns out it was broke enough to require surgery, a plate and 6 pins...

She is one tough cookie!

Glad to hear she is doing well.

I glad to hear she doing well, as well.
Sounds like you were able to over come a difficult situation.
You never know.

Definitely there were some "pucker" moments along the way, but keeping a cool head and thinking through the situation is what made things work. Always best in a situation like this to stop and think before reacting.

She will be fine. she went on a trip to West Virginia This week and is having a good time. And since her pain is minimal now, We just got to add 90 Percocets to the Med kit!

Good job in the field, Badawg! I hope everything heals well.

The next day? The next day? I'll bet she belts you when the cast comes off. Hang on to the meds. I think you are gonna need 'em. Good job. As bad as it was I'm glad it wasn't worse and she's doing well.

I'd say get well soon, but the sooner she gets well, the sooner you'll get a strapping!
what the heck, Get Well Soon!!

next time help the lady down the rock.. be a gentleman!

@ YCC She ran ahead of me... What could I do?When she went over I managed to grab thin air...

@ Rick. She did not want to leave and hit that bouncy track out in the dark, and since we had a physician examine her, and he agreed, It was the right call. By the time we got out of there she had a good bit of pain killer in her, and that made the ride bearable...

I was just teasin ya buddy.
Made you feel a little helpless, I bet. I was just tryin to make you feel better before she whoops on ya.

Hey. You don't have to convince me. She's the one that will be comein' 'round the corner with the skillet.

Truly, we are good. She was in enough pain that she did NOT want to move anywhere...

My Vix is tough as nails. She is off in West Virginia right now and having a great time...

Well, good for her. Tell her when you said lead, follow or get out of the way you didn't really me fall off a boulder.

LOL!!! She is a fireball! She was more mad about having to leave than anything but the giant cast they put on her at the ER. Now tell me, does this look like trouble?

You ain't gettin' me in the middle of this. No sir. You're just tryin' to redirect her anger. I'm sorry, Mrs. Badawg, that he didn't sweep you up and carry you to the ER that very moment. That's what I would have done if it had been my missus. Why, I wouldn't have rested a moment until I knew she was being well cared for. Not like some cads that's for sure.

she posted that and a buncha others on Facebook tonight... Trying to tease me from 3000 miles away... Yup, she is Trouble...

Sorry you had to cut your vacation short Badawg,but glad she is doing well!

Wow! Impressive! I broke the same bones in my left wrist and cracked my right radius. Not fun! I ended up needing arthroscopic surgery a little over a year afterwards due to continuing inexplicable pain, which was a tear in the cartillage. I wish I had you on the scene instead of a bund of students staring at me akwardly.