Still Healing...when will it be over...part two

To catch up and read part one click HERE.

Ok, so now I'm in a sound-proof room with Dr. S and Steve the Enforcer! I lay down on the table; why do they call it a table when you only lay or sit on it? Like the operating table, they perform surgery on it, yet they don't call it the operating bed or platform...it's a table!

Anyway, I'm on the table and Dr S takes my left arm and looks soulfully into my eyes as he says, "I'm going to just pull and bend the wrist down ok? It's going to hurt for just a few seconds and then I'm going to hold it in place while Steve applies the new cast. You ready?" Am I ready? Am I ready? NO! Of course I'm not ready! I was never ready for this whole fiasco! But as I said before in my last post, I'm a realist and the reality is that it was something that had to be done!

I remember when I was giving birth to my daughter and during the labor pains I suddenly just started to get out of bed and told my husband, "I can't do this, I don't want to do this, I'm done and I'm going home!" It didn't work then and it wasn't going to work this time either so I just laid back and said "I'm ready!"

I really wasn't ready, oh hell I wasn't ready! When I fell it all happened so quickly that I didn't feel the immediate break, but I felt this one and it hurt like nothing I'd ever imagined. He pulled and bent and I saw stars and it seemed to take forever but I didn't want to scream or cry. At the last minute before he told Steve to go ahead  and prep the cast, I did let out a groan and I tried to raise my head, Steve of course held me down and told me to just hang on a second and he would help me up. Both of them helped me into a sitting position, with Dr. S holding my wrist in place the whole time.

Steve turned around to start preparing the cast and Dr. S said "You did great! I've had grown men cry and try to hit me when I do this and you did so great!" I'm sure it was the delirium of my pained mind but I said, "Yeah, I'm a soldier. My dad always said that I have bigger balls than both my brothers and they were Marines!" He and Steve just busted up laughing and Steve put on the new cast. The first layer was so warm and soothing to my poor brokenness and really helped. 

The new cast was less bulky than the first one but it was still just a temporary cast. Dr. S told me to take my time, sit and catch my breath but I just wanted to go home! So he gave me some instructions and told me my prescription would be ready at the pharmacy down the hall and he walked me out. 

I picked up my meds and got in my car and I gotta admit, I was feeling pretty proud of myself for being so brave. Sad that when you're an adult you don't even get a sticker or lollipop when you are brave at the doctor, but then again I did get some pretty good meds.

I drove myself home to begin the next step in the healing process!

~~~More to come, stay tuned

Still Healing...when will it be over!

So I mentioned in my previous post that I had broken my wrist on a recent trip to Arizona. Well it's now been over a month and it's still broken and I have to admit, I'm sick of it!

So we got back on April 15th and the 16th I returned to work. I know you may think that was crazy, but I figured I could sit broken at home, way too close to the refrigerator or I could sit broken at work and at least be productive!

I was able to get in to see an orthopedist on April 19th, 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Above written 5/22 19~~~~~~~~~~

Ok, so I wrote the above a few weeks ago. Took me forever just to type that little bit, so I ran out of time and energy and quit. 

So to continue... on April 19th I finally got to see the man that became my orthopedist Dr. S. X-rays were taken and he agreed that it was indeed broken. He gave me 3 options:

1. Do nothing, let it heal on it's own and I would probably never again have full usage of the wrist/arm/hand ever.

2. I could have surgery where they would put in a plate and screws. I would have to take time off of work and face a longer recovery time.

3. Let him reset it that day in the office, apply a new temporary cast and send me home with some pretty good pain killers. I would still be able to return to work. He said this would be the best option for me.

Great choices right? Of course I opted for #3. 

He did explained to me that resetting my arm meant manipulating the wrist into the position that it is supposed to be in and that it would be very painful for a few seconds but that it would be the best option.

He said that there was an injection he could give me to ease the pain, but that the injection would be just as painful and probably would only ease the pain of manipulating the wrist slightly.

Even now thinking about it I feel sorry for the poor me of April 19th! But I'm a realist and I wanted this fixed as soon as possible with the least drama possible, So I said, "Handsome Dr. S, let's do this!" (He is a cutie!)

He took me into another room and brought in an ortho tech named Steve. Steve's job was two-fold, to apply the temporary cast after Dr. S set the wrist and to hold me down to prevent me from hitting Dr. S with my good arm or kicking him with my legs. Dr. S said this had happened to him before. 

He also told me that the room  was sound proof so that I could curse, or yell or cry as loudly as I wanted to and it would not upset other patients!!!

~~~Stay tuned for the next post

A Broken Wing

With a broken wing

She carries her dreams

Man you oughta see her fly

Recognize the lyrics from this Martina McBride song? The song itself is about abusive relationships...my post is not about that but just an opening to talk about my broken wing.

Huh? What? "Where is she going with this?", you may be asking yourself. Well, they say a picture speaks a thousand words so take a gander at this photo!

That's me with a broken wing, no make-up, no lipstick! The reason I look so miserable is that I was in considerable pain and had just broken my wing the day before...so let me backtrack on how I got to this point.

Our family roots are in Arizona, and every once in a while Arizona beckons to us, the allure of the desert and the majestic Saguaro, the breathtaking sunsets...and we have to answer the call. 

So on April 11th, we made a trip to Arizona, my mom, myself and my sister-in-law Connie. The plan was for Connie and I to head back on Monday, April 15th and mom would stay there for a couple of weeks or whenever she felt like coming back home and then we would go and pick her up. (The trip itself is 9 hours, 600 miles!)

But you know the saying, "The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry"...boy did they.

The second day we were there my cousin Tino took us to his home to pick up a sombrero that he was giving to Connie for some home decor. We went into his home and I turned left into his living room, not realizing it was a sunken living room with two steps leading down.

I caught myself on the first step, and as I turned around to warn Connie I hit the second step and my left ankle twisted and down I went! I remember the whole thing in slow motion and even now I can recall the sound of the back of my head hitting the tile floor, bouncing up and coming back down for another smack!

And that was the end of the fun for me, at 6pm it all ended and they had to take me to the ER. My ankle was swelling but the worst part is that I knew I had broken my left wrist! Oh...and you know how people will say if you can move your fingers it's not broken? LIES!!! It can still be broken!

On top of a broken wrist I ended up with a sprained left ankle, a mild concussion, a bruised tailbone, and a grand story to tell.

We ended up staying until Monday anyway but the saddest part is that my mom couldn't and wouldn't stay, she was insistent on coming back with me to take care of her baby.

I'm so glad she did because so there were/are so many things I can't do for myself. She helps me to shower and to get dressed, she does my hair, fixes my food, cuts my meat, anything and everything that I need! There's no one like my mother. 

I'll post again later about my progress in healing, but wanted to share the story of my broken wing and as we near Mothers Day this Sunday to brag on having the very best mom in the whole world! Love you mom, thank you for loving me even in moments when I can be truly unlovable (it happens more often than you may think!)

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY to all the moms out there and to those dads doing double duty!