And Then I Did This…

 We decided to renew our Disneyland annual passes because we could. They had already announced that they will no longer offer passes for next year, and we have really enjoyed ours. Besides, we had some extra required withdrawal funds from our retirement accounts available.

We really love the Disney parks, and we live within half an hour of the Anaheim resort. (Both of us were there during the first year when we were kids.) Last year, we made sure to go at least twice a month in order to justify the price. (They are OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive.)

Besides, whenever we go, we always put in 10,000 to 13,000 steps. Much more fun than going to the gym.

For the past year or so, I have also been walking the marina with my friend, Cathy a couple of times a week (about 3-1/2 miles to cover the whole thing). I have been enjoying these early morning walks. We talk, see people we know, and the time goes quickly. Sometimes Larry joins us.

On the 21^st of November, we made our usual trek to Disneyland. We were having a great time. We arrived at park opening and had already put in about 3-1/2 hours—and over 8,000 steps.

We had planned to see the new Lion King show in the Fantasyland Theater, eat lunch, and then head home. We took the train around to the Toontown station opposite the theater.

We started to get off. Larry went down the stairs first. (We have gotten on and off the train hundreds of times—literally.) I started to step down, and my foot slipped. I was still on the top on the floor of the car.

You need to understand that there are two different kinds of train cars. One has the seats facing the front. The stairs on those cars have handrails all the way to the bottom. The other cars have the seats facing the outside. These have no handrails. The floor of the car is about 3-1/2 to 4-feet off the platform.

Of course, we were on the latter kind of car.

I tried to catch the lower step as I felt my right foot slip. Didn’t make it.

My left foot landed hard on the cement platform at the bottom and folded under me. Then my head hit the ground. I heard it.

Fortunately, I never lost consciousness. I was certain I had done some damage to my left ankle right away. It hurt.

Being Disney, people swarmed around immediately. They actually emptied the train and stopped it from running until I was taken care of. Security was called and arrived quickly.

They asked if I wanted them to call an ambulance. Uh…no thanks.

A nurse with a wheelchair arrived and did an assessment. (My eyes were dilating and I was making sense—and joking.)

He and Larry got me into the chair. He had brought a couple of ice packs and put one on the ankle and another on my head. Then they pushed me to the infirmary. (Did you know they had one? Actually, I did.) We talked and joked all the way.

They said I should have a CAT scan since I hit my head, and even I recognized that I needed to have my ankle x-rayed.

I wanted to go to a hospital closer to home—just in case I might need to stay.

They sent Larry to get the car from the parking lot while the nurse (Tom) brought me fresh ice packs. I was actually pretty comfortable. A knot rose on the back of my head, and the ankle started to swell and hurt.

Larry drove the car to the special waiting area at the front of the park. He called me, and Tom pushed me out to the car. They helped me get in, and then we drove down to Mission Hospital. I knew (from having broken my wrist in 2019) that Urgent Care didn’t have a CAT scan machine, so the ER at the hospital made the most sense.

There was a wheelchair outside the ER, so Larry grabbed it to get me inside.

I was checked in fairly quickly. When they noted I was taking a blood thinner, they decided I should be seen in the trauma area. So, off we headed.

I was taken care of by two nurses. (Dale was one, and I never got the name of the other one.) Carrie took all my vitals. We talked about how I could easily remember her name since it is the same as my niece. (I said I always called her “Care Bear”, even though the stuffed ones came about a few years after she was born. Carrie at the hospital said she had been called the same thing.)

Then, I was taken to have the CAT scan. It wasn’t too bad—except getting on the table.

They brought me back to the trauma area and settled me in a bed. I was surprised when they brought in a portable x-ray machine to get the x-rays. I was also surprised when they took a chest x-ray as well as one of my pelvis before getting four different ones of the ankle.

Then we waited…and waited…and waited.

Three hours later, they told me they were having a problem with their blue-ray and wi-fi. They couldn’t send the x-rays to the orthopedist, but they were working on it. They said the files were in the machine, but they couldn’t transmit them.

