Would it be realistic for a healthy, athletic (fictional) FBI agent shot in the center of his ballistics vest to have bruised and/or broken ribs? I need my character out of his usual day-to-day routine of taking down suspects and stuff like that to push him closer to other characters. If possible, please explain what kinds of injuries could happen from that shot and the treatment/level of pain for what I suggested. Sorry if these are common sense/easily researched questions.
Hey there nonny! It is absolutely realistic for a character to have broken ribs from taking a bullet to the vest.
Here’s why this happens. Kevlar absorbs much of the energy, and physically stops penetration of the bullet into the chest. So the destruction of arteries, veins, the heart, the lungs -- all prevented. But the force of the impact is still, to some extent, transmitted to the chest, which can cause fractures, bruising, and significant pain. There’s even a possibility of pulmonary contusion -- bruising of the lungs.
Broken ribs, [as we’ve discussed before], prevent the chest form expanding and contracting without pain. They take about 6 weeks to fully heal, and rehab includes coughing exercises to make sure that the character doesn’t get pneumonia. He’ll be eating a steady diet of ibuprofen and will be on desk work until he can run again. (He can probably fake it and get back to work a little bit sooner, but this would get him about a month off the street.)
You asked about the level of pain involved. It can be moderate to fairly severe, especially when he coughs unexpectedly or tries to laugh. One of my favorite images regarding this is, of course, his friends trying to cheer him up, which makes him laugh, which makes him hurt, which makes his friends laugh, and now it’s a competition... (Keep in mind that cops tend to have the kind of coworkers and friends who will find this funny, though obviously, YMMV.) Hugging a pillow will help him have less pain when he coughs, and he might take significant amounts of ibuprofen
He won’t be given opiates, because the risk of broken ribs is respiratory depression and thus pneumonia, which is worsened by opiates. He’ll get anti-inflammatories like ketorolac (first 5 days) and then ibuprofen instead.
Important: Your Character Will Not Be Making WooHoo(TM) Immediately Following This Event. Please don’t write that scene. It’s tempting, apparently. But no.
Oh! Detail! If the ribs aren’t just “cracked” -- nondisplaced -- but the fracture goes all the way through the bone? When he breathes he might feel a grinding of the bone ends at that location. It’s called crepitus. It is.... unnerving.
Hope this helped!! And tell your character I said to feel better.
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