That didn't take long

I was joyfully riding my new mountain bike home, with my new clip in pedals, after a wonderful day of errands and breakfast when, SLAM!! down I went and my world changed for the next 6 weeks.

I was about to take a small, insignificant detour on the final stretch home when I went to cross a small stream of water in the gutter and onto the driveway of a fire station. The short cut may have cut of 20 seconds if that, so to say it was worth it would be false. The sprinklers are on here every day and the run-off is constant. Over time, algae builds up underneath and it becomes very slippery. Well, even a small stream of 3 inches wide can cause the front tire of a mountain bike out from beneath it before you can say 'what the eff?' Well, that is what happened to me...I went down and my bike went one way and my lower leg of my right leg went the other way and I felt excruciating pain from my knee and lower leg down. I took a quick look and saw that my ankle was facing the correct way before I crumpled into a heap on the burning hot pavement. Before too long a lady had stopped to see if I was okay and call 9-1-1. The ironic thing was, we were in the parking lot of a fire station, but nobody was there. In a few moments there were 3 or 4 people surrounding me asking me if they could do anything. The one thing I did ask for was for someone to put something underneath me so I could stop sizzling like a piece of bacon. They came up with a large piece of cardboard and I was thankful. Before too long the ambulance arrived and I was somewhat relieved but also very, very scared. I had never really hurt myself before and I didn't know what to expect, what could be wrong, and the fact that I am basically alone in the desert made it that much worse.

Before the ambulance got there, I was able to reach for my phone and call Hitch--of course, no answer as he was doing his radio show. I somehow gathered myself enough to send him a text that said: 'i think i broke my leg'. Within seconds the phone rang back and judging by my wailing, he knew I was serious. I handed the phone to a lady who Hitch asked to stay with me until the ambulance came to which she did. I was very thankful for that and I remember thanking everyone for stopping repeatedly.

The EMT's put me in a collar and onto a backboard as they took off my shoes and helmet. I was going so slow that I didn't even have any other scrapes or bruises--it was just one of those freak things that happen. The ride to the hospital room felt long and bumpy and every bump hurt and made me fear more and more pain would arise. We finally stopped and they pulled me out into the air-conditioning of the ER. Folks, it was nothing like what we see on TV--I didn't have people rushing to my side and people telling me it was going to be okay, quite the contrary. In fact, there were nurses and voices all around me, but nobody seemed to care that I was writhing in pain. I kept waiting for someone to come to my side with a comforting voice, but no one came. Finally I said: 'is anyone coming?' and the EMT said that they are just waiting to get a room for me. Finally someone came to take care of me and all I could think about was how alone I was, how cold I was becoming, and how long would it be before the pain subsided. The EMT had put a IV on me and I just wanted them to slip something in there that would put me into la-la land like I have always heard about.

Finally 'Heather' came over and spoke kindly and comforted me and told me that she was 'going to take good care of me' right before she forced my leg straight and made me literally yelp in pain. That hurt like a mo-fo. After removing me from the backboard and putting a warm blanket on me, they did slip something into my IV, but it wasn't all dreamy feeling like I wanted. Before too long, and several phone calls to Hitch and my family about the situation, the wheeled me into X-ray...another freezing room. After a few shots of both my knee and ankle I was wheeled back into my 'room' to wait. And wait, and wait. It was about an hour or more before Heather came back and informed me that I had a broken tibea and that I would need to see an Orthopedic specialist the next day. WHAT?? DO I NEED SURGERY? Is the first thing that I thought. When she told me that I was broken my heart sunk. I have never broken a bone before and now I was scared all over again. I know it isn't a big deal in the whole scheme of things, but it was a bit freaky to me and I was there all alone. Shortly thereafter 'Margarita' came and put a temporary splint on me which took less than 10 minutes. It looked like a big tensor bandage that came up and over the knee, but a lot heavier. My good friends Peter and Marcella Murphy came to pick me up and took me home--not before we stopped to get my Vicodin and Motrin perscription though.

Poor Billy had been home for about 8 hours by himself and the good little boy that he is, he never messed in the kitchen at all. Needless to say he was happy to see people and me, but wasn't sure about the crutches and funny cast! He went outside and went pee while Peter and Marcella made sure I was okay for the rest of the evening. Wow...a broken leg...my first (and hopefully my last) ever.

Thankfully my sister was able to get on a plane the next morning and was here by 2 pm in time to take me to my orothopedic appointment. I had been scared about it since I heard I had to go but having Tina there really helped sooth me...until I had to be the passenger in the car with her driving haha... She hasn't driven a standard in a while so it was a bit herky jerky, but she did just fine. Thank god she is here!

The diagnosis at the Orthopede was the best case scenario: no surgery--just casted. Unfortunately they had to 'set' me by putting my ankle at nearly 90 degrees which required some manipulation which = pain. It wasn't as bad as I thought it might be and I was likely more of a suck than I needed to be but...oh well.

Jessie wanted me to get a purple cast and Jaiden wanted me to get a pink one so I got a half and half cast for them. It is funky, but who cares--the kids like it. It was worth it to hear that when Jaiden found out over the phone that I got half and half her response was: 'sweeeeeeeet'.

I will post pictures as soon as possible.