Broken Bones

Life has a way of taking twists and turns that we never expect.

I love everything about winter, winter sports, like snowshoeing and skiing, fires in the fireplace, wearing layers of clothing, wearing fabulous knitted items that I've made over the years, snow covered mountains, and the list goes on. But, this year, winter decided not to like me.

Three weeks ago, I went out to ski. It was a gorgeous day, bright sunshine, and the temperatures just right for optimum snow conditions. It was a quiet day on the hill, virtually no one around, my first run of the day, and I was feeling great. Then suddenly, my ski caught, on what I don't know, and the next thing I knew, I was tumbling down the hill. My husband was behind me. He said that I tumbled at least five times. I can remember thinking, "why am I not stopping?" I lost my skis, poles, and my googles even snapped off of my helmet. Then, my head slammed into the hill. Thankfully, I was wearing a helmet. Had I not been, I may not be writing today.

Once I came to a stop, my first thought was to get up, but I couldn't. The fall had really knocked the wind out of me. My body ached, and my head hurt. After a minute or so, I was finally able to roll over and sit up. A mountain host skied over and asked if I was okay. I said that I was. She wanted to call for the ski patrol to come with a snowmobile and take me down the mountain. I refused. Then my husband skied over with all of my lost equipment. She asked if he was with me, he said yes. Had I been alone, I think she would have insisted that I ride down rather than ski down. As she skied away, I looked up at my husband and said, "I just want to cry." But, I got up, got into my skis, skied down to the lift which I had to take in order to ultimately get to the bottom. Every muscle in my body shook, but by the time I made it to the final run to the bottom, my confidence returned. We went into the medics office where I was checked for a concussion. My husband was told that I should not be left alone for 24 hours, given a list of things to watch for, and I was told not to ski for at least 7 days. 

Somehow, I scraped up my face during the fall, and I could feel that my lip was swelling, so I popped into the restroom. As I was walking out to find my husband, a young guy called out, "ma'am, ma'am, are you okay?" Having just come from the medics office, and told of the possible things that would indicate a concussion, I wondered what I had done to alarm him. So I asked if I had stumbled. He said no, but that he and his friends were on the lift above me when I took the fall. He said. "it was violent!!!" He went on to say that they all felt so bad because they could do nothing to help me, then he added, "I just can't believe that you are actually walking."

By the next morning, everything that could hurt, hurt. I had pulled my leg muscles, groin muscles, neck muscles, abdominal muscles. Well, if it was a muscle, it hurt! I decided to just make the best of it, take it easy, and allow my body to heal. Or, so I thought...

The fall happened on a Tuesday. That Saturday, four days later, I took the dogs out for a walk, slipped on some ice, and broke my wrist. My husband had left for a quick out of town trip, so I was alone. When I fell, the muscles in my legs, groin, and abdomen were re-injured. If took everything I had just to get myself up. My wrist hurt like crazy, but I thought I could just shake it off, surely it was just bruised. I got a hold of the dogs, took about five steps, and knew that something was terribly wrong. 

I called a friend who dropped everything and rushed over to get me. I was able to catch my husband just before he boarded the plane. When we got to the hospital, I was immediately taken in. The nurse helped me get my coat off, and when he saw my arm, he said, "oh my!," and took a deep breath. My arm was pointed in one direction, and my hand in the opposite direction. I had actually broken both of the large bones that run from the wrist to the elbow.

This is me 3 hours later.  

I was told that due to the nature of the break, I would need surgery. Fortunately, they were able to get me in on Monday. I am now the proud new owner of a plate and matching screws that now hold my wrist in place ;)

At this point, I am 2 1/2 weeks out of surgery. The cast is off, but I have a brace that I will have to wear for another 6 weeks. The week of the surgery was incredibly difficult. I was in so much pain. I couldn't even stand the effort of getting in the bed. Since I had re-injured my muscles, any movement was almost more than I could stand, so I slept on the sofa. 

On a sweet note...

One night I awoke and felt a little body snuggling in around my legs. Somehow, Berkley had managed to get out of the bedroom and make his way to me.      

He and Gracie have been my constant companions :) 

When I fell and broke my wrist, my first thought was, "why did this have to happen?" Since then, I have thought often of the verse, "In all things give thanks."  This happened for a reason, not sure why, but in time, I will. 

Throughout this entire ordeal, I have had many blessings, a friend who was so calm under pressure, an incredibly attentive hospital staff, being able to get into surgery so quickly, sweet dogs to comfort me, and a husband who has been so understanding and helpful. Not being able to use my right hand has been an incredible learning experience, and humbling as well.

At my last rehab visit, the therapist had me hold a pair of scissors. I was told that I could begin to sew as long as I leave the brace on, and use my left hand to pick up fabric, etc. Each day I am feeling a little more like myself.

I'm looking forward to getting back into the swing of things!
Thanks for dropping by! :)

Rhonda