Hi mel'swaterbabies,
Yes. I'm still here and hosting. Sorry for the delay, had a few days off here for the weekend.
First of all, definitely speak with your doctor before doing anything. You have some pretty serious injuries there and it's always good to keep your doctor updated on things you are doing.
Now with that said, there are some things you can do which can be beneficial. But you need to find the right instructor who first and formost recognizes your limits and doesn't push beyond those.
Tai Chi is one of the forms that might be beneficial. You'll have to take it cautiously though, find an instructor that has experience working with different ailments. He/she'll want to focus on your breathing and hand movements rather than the total body as most practionaires do.
A variation on a theme is Qi Gong exercise. Qi Gong is normall a part of Tai Chi training. The concept, in general terms, is to use breathing and natural body sounds to help the body heal. Again, it's very important to find someone that has worked with different ailments before. With your missing ribs, you may find some of the breathing difficult.
Meditation and various relaxation techniques that you'll normally find in a number of the books and videos that are associated with Tai Chi and Qi Gong might also prove helpful to relax your pain.
Overall, you need to know your body and listen to it. If you do something in Martial Arts and it's screaming in pain, stop. Don't strain your body. And keep tabs with your doctor.
I hope this helped, please let me know if I can be of more help or if you feel more comfortable, feel free to email me and we can chat some more.