I asked why they hadn’t pulled them off with a flash drive and taken them to the doctor, who was in the hospital. No one had an answer.

They finally brought in another machine. They took another chest x-ray and three more shots of my ankle. Then the technician (the same one who had taken the first ones) pulled a flash drive from the machine and scurried off. I laughed.

I could see a computer screen about twenty feet from where I lay. A few minutes later, I saw images appear. Catherine, who had been trying to make me comfortable (bringing warm blankets, etc.) sat down to look at them. I knew they were mine from the obvious swelling around the ankle and the angles.

Not long afterward, Dale appeared to tell me they had finally gotten the files read. “Your head is fine. So is your chest.” (I could have told him this.)

“I saw my ankle.”

“You saw the break?”

“No. It was too far away, but I knew they were my x-rays.”

“Well, you have a fracture of the fibula.”

Thank God, it wasn’t the ankle joint itself!

Catherine finally put on a splint—the same awful kind they had put on my wrist. I hated that one, and I hated this one even more.

Once it was set up, they said I could go home. I was more than ready!

We had each only eaten a small red velvet cupcake around nine-thirty. We only ate those because we had decided to see the show at noon and then eat a late lunch afterward.

It was now nearing seven in the evening. We had been up since six a.m. and had spent over six hours at the hospital.

We drove through a drive-in and picked up sandwiches for dinner. We were starving!

When we arrived home, we had another challenge. We have a two-story house with no bedrooms downstairs and only a half bath. I needed to get to bed, so I had to find a way to get upstairs. Larry pulled, pushed, and dragged me upstairs. Once we reached the landing, I crawled into the bedroom. Getting into bed proved another challenge, but we made it.

We finally ate our dinner in the bedroom. I ate half, and Larry ate all of his.

At the hospital, they’d offered me a boot. Un…no. I had one when I sprained my ankle at the same time I broke my wrist. It was uncomfortable, and I felt as though I was off balance and falling down every time I tried to step. (The bottom was curved and about 2” off the ground. It was also slick.) So, they gave me crutches. I warned them I didn’t have enough upper body strength to use them, but we brought them home. Unfortunately, I was right…

The next day, our friend who had borrowed my mom’s walker brought it back. At least I could push down on the walker and hop. It allowed me to get around. Not easily, but at least I could move. A little.

The toilet proved to be the biggest challenge. To get there, I had to cross our (large) bedroom, go through the (large) dressing room, get through the (narrow) door, and then sit on the (low) toilet. Unfortunately, the bathroom door opened over the front of the toilet. Works fine most of the time, but I now had to get the walker into the room with me and figure out how to get around the door. (The next day, Larry removed it.)

The issue was then how to get up from the toilet using only one foot. We have a towel rack next to the toilet. Unfortunately, it is more decorative than functional. It can’t be used as a grab bar.

Thank goodness for Feldenkrais training! At least I could figure out how to get my weight balanced, but it wasn’t easy! And the more often I did it, the harder it became.

After he removed the door, Larry rented a wheelchair. BIG HELP!

I could actually sit in the chair, wheel myself, and push with my good foot. Much simpler.

But the issue of getting off the toilet continued.

The day after the accident, I called the orthopedic surgeon. This was the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. The earliest appointment I could get was the Wednesday AFTER Thanksgiving. (I presume he was booked up and was taking at least the entire weekend off, just like everyone else.) SIGH. This meant dealing with the heavy, uncomfortable splint, wheelchair, and low toilet for nine days.

On the Sunday after Thanksgiving, Larry was in the office working. I was feeling over-confident. I got to the bathroom, sat on the toilet, and took care of my business. Then I tried to stand up…

As I nearly got up and onto the seat, the wheelchair rolled backward, and I landed on the floor.

I lost it. I still had over three days before I could see the doctor, and I couldn’t even get to the bathroom by myself. Larry had told me not to try to do it by myself, but I was feeling guilty for being so demanding. (He didn’t see it that way, thank God!)

