A Personal Miracle in Everyday Ramblings

I woke up pale and grumpy Monday and although I had a number of things that could be done before I left in the late afternoon to teach there wasn’t a great deal of motivation to do any of them. I did what needed to be done and finished listening to the distracting novel mentioned in the previous entry and decided in early afternoon to look for my rolling pin. It is in the kitchen somewhere along with the carefully wrapped big blade for the base of my food processor.

For a single person I have a fairly large kitchen with lots of cabinet space and I thought I would start at the top. I carefully stepped up from a study chair onto the counter to look on top of the cabinets where I sometimes put things that are big. No not on that side I got down (you can see where this might be going). I did the same thing on the other side, next to the stove above the microwave, and then again next to the sink.

That third time, because I was a little “off”, maybe fighting a virus, stepping back down off the chair I lost my bearings and fell backwards onto the floor.

I hit on my right back pelvis and slid right into the corner of my beloved Simple Human kitchen garbage can with enough force to move the refrigerator.

Don’t try this at home kids. I know I won’t be again.

Thank goodness on about a million levels I did not hit my head or break my fall with my hands. The pain was intense, and the shock of the fall an added layer. I thought my hip might be broken and was horrified.

A hip replacement is not on the agenda for this year.

I was able to roll over onto my stomach and crawl. I managed to get out of the kitchen and eventually haul myself up. I cold put weight on the foot of the injured side and I did not hit my tailbone. I got the ice pack out of the freezer and lugged myself into the bedroom and onto the bed on my belly and placed the ice pack on my back hips and tried to figure out next steps.

I texted my sister and Mrs. Sherlock, both retired nurses. By this time I realized that the ball and socket of my hip were fine in spite of the pain. I had good range of motion in the socket; almost full range of motion. I was able after 20 minutes to get up and take anti-inflammatory over the counter meds and send out an email to all concerned that I was unable to teach.

Both Kes and Mrs. Sherlock offered to come over if I needed them. We are having dicey weather; Mrs. Sherlock had a power outage Sunday night and was behind on her trip planning and there was no way I was having Kes come up after dark. I could take a Lyft if I needed to go to urgent care.

The pain was, and is, intense. I was afraid I had broken the rim of my pelvis. But I was able to find enough of a comfortable position to sleep. I can stand, I can walk; where I have issues is when I need to bend my knees or forward bend at all.

Those cat food plates are pretty darn far away all of a sudden. :)

Kes came up in the light snow yesterday morning and took me to the doctor. I was able to get an appointment at my regular clinic with the on call doctor. If I move slowly and prop myself up with pillows I can actually sit up fairly comfortably.

Other than chastising me for using a chair to get up on the counter, which I expected, the doctor was thorough and nice and sent me off for x-rays in the same building.

By the time I got home we had results. There was no break! I only have soft tissue damage. And it is going to take me at least a week before I can move in a reasonably normal fashion.

Can I just say here that I so appreciate my sister? I could have managed this all on my own but what I really wanted and needed was someone I was close to that I could be vulnerable around. She even unlaced my shoes when we got back to my place. I am at the extreme edge of gratitude for her coming up to help and I know she was terribly worried.

The doctor told me to let pain be my guide in terms of teaching (something I tell my students all the time). I decided when I woke up to cancel my class again tonight. Next Monday is a holiday here and the church is closed and that means I will have a whole week to heal.

I worry about losing students but I have seriously only taken maybe five days off in the five years I have taught this class and there is no way pushing myself to teach when it hurts to get into and out of a chair and I am wincing is a good role model for my students so I will be home for the duration reading that big pile of books from the library.

Although I know that the fact that I am fit played a big role in my not being hurt worse, it is also a bit of a miracle. As I hobble around doing chores the next few days I will not forget this.

We all fall. It is in the nature of being human. All we can do is take care of ourselves both before and after and hope for the best.

Last night I was able to maneuver myself into the bathtub.

Oh gosh that felt good. I have so much… safety, food, hot water, heat, Internet access, an excellent library and as the doctor said, I could recommend Physical Therapy but I suspect you already know what you will need to do…

Last updated January 15, 2020