Beyond Fixing the Bone — Who Will Tell Us About Rehabilitation After Surgery? Tuesday, August 18, 2026 (Reiwa8)

I was riding an electric three-wheeled bicycle when I fell while trying to reach out and press the pedestrian signal button without getting off the bicycle.

It was my own carelessness.

As a result, I fractured the proximal part of my left humerus.

There was a crack in the front of the bone, while the back was fractured in a more complicated way. Because I have osteoporosis, there was also concern about the condition of the bone itself.

I was admitted to the hospital on June 24 and underwent surgery the following day, June 25.

The surgery was scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m., but it was delayed until 3:00 p.m. and lasted until 6:30 p.m.

A metal plate was inserted and the bone was fixed with screws.

The surgery itself was successful.

But from that moment, I had one major question in my mind:

“What am I supposed to do with this arm now?”

The day after the surgery, I was told that I could already leave the hospital.

In fact, I was discharged on June 27.

But I was given almost no explanation about rehabilitation or what I should do after leaving the hospital.

At the follow-up appointments, an X-ray was taken, and the doctor looked at it to check how the bone was healing.

One week later, one month later, three months later, six months later, and twelve months later.

Those follow-up appointments were scheduled.

But as for,

“How should I move this arm from now on?”

I really did not know.

I was simply told,

“Do it yourself.”

I became very anxious.

The bone had been fixed with a plate.

But having the bone joined back together and being able to move my arm as I had before were not the same thing.

At that time, I did not fully understand this.

The question,

“Is it really okay to just leave things as they are?”

grew stronger and stronger in my mind.

Fortunately, I was living at Matsuyama Eden no Sono.

I was able to ask the physical therapists and caregivers there for advice.

They told me about an orthopedic doctor at Bethel Hospital.

When I consulted that doctor, I was told that there was a doctor at Dogo Onsen Hospital who had particular experience with rehabilitation after proximal humerus fractures, and I was referred there.

And now, at Dogo Onsen Hospital, I am receiving 80-minute rehabilitation sessions from a physical therapist, whom I will call A.

Today was my third session.

A goniometer is used to measure how far I can raise my arm.

The first session reached this point.

The second session reached this point.

Today, it reached this point.

When I look at the numbers, I can clearly see that my arm is gradually moving farther.

I can feel it in my body, too.

Immediately after rehabilitation, I feel exhausted.

It hurts.

I wonder,

“Is it really okay to do this?”

But after the previous two sessions, by around noon the following day, my body gradually began to feel lighter, and I was able to raise my arm a little higher in front of me.

I could also move it a little farther out to the side.

That was when I realized for the first time,

“So this is what rehabilitation is.”

It means bringing a part of the body that has become difficult or impossible to move closer to its original condition.

It means gradually moving stiff muscles and joints while carefully considering each person’s physical condition.

It means checking whether pain occurs while gradually expanding the range of movement.

And it means measuring the changes in degrees and other numbers as well.

Until now, I had simply been saying,

“I want to do rehabilitation.”

But I had never really understood what rehabilitation actually involved.

And now there is something else I have been thinking about.

Why did I have to search this far on my own?

I had surgery at the Japanese Red Cross Matsuyama Hospital.

After that, I asked for advice at Eden no Sono.

The physical therapists and caregivers there gave me information.

I consulted the doctor at Bethel Hospital.

From there, I was referred to Dogo Onsen Hospital.

And finally, I reached the rehabilitation I am receiving now.

I was fortunate to have people around me who could help.

I happened to be living at Eden no Sono.

There happened to be physical therapists there.

A caregiver happened to know about the doctor at Bethel Hospital.

I had also been seen by the doctor at Bethel before, and the doctor had written a referral letter for me in the past.

That made it easier for me to ask for help.

But what if I had been living alone?

What if I had had no one around me to ask?

What if I had known nothing about the connections between medical institutions?

Where would I have gone?

This time, I also asked at Matsuyama City Hall.

I asked,

“Is there a public office where I can ask about rehabilitation after surgery?”

“Is there somewhere at City Hall?”

“What about the public health center?”

“Is there any other public organization I can consult?”

I asked these questions.

But I was told that there was no place that could provide the kind of guidance I was looking for — a clear path such as, “In this situation, you should consult this place next.”

That was very disappointing to me.

Of course, I was the one who fell.

It was my own carelessness.

I was not used to riding an electric three-wheeled bicycle, and I fell while trying to press the pedestrian signal button without getting off.

So I understand that I have some responsibility for the accident.

But I cannot help wondering:

Is responsibility for getting injured the same thing as being expected to find your own way through the medical system after you have been injured?

I don’t think so.

I broke a bone.

I had surgery.

The bone was fixed with a plate and screws.

Up to that point, the medical system took care of me.

But after that,

“Here are the options available to you in your particular situation.”

No one told me that.

And that is what I find puzzling.

I am not asking for every detail to be explained to me like a textbook.

I simply wanted someone to show me a map of the choices available to me:

“There is a way for you to continue exercising the arm on your own.”

“There is outpatient rehabilitation.”

“If you want more intensive rehabilitation, there are hospitals where you can receive it.”

“In your particular case, you can consult this kind of specialist.”

I wanted to know what choices I had.

Then I wanted to make my own decision.

Today marks exactly two months since my fracture.

It will soon be two months since my surgery on June 25.

For these two months, I have been in pain and anxious, going from one place to another, asking different people for advice, and finally finding my way to the rehabilitation I am receiving now.

I sometimes think:

If only I had been able to start this kind of rehabilitation sooner.

If only I had known sooner what I was supposed to do.

I am now 68 years old.

I want to exercise again.

I want to go to the gym again.

I want to swim again.

I want to live my life using my body actively.

If I can be admitted to the hospital and receive intensive rehabilitation for that purpose, I am willing to consider spending the money to give my body a proper chance to recover.

Tomorrow, I will talk with the doctor at Dogo Onsen Hospital.

Can I be admitted?

Would hospitalization be meaningful for me?

How long would I need to stay?

How much could my body recover?

I want to ask the doctor these questions.

And there is one more question I want to ask:

“When a patient has surgery and then becomes uncertain about what to do about rehabilitation afterward, where are they supposed to go for advice?”

I am not writing this because I want to blame myself for breaking my bone through carelessness.

Nor do I want to blame the medical professionals who performed my surgery.

I simply want a medical system in which people who become ill or injured do not have to find the next step in their treatment entirely on their own.

That is what I hope for.

Anyone can become injured.

Anyone may need surgery.

When a person is already physically and emotionally vulnerable, I wish someone would be there to say,

“Here are the paths available to you next.”

rather than,

“Now, please research it yourself.”

Is it selfish of me to want that?

Tonight, I am thinking about this.

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