A foolish fall
I have a sad story of foolishness to tell. So often people ask how I fill my days. I get tired of talking about all of the medical things I do. So I've been working to come up with some more interesting and worthwhile things to tell people. On Thursday I thought I would be a great help by dusting under the microwave (which is on a shelf above the kitchen counter).
This is a fairly simple procedure:
Step One. Remove the microwave from the shelf. It turns out that this is one heavy microwave. Done.
Step Two. Clean. Done.
Step Three. Replace the microwave. The microwave is heavy and I am weak so this requires some sub-steps.
A. Get a chair and stand on it. Done.
B. Pick up the microwave. Done
C. Place the microwave on the shelf. Working on that but I can't quite get the bottom high enough. Improvise:
i. Get more leverage. Easy enough. Put my right foot on the counter. Done.
ii. Use knee to support microwave. Done.
iii....from here on out, things don't go according to plan. Instead, it looks something like:
lose balance, drop right foot to the floor and catch self with heel, get left foot caught in rungs of the chair as it falls over, drop microwave grazing right shin before it falls to floor, crumple to the floor, catch breath, dislodge left foot from chair. Assess situation. Lots of pain in back. Not good (especially because I have osteoporosis from taking lots of prednisone).
So I crawled to the phone after I realized that I couldn't walk on my right foot due to some surprising pain. I called Mom. She came home as quickly as possible and drove me to the ER. Dad met us there. After some x-rays and a CT we found out that nothing was amiss with my foot and leg, but that I had a compression fracture in one of my vertebrae (T11 if it means anything to you).
Now I will be wearing a back brace for at least 6 weeks. That's not so bad, but I still can't really walk without a walker because of my foot. End of the story: I'm spending even more of the time doing medical stuff and even less helpful around the house. Lessons learned: suck it up; be satisfied with boring; and most importantly, ask for help.
Otherwise I'm doing very well and looking forward to the beginning of the holidays. I hope each of you is well and much smarter than me. Jill
This is a fairly simple procedure:
Step One. Remove the microwave from the shelf. It turns out that this is one heavy microwave. Done.
Step Two. Clean. Done.
Step Three. Replace the microwave. The microwave is heavy and I am weak so this requires some sub-steps.
A. Get a chair and stand on it. Done.
B. Pick up the microwave. Done
C. Place the microwave on the shelf. Working on that but I can't quite get the bottom high enough. Improvise:
i. Get more leverage. Easy enough. Put my right foot on the counter. Done.
ii. Use knee to support microwave. Done.
iii....from here on out, things don't go according to plan. Instead, it looks something like:
lose balance, drop right foot to the floor and catch self with heel, get left foot caught in rungs of the chair as it falls over, drop microwave grazing right shin before it falls to floor, crumple to the floor, catch breath, dislodge left foot from chair. Assess situation. Lots of pain in back. Not good (especially because I have osteoporosis from taking lots of prednisone).
So I crawled to the phone after I realized that I couldn't walk on my right foot due to some surprising pain. I called Mom. She came home as quickly as possible and drove me to the ER. Dad met us there. After some x-rays and a CT we found out that nothing was amiss with my foot and leg, but that I had a compression fracture in one of my vertebrae (T11 if it means anything to you).
Now I will be wearing a back brace for at least 6 weeks. That's not so bad, but I still can't really walk without a walker because of my foot. End of the story: I'm spending even more of the time doing medical stuff and even less helpful around the house. Lessons learned: suck it up; be satisfied with boring; and most importantly, ask for help.
Otherwise I'm doing very well and looking forward to the beginning of the holidays. I hope each of you is well and much smarter than me. Jill
posted by Anonymous | 1:27 PM
2 Comments:
aww jill i am so sorry. i heard from my dad what happened. i will be praying for u and just know that you aren't dumb and things do happen. don't beat yourself up. i hope u really enjoy your thanksgiving despite the set back.
blessings to you.
REgan
Hey Jill,
It's Wanda Hoffman. I worked for your dad for few years. Your story reminded me of one of HIS.
He called me at the office on his cell phone. Told me he had cut his leg and was limping - and leaking - to the office.
He came in leaking indeed with blood running down his leg. With the aid of an extra trash can liner, bottled water, first aid kit and lots of paper towels, we got his leg and shoe clean enough to see the gash. He had sliced his leg open on a license plate in the parkging garage.
He pinched it together long enough for it to 'stick' and covered it with a bandaid. Stitches? No need!
As I heard other stories like falling off the roof and knocking himself out on a cave ceiling, I figured he knew his limits, or did he? :-)
I guess my point is: You're not dumb by any means, you're just carrying on a family tradition!
I was so glad to see your writing and catching up on your progress. You are a lucky lady and one of the toughest and most resiliant spirits I've known. Keep up the good work! But you might try breaking that Johnson pattern a bit.
Take care and Happy Holidays!
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