The orthopedic surgeon, the doctor responsible for all the
people who had broken bones that day, came to see me.
The orthopedist looked at the results of the X-ray on the
computer and at the rest of the tests they’d run on me and
said, “The shin bone is fractured. Since there has been no
movement, it will not be necessary to operate, but he will
need to be in a cast for at least four weeks. Maybe even
six weeks.” He just blurted that out without looking at me
or Mom or Dad and without even thinking that six weeks
in a cast leaves me only two weeks without a cast. “Dad,
Sasha, the championship!”
Eleven-year-old Ronny Smith, member of the children’s
ski team, was planning to win the Utah Statewide Junior
Ski Championship. An unexpected ski accident disrupts
his plans. Ronny fractures his shin bone.
What is a bone? What is a fracture? Does it hurt? What
do you see in an X-ray? What is the orthopedic surgeon’s
job? Will the broken leg prevent Ronny from winning the
skiing championship?
