Broken left Calcaneus possible broken left wrist head contusion

The urgent reason I am contacting this forum is that I was dropped while being lowered off a rock climb 12/24/13 and my left Calcaneus (heal bone) was broken off, my left wrist feels like it has a broken bone in it and I hit my head on a rock that really hurt but I had no sensation of blacking out and never been knocked out. I went to an Urgent Care on 12/26/13 and they took x-rays but didn’t do anything with my head wound even though it still bleeds, they gave me a walking boot and a wrist brace and wheeled me out to my vehicle. Luckily, kind of, the owner of the Urgent Care is an Orthopedic Surgeon and had the Dr call me to tell me to come in for a follow up the next day. I went back and it is new personnel and they took 2 more x-rays, gave me a plaster brace. The male nurse gets the plaster brace fitted and then he has a long roll of cotton bandage and says he is going to use it for padding under my heal. He was holding the padding with nervous look in his eyes though, but I didn’t know why at that point. After a bit the male nurse finishes wrapping up my brace and gives me some crutches. But again they do not address my head wound which seems very suspicious to me as falling backwards and hitting a rock that splits the skin open I thought should be X-rayed, cleaned and sewn close. Both visits they refuse to do anything. The follow up visit was no charge. The walking boot was very heavy and when I moved around it shifted moving the Calcaneus There was no way of walking the fact that the first Dr did such a blatant unethical treatment of a broken Calcaneus is outrageous! I really want to file a complaint! When I take a shower the head wound bleeds. Completely out of normal procedure I would say. All I can see of my head wound is a picture which is of a wide black scab over a wound that is swollen very large. The head impact was about 1 1/2" below the skull cap. As it turns out I had to remove the Ace bandage and found the roll of cotton bandage was not under my heal but was against the inside of the left heal bone, put there to move my Calcaneus to the left out of place even more. They refused to let me see my x-rays for both visits. After I complained about my head wound The Dr had them give me "antibiotics". The antibiotics were in a funny looking plastic square bottle. After thinking over what transpired at both visits with them not letting me see my x-rays both times not treating my head wound both times I decided I better check exactly what antibiotics they gave me. It turns out the main use of the antibiotic was for urinary infections. They didn't tell me you have to drink a lot of water when taking this specific antibiotic. This antibiotic dried out my intestinal tract big time like I never experienced. Also my left foot had swollen up big time after I went to the urgent care. It was 2 days before I went to the Urgent Care from when the accident happened. Then I took a shower and removed the Ace bandage and discovered that the folded up cotton bandage was not placed under my left heal it was placed against the inside of my broken Calcaneus pushing it to the left side. Plus the male nurse wrapped the ace bandage around the broken Calcaneus very tightly to push it as far as it could go. The final visit was on 12/27/13 and I didn't get to take a shower until 1/2/14. So I decided this was very unethical treatment with criminal intent and I spent 2 days trying to file a complaint to the California Medical Board but I cannot get through on their phone line. I spent a day trying to send an email to a Doctor that has this experience but every time I sent the email the next web page to open up stated the email was sent. Then when I checked the sent folder there was no record of the sent email. I even tried to use the email link on the Doctor's Website but nothing would happen when I clicked on the hyperlink. My head is still bleeding as I type! Anybody know how I can file a complaint? So the Calcaneus is a very important bone. If it is not put back in place correctly you will walk with a limp the rest of your life. Time is ticking. Another important note I asked for and received the digital taken x-rays. One of the most important views the x-ray is very over exposed looking, and nothing can be made out to the condition of. It is the shot of under the foot of the bottom of the Calcaneus. Anybody know if this overexposure was intentional like the placement of the folded cotton bandage? There is some very interesting missing bone on the back of the Calcaneus. Plus I still need a Great foot specialist Doctor to put my Calcaneus back in place. I know there are a couple of Foot Specialist in Boulder Colorado. Anybody have contact info. Anybody have immediate help with the unethical treatment of a climber type of organization? Refer a good Attorney? Thank you for your help.

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"The urgent reason I am contacting this forum is that I was dropped while being lowered off a rock climb 12/24/13 and my left Calcaneus (heal bone) was broken off, my left wrist feels like it has a broken bone in it and I hit my head on a rock that really hurt but I had no sensation of blacking out and never been knocked out.

