I broke my clavicle during a disagreement with a flight of stairs in January of 2024. The only thing I don't have that I wish I did was the original X-Ray, because it was a nice, polite, clean fracture that wasn't supposed to require follow up. I have no idea when, but at some point between January of 2024 and December of 2024, it became a version of what you see before you (I don't even know which of the subsequent 12-13 x-rays this is- I can tell it was later in the process, because the bone ends are closer together). 

At the same time, (and this just makes it so much stupider), I was waiting for knee replacement surgery- I treated my body like an amusement park in my 20s and 30s, and sometimes, when you turn 50, the warranty expires- parts and service will be extra! We continued to shoot for conservative treatment, and I immobilized it for 6 more weeks at the start of 2025. When February of 2025 rolled around, my GP referred me to an orthopedic surgeon (I'm in Canada, so the referral process is "sort of" regulated).  I saw the first surgeon in April of 2025. She was really well regarded, but had a sort of "honey badger" aesthetic. She was sure I just had a frozen shoulder and that my clavicle was healing. (By the time I got to her in April of 2025, the ends of the fracture had changed places twice on the imaging- sometimes the distal end was on top, and sometimes the muscles would spasm so badly that it would drag the proximal end to the top. I can tell you at least two precise moments in time when it happened and boy howdy, the pain was... let's just say it was the most disconcerting thing I have ever experienced. I asked her what was happening when it felt like the bones were being pulled apart- "that's just gristle- you will be fine."

She really just thought I needed more physio and cortisone injections. When I said "no thanks" to the cortisone shot, she fired me as a patient. By then, I had a date for my TKR, and decided that having the ability to mostly use my upper body after that surgery made more sense. I had another CT Scan, and it made it clear that it was now a pseudo-joint (I had a great party trick for the year leading up to surgery- I could collapse my collarbone like it was hinged- hurt like h3ll- do not recommend.  I got the call for the new surgical referral the day after TKR- could I come the next day? Yes, yes I can. I performed my best imitation of "human" and used forearm crutches and narcotics to gracefully make my way to the office the next morning. This was Dec of 2025- I was the museum quality example of DONE at that point. Instead of playing around, I just asked this surgeon if I could show him something. I put his hand on my collarbone and did my party trick. He really had very few questions after that. I knew my knee was healing beautiful when, about three weeks after surgery, my clavicle hurt more than my knee. Take the successes where you can find them!

We strategically booked the surgery for when I was 12 weeks post-op. I did my post-TKR physio like it was my full-time job and managed to go back to work  face-to-face for 3 months in between, due to the first surgical date being cancelled. (In Alberta, lower risk ortho surgeries are often booked through AHS to be performed at private clinics by AHS surgeons- the facility cancelled all surgeries for that date). My surgeon was pretty determined- he "booked" me in for a day when he was the on-call ortho surgeon at the hospital 5 minutes from my house. He truly is one of the great ones. 

The pain from the muscle spasms around my shoulder blade actually sent me to the ER once before surgery in April- the ER is for people who do not know they have a broken bone. I knew I had one. I just couldn't control the pain, and though I felt guilty for going in and clogging the system, throwing up in the parking lot from the pain made me feel slightly more justified in being there. One skillfully placed nerve block later, and I rode out the last four weeks before surgery in relative peace. 

I had no idea that I would wake up from ORIF and bone grafting COMPLETELY PAIN FREE. I only had to use the narcotics for about 48 hours. My friends and family said they couldn't believe the difference in me after only a week. I was back. I felt like myself again. I had no idea how much pain I was in until I was no longer in it. 

TLDR; broken bones when you're an old lady suck and the symmetry of the plates and screws pleases me...lol



Clavicle Love