u/chica4wolf

I'm honestly at a loss and hoping someone here might have some advice.

In 2021 I was struck twice in the back of the head and thrown from my third-floor balcony. I suffered a skull fracture, multiple brain haemorrhages, a traumatic brain injury, a cervical ligament injury and a fractured clavicle.

My clavicle never healed and became a non-union. My first surgery failed when the plate pulled away only a week later, so I had another major surgery in 2022 with bone graft from my hip and more plates and screws. Despite two surgeries, CT scans later confirmed that the fracture still hadn't healed.

Now everything seems to be getting worse. The hardware is becoming more and more prominent and the skin over it is white, stretched and so thin that I can feel what feels like the plate, screws and bone directly under my skin. It honestly feels like there is nothing between the hardware and my skin anymore.

Over the last month or two I've also developed numbness and weakness in both hands. I can't write, use my phone or chop vegetables for very long before my hands go numb, and sometimes the numbness stays for quite a while afterwards. My neck and upper back are constantly painful, my chest pain is getting worse, and over the last few weeks my left leg has given way several times because of severe pain shooting from my hip and buttock down my leg.

The hardest part is that I feel like I'm deteriorating while waiting for help. The hospital has acknowledged that my surgery wasn't successful, but I still feel like I'm being left to get worse. I'm genuinely scared because every day the hardware looks more prominent and my symptoms keep progressing.

Has anyone been through something similar with a clavicle non-union, failed fixation, or worsening neurological symptoms? Did you end up getting a second opinion interstate or find a surgeon who took over a complex case? At this point I'm desperate for advice because I honestly don't know what else to do.