I went to an Urgent Care on 12/26/13 and they took x-rays but didn’t do anything with my head wound even though it still bleeds, they gave me a walking boot and a wrist brace and wheeled me out to my vehicle. Luckily, kind of, the owner of the Urgent Care is an Orthopedic Surgeon and had the Dr call me to tell me to come in for a follow up the next day. I went back and it is new personnel and they took 2 more x-rays, gave me a plaster brace. The male nurse gets the plaster brace fitted and then he has a long roll of cotton bandage and says he is going to use it for padding under my heal. He was holding the padding with nervous look in his eyes though, but I didn’t know why at that point. After a bit the male nurse finishes wrapping up my brace and gives me some crutches. But again they do not address my head wound which seems very suspicious to me as falling backwards and hitting a rock that splits the skin open I thought should be X-rayed, cleaned and sewn close.

Both visits they refuse to do anything. The follow up visit was no charge. The walking boot was very heavy and when I moved around it shifted moving the Calcaneus There was no way of walking the fact that the first Dr did such a blatant unethical treatment of a broken Calcaneus is outrageous! I really want to file a complaint! When I take a shower the head wound bleeds. Completely out of normal procedure I would say. All I can see of my head wound is a picture which is of a wide black scab over a wound that is swollen very large.

The head impact was about 1 1/2" below the skull cap. As it turns out I had to remove the Ace bandage and found the roll of cotton bandage was not under my heal but was against the inside of the left heal bone, put there to move my Calcaneus to the left out of place even more. They refused to let me see my x-rays for both visits. After I complained about my head wound The Dr had them give me "antibiotics". The antibiotics were in a funny looking plastic square bottle.

After thinking over what transpired at both visits with them not letting me see my x-rays both times not treating my head wound both times I decided I better check exactly what antibiotics they gave me. It turns out the main use of the antibiotic was for urinary infections. They didn't tell me you have to drink a lot of water when taking this specific antibiotic. This antibiotic dried out my intestinal tract big time like I never experienced. Also my left foot had swollen up big time after I went to the urgent care.

It was 2 days before I went to the Urgent Care from when the accident happened. Then I took a shower and removed the Ace bandage and discovered that the folded up cotton bandage was not placed under my left heal it was placed against the inside of my broken Calcaneus pushing it to the left side. Plus the male nurse wrapped the ace bandage around the broken Calcaneus very tightly to push it as far as it could go. The final visit was on 12/27/13 and I didn't get to take a shower until 1/2/14. So I decided this was very unethical treatment with criminal intent and I spent 2 days trying to file a complaint to the California Medical Board but I cannot get through on their phone line.

I spent a day trying to send an email to a Doctor that has this experience but every time I sent the email the next web page to open up stated the email was sent. Then when I checked the sent folder there was no record of the sent email. I even tried to use the email link on the Doctor's Website but nothing would happen when I clicked on the hyperlink. My head is still bleeding as I type! Anybody know how I can file a complaint? So the Calcaneus is a very important bone. If it is not put back in place correctly you will walk with a limp the rest of your life. Time is ticking.

Another important note I asked for and received the digital taken x-rays. One of the most important views the x-ray is very over exposed looking, and nothing can be made out to the condition of. It is the shot of under the foot of the bottom of the Calcaneus. Anybody know if this overexposure was intentional like the placement of the folded cotton bandage?

There is some very interesting missing bone on the back of the Calcaneus. Plus I still need a Great foot specialist Doctor to put my Calcaneus back in place. I know there are a couple of Foot Specialist in Boulder Colorado.

Anybody have contact info. Anybody have immediate help with the unethical treatment of a climber type of organization? Refer a good Attorney?

Thank you for your help."

How were you dropped ? What sort of belay device ?

You need to see a Podiatrist who specializes in trauma, or an orthopedist who is a foot and ankle specialist. The normal route is via the ER of a large hospital. You may be able to get an emergency appointment by calling their offices directly. The previous advice about Urgent Care is correct. They are great if you have the flu, or need a physical, but should have sent you straight to the hospital.

Good luck!

This reads like a Nigerian bank scam, without the scam.

Thank you, Jon Zucco, for breaking this up into more comprehensible "paragraphs."

And to the OP, quit worrying about a complaint or a lawsuit, see another doctor at the ER.

FrankPS wrote:.... And to the OP, quit worrying about a complaint or a lawsuit, see another doctor at the ER.

^^^^^^THIS

GEEZ your leg is broke an your wasting time trying to complain???? Lol get help for your busted leg man! MURICA..... Lol

Thank you Jon Zucco.

you ok, Willard? Have you gotten additional/better treatment for the heel and head?

