I broke 2 ribs skiing once... worst pain ever.
Every time you breath it flexes, so it takes forever to heal.
Horrible 6 weeks. I could not take a deep breath so I caught pneumonia and the coughing nearly killed me.
The pain must depend on which ribs are broken or something else. I broke two ribs in a car accident, and didnt even know it for several weeks. I finally noticed an odd sharp pain whenever I sneezed or coughed, but there was no discomfort at all otherwise. Thats why Ginsburgs story didnt seem odd to me.
Winter fine time for pneumonia