The diffrence between a fracture and a broken bone is that a fracture hurts a lot worse than a minor break, at least that is what my doctor told me. Even though its so painful, I did not take any pain relievers. I had to put ice on it and take ibprofren when I was hurting.

I chose this video because the kids remind me of myself when i was young because I was prone to accidents and i was always gettin hurt, just like with my bike crash. I have broken more bones and had more injuries then anyone I know. The hospital knew me and my mom because we had to go in so often. I also chose it because it is pretty funny. lol

Interview with my Mom and Sister

I interviewed my sister Katie and my Mom about the day I broke my jaw and about the healing process.

1. What was your first thought when you saw me?
Mom: "There was so much blood that I didn't know what had happened to you. It scared me so bad."2. When did you first realize that I was hurt?
Mom: "I seen him walking up the yard with blood all over him and Justin was screaming my name."
Katie: "I was in my bedroom and I could hear screaming outside so I ran to see what was wrong."
3. How did you know it was serious?
Mom: "I knew it was serious because your chin was laying open and I could actually see your jaw bone."
Katie "I knew it was serious because you were screaming and crying and you never cry when you get      hurt."
4.Why did you decide to take me to the hospital?
Mom: "I knew you would have to have stitches and I was worried because you lost a lot of blood."
Katie: "I didn't go to the hospital with you but I knew you needed to go because in order to stop the bleeding   we had to lift the skin of your chin up in order to stop the bleeding."
5. What happened when I got to the hospital?
Mom: "When the doctor first seen you he asked what your pain was on a scale of 1-10 and you said 20. Then you got your stitches and we as we were leaving the hospital you told us that your jaw hurt really really bad. So your Dad and I went back to the doctor and told him and thats when they sent you for x-rays and we we found out that your jaw was broken on both sides."
6. Was I on any pain medication?
Mom: No we just gave you Ibuprofen and kept ice on your jaw.
7. What was I like with a broken jaw and stitches? How did I act?
Mom: "For the first two days you just layed on the couch pretty much all day because you were hurting so much. After that it didn't really slow you down. I had to force you to rest and you tried your best to get me to let you go outside and play."
8. Who took care of me while I was healing?
Mom: "The whole family, even your big brothers. We all catered to you and you loved it."
9. Has any other injuries that i have had ever topped this one?
mom: "Out of all your injuries this was was the worst. No one wants to see there son bleeding so much!"
10. How long did it take until I got back on my bike?
mom: "You wanted to get back on your bike after about a week but I said no. You weren't aloud to get back on your bike until the doctor cleared you which was about a month. You weren't scared to get back out there. We bought you a dirt bike helmet that you had to wear whenever you rode your bike because we were scared of you hurting your jaw again. You hated that helmet!"

More about my accident

When researching I was suprised to find that a broken jaw is the tenth most common fractured bone in the human body. Things that may cause a fractured or broken jaw are motor vehicle accidents, assaults, falls, or sports associated injuries such as a bike crash. Another could be your doctor or your dentist! Oral Surgeons/Dentists will sometimes intentionally fracture your jaw  in order to align them to the proper position. This controlled fracture is done with the saws and chisels. After the bone are separated they are realigned and screwed together in the new position with titanium plates. The mouth is then also wired shut to allow for the bone to heal.that would suck to have your jaw intentionally fractured!! Luckily I didn't have to have a controlled fracture done to my jaw and i didn't have to have my jaw wired shut either. My jaw was fractured on both sides and i had to get stiches, but my jaw did not have to be wired shut. Even though my jaw was not wired shut, i still couldnt open my mouth hardly at all. It sucked because on christmas eve and on christmas day i could not eat ham or any of my other favorite holiday foods that my family cooks every year! All i could do was drink from a straw so my mom made me milk shakes at home on christmas eve and all of my aunts and uncles brought me milk shakes on christmas day. My face was swollen for weeks and i couldnt eat anything but soup, pudding, and milkshakes and soft stuff like that for over a month. This picture that i posted was taken on christmas eve, one days after i fell and got my stitches. You can see that my face is so swollen. You can also see that the cut on my chin was pretty bad and i had a busted lip. I still have a scar from it.

You could be breaking the law and you don't even know it...

If you have ever taken a bike ride then you have probably broken the law and never even realized it. Most people dont realize that a bicycle is legally considerd a vehicle. There are many laws in place to keep bicyclists who are oparating these vehicles safe. Im not talking about wearing your helmet, everyone knows about that law. And that law may have actualy saved my life when I crashed on my bike and broke my jaw when was young. Luckily, my mom always made me wear my helmet. Wearing your helmet is not the only law you have to follow when bike riding though. You may not be obeying these laws simply because you are not aware of them. I know I have broken almost every one, for example, it is against the law in the state of Florida to listen to headphones while riding a bike. Bicyclists are also required by law to always have at least one hand on the handle bars at all times and they must obey all traffic controls and signals, including stop signs. So yesterday when I rode my bike to my friends house I had no idea that i should have been looking over my shoulder for a cop when i was breaking all three of these laws. I was riding with no hands, listening to my ipod, and I probably ran at least 4 stop signs. I could have actually been given a moving violation citation for running those stop signs! Some more laws include; you must signal before turning, if riding at night you must have a light on your bike, and you must yield to the ride of way to pedestrians. These are only a few of Florida's bicycle laws. If you are worried about breaking these laws you can find out all the details at http://www.floridabicycle.org/rules/bikelaw.html.