So, I acquired a few more bruises but no more damage to other bones or joints.

The next day, we got a 2” padded extension for the toilet seat. This brought it up nearly to the same height as the seat on the wheelchair. Getting off became a bit easier.

Wednesday finally arrived, and I went to see the doctor. He cut off the awful splint. My leg felt much better without the darn thing. The foot was still a bit swollen and had turned a lovely shade of Shrek green.

He took a couple new x-rays. The break is healing nicely, and I hadn’t done any additional damage. Thank God.

He quickly put on a cast—much smaller and lighter than the hated splint. I got to choose the color. I picked purple. Once it set up, he said I could walk on it a bit. Of course, he warned me not to overdo it. (I suspect he intuited I probably would if not warned.)

So now, I am getting around on this beautiful foot.

I am back to using the walker here at home.

Kim arrives on the 16^th, and I look forward to having her here. We got her a Disneyland ticket for the 18^th, and we’ll go. But we will take the wheelchair since it should be a lot easier.

And, no, I haven’t gotten tired of Disneyland.

OOPS – Part V

Continued from last week

When we arrived home from the airport on Monday after dropping off our guests, we took a nap. It had been an exhausting but fun weekend!

Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Time to call the orthopedic surgeon. At the ER, they gave us the name of one, but he was over an hour away. Googled for a closer one and found the South County Orthopedic Specialists (SCOS) on El Toro in Laguna Hills. Definitely a better choice!

I called and made an appointment with one of their hand specialists. (There are two). The first appointment they had was late in the afternoon on Thursday.

Wednesday, February 27, 2020

We had to pick up a copy of the CD of my x-rays from Mission Hospital before my appointment with the surgeon. I had to do this once before. That time, I called Radiology, and they had the CD ready when we arrived. Not so this time.

We had to go in person up to Radiology with all the paperwork from the ER. Then they had to confirm my identity. Then—finally—they requested the CD. And, we waited. And waited…

Finally, they called my name and gave me the disc. Just another annoyance…

Thursday, February 27,2020

Checked in for my appointment. I was surprised when they had all of my information already. I asked which doctor I would be seeing. I had thought the name Dr. Moskow sounded familiar. The receptionist confirmed he would be my surgeon. Then I remembered he had done minor surgery to remove a cyst under the nail bed on one of my fingers several years earlier. I remembered him, and I liked him!

I got into his examination room (with several exam tables). We had brought the CD of the x-rays, and they copied it into their electronic files. (This place is VERY efficient!)

A nurse removed the heavy, bulky, splint. Thank goodness! Underneath, my skin was all covered in little red bumps, and it itched—badly!

He looked it over. “What did they put under the splint?”

“Nothing.”

He looked surprised and shook his head.

“Do you have something for the itching?”

He brought some gauze soaked with iodine and bathed the inside of my arm.

The doctor checked the x-rays. “The good news is the break is below the joint. This is a much easier situation to deal with.”

Thank GOD!

“You have two choices. You can let it heal as is with the bone out of alignment, but you may have limited movement.”

I don’t think so. I told him I needed to be able to fully use the hand. My work depended on it.

“The second choice is to do surgery and insert a plate and screws. The healing time will be shorter, and you should have good motion afterward.”

No contest! Surgery it was.

I complained about the dumb sling. “It is made out of slick nylon, and no matter how tight we get it, my arm keeps slipping out, defeating the whole purpose.”

“Then don’t use it. Just try to keep the arm upright with your hand above your heart.”

HOORAY!

I started to use the Napoleon technique. I zipped my jacket about ¾ of the way. Then, I slipped my arm inside. This kept it at the right angle, and was MUCH more comfortable than the dang sling.

When I told the nurse how uncomfortable the darn thing was, he pointed out a loop. “This is for you to slip your thumb through.