+1 on kemple's suggestion for seeking out a podiatrist who specializes in trauma, or an orthopedist who is a foot and ankle specialist.

& +1 for skipping the urgent care clinic, and going straight into an ER in a situation like this. Even though it's a tough call to make (especially when uninsured), you just don't mess around with broken bones or head trauma. It's not worth it.

Hope you were able to work it out.

No offense, but you sound like an uninformed, needy hypochondriac. I have seen patients like you in the past; all you do is complain and think the medical staff is trying to kill you, then, you look up lots of really good information about your injury on wiki and WebMD and think anything that happens to you on the contrary is malpractice.

Nobody at a clinic or hospital would try to take an under-exposed film, or "put a piece of gauze in the wrong place to shift your bone the wrong way." That gauze is there to pad your busted ass calcaneus, which is going to hurt really bad either way, but I'm sure the concrete they put in your fracture boot (because they hate you) is not helping.

Here is my advice, get into a specialist and see what they suggest you do. Don't expect to get perfect (to your standards) and definitive medical care at the first place you walk in to. Your choice of an inadequate belayer is not their fault, your paranoia is not their fault and they shouldn't have to deal with your bullshit claims of litigation.

Oh, and the reason they didn't stitch your head 2 days after the fact is because you probably rolled around in the dirt and piss and they were concerned about infection (you have about 8 hours to get sutures).

Sorry about the rant, I really do wish you the best, but that story just reeks of you being a moron.

Yeah, I agree Pat. Plus who can't spell heel, but can spell calcaneus? And why is it always capitalized in their story?

Williard, if real, don't spend your time googling, spend your time getting help. You do have to advocate for your self in the medical world, but you don't have to suspect the worst of those in the field. They are there to help, but they can't know what you are feeling or what happened in the incident if you don't tell them.

Come on guys - obviously the head wound is precluding the use of paragraphs!

1. Find a competent doctor.
1.a. If they are willing to state that you received poor treatment (aka malpractice), go to 2.
2. Get a lawyer.

3. Never climb with that person again and out them on MP.

I think Willard is a troll.
Reads like a drunk Ellenor- same disordered thought processes. Spelling a little better though, thanks to the booze.

Matt N wrote:Come on guys - obviously the head wound is precluding the use of paragraphs! 1. Find a competent doctor. 1.a. If they are willing to state that you received poor treatment (aka malpractice), go to 2. 2. Get a lawyer. 3. Never climb with that person again and out them on MP.

Except for point 1, this all seems like poor advice.
Matt, what is your experience in medicine or law that makes you think that things work this way?

As for point 3, do you really trust Willard's interpretation of the incident enough to risk slandering a (possibly) real person?

@ Jon, I know several extremely competent Doctors that work Urgent Care. Sometimes it's not easy to choose the best setting for care, but quality of the providers isn't necessarily that different. (PS Hope you've straightened out your car troubles!)

Totally not dissing urgent care clinics. I go to them all the time. I just figure an ER would be better with emergencies (but maybe this wouldn't be considered an emergency as he waited so long to get treatment...?). You'd know much better than me, Mark!

Still car-less. But luckily for me, my girlfriend is nice enough to keep letting me borrow her truck in the meantime, and even put me on her insurance! Let's go crush once this snow and ice melts off enough. My new year's res is to send Sonic Youth... :)

Mark - I was giving advice to the OP based on what they posted (yes, a one-sided story). If what they said was true, that's the advice I have to give. True or troll is the real question.

Matt N wrote:Mark - I was giving advice to the OP based on what they posted (yes, a one-sided story). If what they said was true, that's the advice I have to give. True or troll is the real question.

Not really meaning to give you too hard a time, but -

if the follow-up MD is willing to opine on the standard of care of the initial MD based on Willard's account and without reviewing the original records, then his/her opinion is likely not very worthwhile and

unless Willard has some substantial damages due to his care, there's nothing that would interest a lawyer to take the case.

Furthermore, I don't see what the advantage of enlisting a lawyer at this stage might be.
Get the best medical result you can first, then if you have damages, AND you are the litigious, blame somebody else for my poor choice of belayer and generally poor judgment type of person, see if you can interest a plaintiff's attorney.

Legal eagles are welcome to correct me.

Furthermore, what does it matter that it was a MALE nurse?

Finally, don't you all agree Ellenor (aka Saguaro Sandy) would be the perfect private duty nurse for Willard?