Things You Don't Realise Ahead Of Time...
Just over a month ago, I was in a car accident and broke a couple of ribs (ironic, since I don't drive — I was a passenger). Fortunately, that was the worst of the injuries anybody suffered, so it ended reasonably well for all involved. I'm not going to be permanently incapacitated or anything like that. I still look as ugly as I always did. No bad facial injuries that required a miraculous plastic surgery reconstruction or anything like that. Good luck all around.
However, the ribs still hurt... and quite a lot. Doctor tells me today it could be another four weeks or so before I stop feeling twinges when I move anything attached to my left side. I haven't hurt my ribs badly before, at least not that I'm aware of. You hear about how annoying it is when somebody else does it. Believe them! Laughing, coughing, moving in your chair or bed.. even breathing. Ouch. :-(
Turns out the human body is a very inter-connected piece of machinery. You have an arm connected to each side, the shoulder muscles run across the front and sides of the rib cage. Your lungs expand inside the rib cage. There's a (hopefully) beating heart in there. All these moving parts!
I'm just saying, you know?! (Actually, I'm just bitching. You can all go back to sleep now, the whining has stopped.)