Really? I pointed to my thumb, which still looked like a bloated boiled sausage and was beginning to bruise. “Uh, I don’t think so.”

He nodded.

He replaced the huge “sugar tong” splint with a much smaller one. This one went from my fingers halfway to my elbow. First, though, he put a black knit “sleeve” on the arm. Then the splint. Then he wrapped it in sticky bandaging—pink! I loved it! Pink and black was a popular color combination in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s. This was much smaller and lighter.

While we waited to see his PA to schedule the surgery, we went back out into the waiting area. Larry went to the desk to pick up the x-ray CD. So, I sat down next to a young lady. She looked very distressed.

She told me she had a toddler at home, and her hand had been going numb. She’d already had a couple of surgeries, and nothing had helped, so she was very worried. She asked about my arm and asked who my doctor was.

“Dr. Moskow."

“He’s the one I’m going to see.”

“You will love him. He did minor surgery on my finger a few years ago. “ I showed her the scar. “I absolutely love him, and I trust him completely.”

I watched as she relaxed a bit.

Larry returned and we went back in to meet with the PA.

Surgery was scheduled for the following Monday. Before then, I’d need blood work and chest x-ray.

As we came out and headed for the elevator, we ran into the same young woman I had been talking to earlier. She was leaving the exam room from the other side. She smiled—a whole different person. “Thank you so much. You’re right. I like him very much, and I feel better about my surgery.” She went on to the reception area, and we got on the elevator.

“Okay, now I know why I was supposed to be here today.” I love those occasions when God affirms my purpose.

We went to my primary care doctor’s office with the orders for the blood work and x-ray.

The on-call physician took the blood samples, but the x-ray facility was already closed for the day. (It was after five.)

So, we went home.

Friday, February 28,2020

We spent quite a bit of time trying to get the x-ray. Lots of running around… Finally got it done.

Saturday, February 29, 2020

Had an urgent call from the surgery center asking if I had gotten he blood work done. Yes, I had. They hadn’t received the report. I gave them the contact information for the lab. SIGH!

Sunday, March 1, 2020

My Christmas gift from Larry was tickets to see The Book of Mormon at the Ahmanson in downtown L.A.. I had no intention of missing it!

Larry helped set up for the coffee hour between services. (I was useless in this department!) Then we attended church. We left immediately to get to L.A.

We made exceptional time, even though it was drizzling.

I hadn’t eaten anything, so we decided to go to go to Abernethy’s, since we were able to be seated. Nothing on the menu was much to my taste. Larry decided to get the burger. So did I. We sat next to another couple and had a delightful conversation with them.

The play was audacious and rude and very funny. (I adore irreverence, and this was right up my alley!) It was written by the writers of South Park and had the same sense of humor.

Afterward, we went to see our goddaughter’s new apartment in Pasadena. (We had made arrangements before we went.)

As we drove there, I was reminded of how much I love the old town. Charming.

We were delighted to find her parents there already. She has a really charming place. Of course, we expected no less since she has always had terrific taste!

We decided to walk the two blocks to Green Street to Green Street Restaurant for dinner. (Keep in mind, my ankle was still wrapped in an Ace bandage. On Monday, the entire sole and heel were solid navy blue!) Still, taking a walk felt good. We took our umbrellas since it had been drizzling off and on.

Our friend from grammar school owns the restaurant, and it is a Pasadena favorite. The food was excellent! He wasn’t there, but we left our business card with a note for him. He emailed the following day. (We are also friends on Facebook.)

After dinner, we went back to the apartment for a short time. We live at quite a distance, so we don’t get to see these friends often. I had missed them!

With surgery scheduled for the next day, we left to get home and get ready for the big day!

OOPS - Part IV

Continued from last week

We arrived back home from the hospital around four o’clock.

Larry came around the van to help me out. As I put my foot down, I realized that the boot had a plastic bottom—and it was new and slick. It felt as though it was going to slide out from under me. I was glad Larry had my good arm to keep me balanced. In addition, the sole was about an inch or more higher than my other shoe, making me off-balance to start with. And the bottom wasn’t flat. It was curved! It didn’t give me great confidence, to say the least! Plus, it was heavy. I loathed it!

