Saving Elmo: The Elmo Stories

Saving Elmo: The Elmo Stories2020-11-23T09:41:06-08:00

On Sept. 16, 2016, I fractured my left femur just above Elmo, my replacement knee, ripping open my leg and sending shards of bone into the night. Turns out that’s what’s called a “catastrophic injury,” which is just about as dire as it sounds.

I spent the next couple of years in a wheelchair, threatened with hip-high amputation of my left leg, fighting health care bureaucrass, cost-conscious HMOs, and myself. I’d edure eight separate surgeries, lots of time in post-acute care facilities, spend a small fortune on rehab and ADA compliance…all to keep Elmo inside my leg.

Spoiler alert: Elmo won.

I wouldn’t want to do it again (horrors!), but it was a learning experience like no other. I discovered the true state of wheelchair accessibility and the value of persistance, met my best friend in the world (Nathan), and found friends and family I never knew I had (like you).

I’ve chronicled my adventures in RE-mobilization as the “Saving Elmo Stories.” They’re awfully self-indulgent, occasionally icky, and probably not that interesting, but on the off-chance they can help someone else with a catastrophic injury, I’m keeping them live. If you’re not interested; I still love you–check out my glass tutorials, recipes, and other stories.

If you DO, this is a chronological listing. Enjoy, share, and please comment.

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