CrossFitter Breaks Arm in Qualifier

A week ago Julia Glotz was working towards accomplishing her long time goal of qualifying for the CrossFit Regionals. Her training was going amazing, she was on track to qualify for USAW Nationals and was hopeful about competing at Wodapalooza with the Elites.

 

Then the Accident happened:

On September 24th; Julia was completing the Wodapalooza online qualifier, the workout required athletes to perform a 6 rep Unbroken Bear Complex (Multiple weightlifting movements, pieced together without letting go of the bar). She had done it the day before, at 162 pounds and thought that she could complete the workout with a little more weight. She came in Saturday morning excited and ready. She loaded 167 pounds and started the workout. She was on her last rep, as she brought down the bar to her shoulders the bar slipped behind her, and she was unable to let go of the bar, resulting in a broken humerus.



 

She immediately fell to the ground holding her arm, and asked for the coaches to call an ambulance. During the wait, her training partners, other gym members and coaches all kept her calm. She was initially worried about not being able to pay for the ambulance, and continued to apologize to everyone for “ruining their training”  She was transported to Holmes regional in Melbourne, her boyfriend Jeff, and Best Friend, Larissa, rode with her and alerted her family about the accident. On the ride, the medics took amazing care of her, asking her about her training, and getting her set-up on pain meds and I.V fluids.

  

The ER:

Once at the ER, she was given morphine and was told that a DR. would be down to see her shortly. In the interim, we were flooded with calls, texts, and people wanting to come and visit Julia. She is a big part of our local CrossFit community and a huge inspiration to so many athletes. Her family started arriving as well as some close friends, shortly after, she was wheeled down to the get the X-Ray. Upon her return, we were told that she indeed did break her Humerus, would need immediate surgery and would have an extensive rehabilitation process. Because she had eaten that morning, she would have to wait a few hours before they would be able to operate. She would then be transferred to the Orthopedic Wing until they were ready to operate.

 



 

The Surgery:

Julia was in surgery for 2 hours. They made a 10 Inch incision, inserted a metal plate and 12 screws, to support and hold the bone in the correct position during repair. She would be in a recovery room for another hour before any of her family could see her. The surgeon informed the family that the surgery went very well, but to prepare for a rough couple of weeks, and that she would be in a lot of pain once she woke up. She was placed in a room and we were told that she would have to stay for 1-2 nights. She was on morphine and Oxycodone to help with the pain. It was a rough night but she was comforted by all the friend and family that called, text, sent cards, flowers and visited. During the down time she was visited by multiple account reps inquiring about her insurance and how she planed to pay for the surgery, stay, and physical therapy needs. She was told that she would not qualify for Medicaid and would be contacted shortly about the charges.   She was released the next afternoon, and told to call and schedule her follow up appointment to assess the wound in 24 hours.




 

Recovery:
She is on a long road to recovery. She still hasn’t attained full use of her hand back, and is looking at 4 months (3x a week) of physical therapy to regain full use and range of motion of her arm.  All Donations will go directly towards medical bills and physical therapy.



 

About Julia: Julia is an incredible human. She is compassionate, doesn’t have a mean bone in her body and has dedicated her life to teaching others how to improve theirs. She inspires so many people pursing to better themselves physically, by her accomplishments as an athlete and the way that she treats people. Doing what you love sometimes pays more in the way you help people, than it does in financial means. Julia does not currently have health insurance and this event has caused a great stress on her life. It would mean so much to her and her family, if you could help out in anyway to help cover some of these looming costs towards recovery and receive the proper medical care, so she can continue to inspire and teach the life changing benefits of physical fitness.


Please share. Please give. Both help. Any and all donations big or small will help Julia heal up. Whatever you have helps. Times are hard for a lot of us, and if you don't have money, sharing this post still raises awareness and could lead to someone else giving. It's all helpful.
 Sincerely,  
 Wyatt and Carol Stumbo