Status

I guess I haven't given an update to my leg in a while. It has become such a daily occurrence that I hardly notice anymore. I've graduated from my crutches and only use my leg brace when I got out. I did get a renewal for my handicap sign though through Oct. - I've been going to therapy twice a week and within the last 2 weeks really feel like I've turned a corner. It doesn't hurt (as much) to bend down anymore - I can actually put weight on my left knee now as well.

At PT I start with 5 mins on a stationary bike - which the first time terrified me - but now it is much better - however after 3.5 minutes I have pinchy feelings in my hip flexors.

It's funny the kind of exercises they give you to help build up strength. I have to sit on a stool with wheels and using my heels - scoot myself around the room. Then I have to do it only with the bad leg - now that is hard! But I feel better and I take less Ibuprophen, (yea for my kidneys!) I cannot run the Nike 1/2 Marathon next month - but I'd love to start walking around the neighborhood soon. Well actually the mall - Linda & I are going to try it next week ;)

But I'm excited to give up the nickname "Hop A Long"

Rehab

Well I have been staying in bed the last few days and doing a whole lot of nothing which I am sure is terrific for my hip but BORING for me. I've been doing the Health Insurance dance where I have to keep jumping through hoops to make sure things progress. I have to get an MRI, but before getting it, the Doctor had to authorize it, which he did, verbally, but the staff can't do anything until he writes it up, but he has to dictate it first, and then the person that types it has to type it up, then give it to the office, then they call the insurance, then they fax it to the MRI imaging place, then they call me to tell me to call the MRI imaging place for an appointment!!!!!! Yikes! And then I still have to make an appointment with the dr!

Well I kept up on it so everything is progressing and have the MRI tomorrow and an appointment scheduled for next week for the dr. to read it!! Nothing like living in limbo. It's always misleading because you start to feel better one day, think you can move around, but then it still knocks you off your feet! So today unfortunately my mom had a funeral to go to - one of her friends had been in a car accident and was the only one that died - she was the lady that did the flowers for our wedding. Very sad - so Lucas and I were on our own - he had a runny nose so he was pretty crabby - didn't want Dora, or Diego, or Lightening McQueen, I couldn't understand him this morning. Finally Backyardigans fit the bill and he was appeased! So I was out in the living room a bit more and it was exhausting - plus I haven't been sleeping because my back kills just being on my back all night long.

Ah well. The great thing about this though is you are reminded of all the blessings you have and all the great friends and family you have. My friend Beth brought dinner for us tonight, my other friends in the neighborhood also brought us dinner the other night, my next door neighbor has been driving my kids both ways to summer school each day and one of the girls in the ward has been taking chandler to cub scout camp every day. All my neighbors came to visit me and brought me magazines, candy, flowers, fruit, cake! - so much! That's probably why I'm tired too! :) But a good tired!

Wipe Out

Well, here is my new post, and I have absolutely no pictures to document the event - just as well because as my husband put it, "my foot was turned the wrong direction".....let me go to the beginning though....

Saturday a bunch of friends asked if we wanted to do a training bike ride up Mt. Diablo, in a couple weeks a whole group was doing a reunion ride so since I had not done it before I thought it would be a great idea to do a training.

Saturday morning started out terrific, I was pretty tired though as we went to the Alameda County Fair the night before and we had so much fun, it was opening day for the fair and the kids had a blast. We went on all kinds of rides and ate greasy fair food and bought icees & kettle korn and cotton candy, and my favorite, carmel/chocolate apples!

So Saturday morning I get to the base of Mt. Diablo at 7:30 am. My coach is a doll, she is AMAZINGLY fit, she teaches 3-4 classes of all kinds in one day and can still do a "quick" 2000 ft ride up Mt. Diablo! She was really sweet and stayed with me the entire ride. As you know I'm still a novice. I totally made it to the 1/2 mark (that was our goal) which is 2000ft, and for all you bike enthusiasts, I did it all without clips (special shoes with clips that clamp your feet to the pedals, but gives you more power to ride). Well our descent was going well, I was enjoying it and taking the blind curves slowly, we were almost at the bottom, I think I only had 2 more curves, and I lost it - I was going 20-25mph, I was adjusting my breaking hand, didn't break fast enough on the curve, skidded on gravel, watched my left leg hit the ground to break my fall, and the rest of my body and my bike go to the right - I looked like a Wish Bone!!!! Not kidding. I fell, HARD, then I couldn't move anymore. My girl friend came back right away - they called 911, luckily rangers with radios were on their way up the hill anyway - the firefighters came, the paramedics - I told my girl friends to only call the firemen if they were cute, I only remember seeing their wrists and forearms, and those looked cute!

Anyway, they asked me if I wanted morphine, I was fearful, but I screamed when they tried to put me on the crash board. So they said, "how do drugs sound now?" Now I'm the kind, with 3 of my kids I didn't have any drugs, by choice, so you know it had to be pretty bad. So I got the morphine 2 cc's at a time until 10 in the ambulance because they didn't know how long I would have to wait when I got to the ER.

When I got to the ER it was just like the TV show, people moaning all over the place - mind you, it was only 10am by then, people in the hallway. My husband got there by then - time was extremely foggy for me. I just hope someone got my sunglasses!

They got me in a room and asked if I wanted my $95 bike pants cut off me - I was screaming in my head, okay, but apparently I didn't answer fast enough so my husband was like, Yes, please! I truly think my pants saved me - I only got one scrape on my knuckle - I was also wearing a light weight jacket because going down the hill is pretty cold so I really really was lucky. My whole side would have been totally scraped up.

So they gave me barbiturates, I don't see why people become drug addicts because it is horrible! you feel totally nauseous! I threw up as the dr. was talking to me - just water, but still!! It was embarassing.

So they did xrays, a pregnancy test so they could do CT scans - all that happened was that I dislocated my hip! Scary, I say "only" but my gosh it could have been 1000 times worse. I could have broken my hip, my arms, legs, etc. With the barbiturates I was out for the count so didn't even know when they put my leg back into it's socket. The surgeon on call that day said I may be laid up for 6-8 week!!! Guess no more Triathlons this season! I'm going to make an appointment to see an orthopedic specialist tomorrow morning so I'll cross my fingers I don't have anything else. And hope that when I get old I won't need a hip replacement!!!!

So I've been in bed (in my downstairs guest bedroom) all today really sore, can't sit up, I can only lay on my back, not my good side, can't even lift up my own leg really, I have crutches to help me to the bathroom, but even doing that is hard. I got a chair in the shower so I could do that at lest - luckily my mom came into town to visit on Wednesday, little did she know she was going to have to take care of all of us! Things are going well though - I hope that my kids will survive and I won't have any complications. So I'll have plenty of down time to catch up on all of your blogs - thank heaven's for my laptop!