Black Monday

Monday, February 13th... The anniversary of the day I lost my grandfather.

I woke up feeling all warm and snuggly in bed, and I thought, "I'd LOVE to stay in here, and be this comfortable and blow off work for the day."

Little did I know...

I looked at the clock and it was not quite 8. I knew I had to get the garbage down to the curb. So I got up and threw on some sweat pants and went outside in my garden clogs, since they have a nice thick tread and are waterproof. We had some snow on Sunday, about 6 inches, but our wonderful neighbors had plowed our driveway for us, so I knew I'd have a clear path.

I was walking down the driveway to take the trash down to the curb and slipped on the ice. I fell so hard that my shoes flew off my feet. I knew the minute I landed that something was broken, I could feel it snap.

Nobody was out in the neighborhood, so I rolled over, put my shoes on my hands, and crawled on all 4s up to the back of the house where there were no stairs.

I got to the living room and discovered that the phone was not hung up where it should be. I managed to crawl up the stairs and just as I collapsed on the floor in my bedroom, the phone rang. I pulled it down onto the floor and it was my sister. I screamed into the phone that I needed help, and I was calling my husband, so I hung up on her and called him! I asked him to call our neighbor and get a ride to the hospital.

Jack called me and suggested that maybe I needed to call 911. My sister called back and said she was on her way. She would be there in 30 minutes.

I just couldn't wait any more. So I called 911. The paramedics arrived in 5 minutes, and after finding me upstairs and lying on the floor under a blanket, they took all my vitals and helped me get onto my good leg and down the stairs. (Yes, visions of myself as the "I've fallen and I can't get up!" lady flashed through my head!) I got onto the stretcher and they got me to the hospital pretty quick.

My sister arrived shortly after that--she got lost trying to find the hospital. My husband's boss got him down to the hospital too, and we all sat there. We were in the ER for 5 hours with no pain medication. Finally I got my X-rays done and the PA told me I've definitely fractured my fibula, and possibly fractured 2 other bones in my ankle. I will be seeing an orthopedist on Thursday morning.

The pain is steadily improving. Today is my first day alone, and I managed to get up, to the bathroom and into the office myself. My sister will be back in the afternoon, and running a bunch of errands for us. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get a hard cast. A number of people are working on wheelchairs for us, as well. I hope to have one soon to use to get around the first floor, and to get out of the house with.

So that's our excitement for today. :-) I will be out of commission for 4-6 weeks, and then hopefully running wild again.