The others had returned from their trip. Before we left, I had told them all the food in the house was up for grabs, so they had made themselves some toast to tide them over until dinner. They had also discovered a DVD I had put out to lend to a friend at church and were watching it.

I said hello, and then Larry helped me up the stairs.

The first order of business was to cut off the rest of the sleeve of my shirt. I would wear a jacket, so no one would know I only had one sleeve. (Larry would have to cut me out of the rest of the shirt when we got home. Fortunately, I had bought it through Amazon, so I was able to replace it.)

Then I tried to clean up my face and cover the abrasions with a little makeup. It looked a bit better—not quite so scary. (A few days later, the entire socket around my right eye was a vivid shade of magenta. I knew from the start I’d have quite a shiner! We didn’t get any photos of it at its worst.)

I brushed my hair as best I could with only one hand—and my left one at that.

We went downstairs to join the others. Of course, they wanted a complete update on what had transpired, and we wanted to hear about their trip.

They had seen a few whales, but only tails and backs. None breached while they were out. And they spotted lots of dolphins. I was very glad we had gotten them back on time so they hadn’t missed their trip.

Larry had my prescription to fill, so he left for Costco. Linda decided to join him. He returned with the magic pain pills, and Linda got a large bag of popcorn (Boom Chicka Pop).

We gathered ourselves together and set out for the Harbor Grill. Having not eaten all day, dinner sure tasted good! I think all of us enjoyed our meal.

When we returned home, we finished watching the video they had started earlier (the American version of Shall We Dance. I prefer the Japanese version and had loaned it to my friend a couple of weeks earlier. She wanted to see the American one, so I had set it out to take to church for her.)

By this time, I was getting weary, so I went upstairs and got ready for bed. Of course, I was completely helpless… Thank God for Larry. He began to call himself my NIT (nurse-in-training).

At the hospital, the doctor had advised me to take one of the pain pills at bedtime to stay ahead of the pain. So, I did and slept well.

Sunday, February 23, 2020

We had made arrangements to go to church with Dave’s niece, Rachel, and her family in Aliso Viejo, so we got up early. It required a LOT of extra time to get ready!

Larry used a garbage bag to cover my arm so I could take a shower. He then wrapped the excess around and used packing tape to hold it in place. Quite a challenge.

I decided to wash my hair, but it didn’t go well. I got shampoo—the dandruff stuff—in my eye. It burned! I yelled for Larry to get me some eye drops. He was frozen in place and didn’t seem to understand what I needed. He finally got the message and handed me the drops. They soothed my eye, but my attempt at a shampoo didn’t go too well.

The shower was less than optimal, but I felt better after getting clean.

Then came the challenge of wrapping my head in a towel, removing the bag on my arm (and dripping all over the floor while trying to get it into the trash can) and getting my body dry. Between us, we managed the operation.

Larry was recruited to dry my hair since I only had one hand—my left one. He did pretty well for being the first time. I decided not to try to curl it. (I would rethink this a couple of days later when I couldn’t stand it anymore.)

Next came the challenge of dressing. Together we decided a tank top would be easier to get over the huge splint. I could put a stretchy jacket over it, and I would look somewhat normal.

The bra was the first challenge. I couldn’t help much, but somehow, we got it on. My underpants were also a challenge because of my swollen ankle, but we managed. My pants weren’t too hard, once we figured out a strategy.

Then, came the brace for my ankle.

I lay down so Larry could position it. He was the only one who had watched the doctor put it on the first time, but he couldn’t figure out how to hook all the straps. Since I hated the thing anyway, I decided not to use it. (Had my ankle been broken, I wouldn’t have had a choice.)

I have very few memories of my dad, who died when I was seven. One of them is of him sitting on the floor wrapping my ankle. I had LOTS of sprains when I was a kid. Dad always wrapped them with an Ace bandage.

