At My Purple Heart Ceremony, My Stepmother Swung a Folding Chair Into My Arm—Then My Father Looked Down Instead of Protecting Me

The bad news was that the alignment was poor enough that casting alone probably would not hold it.

The orthopedic surgeon pulled up the images.

“These are substantial fractures.”

I stared.

“Excellent.”

He looked at me.

“That’s not usually the reaction.”

“Today has already exceeded expectations.”