Young Writers Society

So, in one of my WIP's, Winter of Winds, my protagonist "falls" (actually he's attacked by a wolf the size of a minivan) and sustains some pretty nasty injuries. Two of his ribs are cracked and his foot spent a little too much time in the wolf's mouth. He's 17 years old and fairly healthy. How long would be a reasonable amount of time to keep him in the hospital? Five days? A week? More?

Nah, cracked ribs are in and out usually, unless doctors suspect he has internal injuries. If that's the case, they might keep him overnight, moniter his blood pressure, the whole bit (with surgery being the eventual answer if he has sustained more serious damage). Otherwise, it's all outpatient stuff, though he'd be sore for quite a while!

I would think that he would spend at least a night in the ER and then a good week/week in a half in recovery depending on how bad his foot is/was.
Of course I am not a medical expert, but this is my best idea given the situation.
Good luck finding your answer!
Though I have to ask what the hell was he doing around a wolf in the first place!
lol
-Dawn

He was checking his trapline when it attacked him. I know that real wolves wouldn't be likely to do that, but as the guy says when he wakes up, "Not real wolf. Size of minivan.".

My friend just cracked his ribs and he didn't spend anytime in the ER. He just got a nice pat on the back and the doctor said he hoped he could breathe a little better come next week. It's like breaking toes, there's not much they can do.

However, his foot is another story. There are a lot of bones in your foot, so first they would find out where the fractures are. Sometimes that takes awhile. Then, he'd go in for surgery. Depending upon how severe it is, he can wake up in the hospital two days or two weeks later. I know my aunt tripped over a suitcase once and broke her foot. She went into shock, though. She woke up two weeks later and had to stay in the hospital for another two weeks. It all depends on the situation.

Just out of curiosity... why was there a mutant wolf attacking him in his backyard? Haha, sounds a bit strange if you ask me.

Hope this helps. ^_^

He was deep in the woods (checking traps he had set), and the story has to do with Norse mythology. The giant wolf was sent to kill someone else.

Usually it takes about 4-6 weeks for broken ribs to heal, depending on how severe the injuries. I guess it would take about 4-8 weeks for your character's foot to heal. I could offer more help if you described his foot injury more. And I'd love to read your novel, since I love mythology. If you have it posted on YWS I'll read and review it. Hope I helped, bluewaterlily.