We had Ace bandages…

So, Larry wrapped the ankle. I had a pair of sandals from Hawaii. They had Velcro straps over the instep to hold them in place. When I stood up, my foot felt MUCH better. The sole of the sandal was about the same height as my other shoe. I felt more balanced.

We ate breakfast and then went to church. We stayed for the group discussions afterward. Rachel had asked all of us for lunch, so we went to their house. What a lovely family! We had a great time and enjoyed all of them. We ate on their patio, and the day was beautiful.

When we got home, we changed clothes. One of Dave’s requests was to see the mission. He had read our book, The Memory Keeper, and wanted to see Mission San Juan Capistrano for himself. So, we went.

I walked everywhere except down to the vats and garden because of all the uneven stairs. I waited while they explored there, then we covered all the rest of the buildings and gardens. My ankle held up well.

By this time, we were hungry, so we went to Ruby’s for burgers.

We returned home and decided to watch another movie. Bob suggested Ford Versus Ferrari, so we found it on Netflix. We enjoyed it very much. Linda broke out her popcorn, and we had a great time.

I had little pain all day, and have never taken another happy pill.

Monday, February 24, 2020

We had a leisurely breakfast and then drove our guests down to San Diego to catch their return flight to Canada.

As they left, they told me they were so sorry about my injuries. I thanked them for coming since they had taken my mind off everything else, and I enjoyed them very much.

On the way home, I told Larry I was sorry to have scared him. I realized he was more in shock than I was for the first few days. I have always said in an emergency, he was the person I wanted to be with. He’s always been cool and logical. Except, this happened to me. By the second day, he stepped into the support role in the way I had expected him to.

Believe me, I was truly grateful for his help!

More next week.

OOPS – Part I

February 22, 2020

We got up before 4:00 a.m. to drive to San Diego to pick up my cousin Linda, her husband, David, and their friends, Bob and Mary. They were ending a Panama Canal cruise.

We first met Linda and David in Alberta, Canada last summer when we attended their family reunion. Linda’s grandfather and my grandfather were brothers. Hers homesteaded in Canada. After my father was born, he and his family moved to the ranch, where my aunts were born. I wanted to learn about the place where my dad had lived, and they wanted to learn about the California branch of the family, many of whom I knew growing up.

Cousins Marilyn and Linda—July 2019

We spent one night with Linda and David in Calgary during our trip, and we liked them very much.

When we discovered they were going to be as close as San Diego, we invited them to spend the weekend after the cruise with us. As added incentive, we suggested a whale watch, knowing Linda loves whales.

She made reservations online for a noon trip the day of their arrival.

I had promised her we’d be at the dock when they arrived so we could get them to the Dana Point Harbor in time. We arrived at 5:30. The ship was in early, but no one was stirring. We drove around for a while and finally found a parking place across the street from the dock.

We read for a while. At about six, the Starbucks nearby opened. We decided to get something to drink since we hadn’t eaten. We strolled over as they were setting up, ordered our drinks, and then sat down to enjoy them at our leisure.

Before we left, I bought a mug. I collect them, but I didn’t have one from San Diego. We talked to the baristas for a few minutes. Then we went back to the car to wait.

Linda texted that they were stuck in customs since there were quite a few non-Americans on the cruise. She said they’d be off around eight.

We took a nice long walk down the dock to look at the maritime museum ships. It was still too early for them to be open. It was a lovely morning, and we enjoyed the stroll.

Back at the car, Larry decided to go back to Starbucks to use the bathroom before our long drive back home. When he returned, I decided it sounded like a good idea.

I walked over, went, and then headed back to the car. I took a different path than the one I took going over.

It was so quick, I’m still not entirely sure what happened. As best I can reconstruct it, there was a small curb, and I didn’t see it. I think my right heel caught, twisting my foot under me and launching me face-first onto the concrete.

Oops!

To be continued next week.