Of course, when you’re trying not to knock something, you always end up knocking it. Even small things, like opening drawers or doors, were difficult. “There would be aching and even though I was trying not to hit it on anything, I would constantly knock it without thinking. The half-cast was good because I could take it off to shower. “But they found the fracture then put it in a half-cast. “To do the x-rays, they have to manoeuvre the wrist, which was just excruciating – you can actually feel the bone rubbing,” Brian says. Which is why Brian’s second tip is so important: if you do cop a blow to the hand, always ensure your remove your rings in case swelling occurs.Īfter a couple of painkillers, Brian had to get some x-rays done to get a good gander at the extent of the damage. “If the ring doesn’t come off, you can lose a finger.” “It was actually cutting off the circulation, which was most upsetting. “They couldn’t remove it, so they had to cut it off,” Brian says. The emergency staff at hospital said the first thing to do was to remove Brian’s ring from his ever-swelling finger. “So I would recommend seeking medical assistance immediately – don’t wait.”īrian advises anyone who takes a tumble to get checked out, because when it comes to breaking a bone, there are really no bones about it. They said that was no good because by the time I woke up it had swollen very badly, into a big balloon. “That got me into trouble with the emergency staff. Brian had slept on his fractured wrist, not knowing how badly he had hurt it. It happened at 10am but we didn’t get back until the evening, so I just had it wrapped in ice and kept it elevated during the day,” Brian says. “When I first fell I could actually still move it, so I thought that it was just badly sprained. Well, Brian did break his fall – and his wrist. It would have been perfect, but a side-wave literally rocked the boat and sent Brian hurtling toward the deck.Ī common reaction for anyone hitting the ground is to put out a hand to break the fall. On the day of his Chrissie party, Brian hopped a boat to Rottnest (WA) for a day of fun in the sun, with a little snorkelling on the side. He says there are definitely a few tips he could pass on to anyone unfortunate enough to break their wrist, or perhaps anyone who sees a friend take a fall and hit the ground like the Hindenburg. In this experience we speak to Brian, a hard-working exec who learnt how to type with his left hand – the hard way, after fracturing his wrist at the office Christmas ‘do’. My experience: Breaking a wrist, with a twist

How to break someones wrist