Tib/Fib Fractures and Lots of Other Fun

Yo,

Classes started. Students are here. Things are good, except I am now down one...

Phone rings...

Student B: "Prof. [DJ], it's [B]"
Me: "Hi B, what's up"
Student B: "Well, a bit of bad news.... [Student A] broke his leg and needs surgery".


So goes the beginning of a nightmare situation for me: An injured student thousands of miles from home. In the end, things worked out as well as you could hope given the circumstances. His parents were GREAT. He handled things responsibly and in as good of spirits as one could hope given his semester in Australia is now over. What happened? I still don't know. It was early AM, so I have to assume alcohol was a factor. The X-Rays show a clear tib/fib fracture (the tib is broken in two places), and to my untrained eye it looks like a rotational force was applied. However it happened, he now has a plate running from his ankle to almost his knee with 9 stainless steel screws driven into bone.

Other bits:

EMS here is paid, but the beaches are patrolled by volunteers who, as far as I can tell, are basically Basic EMTs with surf rescue training. Surf Lifesavers belong to "clubs", and train for YEARS before they are set loose. More information is here: http://www.surflifesaving.com.au/surflife_cms

Stay safe all.

DJ