Princess Blue Sparkles

 

This is my new "Princess  Blue Sparkle" cast! I thought my granddaughter would appreciate, hopefully she can sign it. So ten days after accident, they removed one cast to check out repair. If you don't like gruesome pictures don't look at next two. The one shows where the bone went thru skin, the nest shows the repair site. 15 screws and three plates! I'm officially bionic I think. The surgeon was great, said he was pleased and he recommended the Princess Blue color. Love it. This one stays on for 3 weeks then maybe a boot-type!  Yay. Still no weight-bearing, wants me to keep it elevated and just stay quiet.  The former Marine nurse who put on the cast was so funny. Tattooed arms, military haircut, gently forming the cast with blue bandages, he stood and said  'Oh, the sparkles", ran out, returned with a little bottle of sparkles to sprinkle. At this point I felt foolish, said that's OK, but he proceeded to gently sprinkle fairy dust on my cast and with a flourish swept back his hair - leaving a line of Princess Blue Sparkles along his head! He looked great. 

I am now set up with physical therapy appointments in a month  and was told to perhaps renew hydrocodone RX then! Yikes. Trying just Motrin now So I'm on the mend and grateful for visits and cards and food. Thanks so much. My horses seem happy and life goes on.                                                                                                                                                      

What you learn when life deals you a strange hand

Thanks for all the well-wishes and food. I have been hurt before and what I remember is that, after the first PISSED OFF emotions, you surrender.  Surrender to the fact you can not do what you did; you can't just fix the manure spreader, you have to tell your husband how to fix it, you can't just unhook the trailer , you have to tell your husband how to unhook. This is exhausting, the telling part. It requires logical mental steps that are so much easier to just jump over and do yourself. But you can't.

So I try to think about recuperation as a vacation! I don't have to cook 😀,  I don't have to vacuum or dust. I get to read books (good) and listen to stupid TV shows ad nauseaum (bad). My fingernails are clean and not broken, my callused fingers are not aching. Except that is about it. And I want to go see my horses now. 

The photo is the glass of wine I desperately wanted. It was great until The Washington Football Club sucked and lost badly. ( if the Redskins had to change their name why do the Buffalo Bill's not have to? Wild Bill Cody was a notorious Indian killer!) This is what creeps into my thoughts now.

Michael has been great. Even tho' we are not sleeping together ( I would kill him if he knocked my leg in the night), we are happy. He brought me flowers and even cleaned the outside of the windows! He has been telling the horses he did not kill me, that I will be back. He says they are kinda suspicious but will let him pick up feet to check shoes! He even bought a cribbage set so we could learn a new game. We both think it is too complicated! 

I am one week in and have a first doctor visit on Wednesday. I hope they rewrap my leg as the bandage is looking a little rough. Off the hydrocodone mostly and thinking maybe I'll finally finish my Mongolia book.
 

 Unexpected Dismounts

Michael told me this morning that this was the third in as many years. All unexpected, all necessitating a complete stop to hunting 😒 and all a complete bummer. And always "could have been worse"! So I am camped on the first floor ( in front of liquor cabinet 😀) and 6 days into recovery and off the narcotics, so I can drink soon!

Not that I drink much. I was worried I would die of an overdose as the EMT's kept spraying Fentanyl up my nose in the ambulance . Definitely helped with the pain but as a lightweight I was groggily afraid it would be too much. It wasn't. Last Sunday, on a beautiful morning at a nearby foxhunting fixture, my horse scrambled to save himself in an unstable crossing. New trail, below an old drainage pond, it looked fine, but in a blink of an eye it went from OK to disaster.  As I watched his shoulders get above my helmet and I was now behind the saddle, I opted to bail off as he continued to struggle up the bank. Felt my left ankle go 90 degrees to the left and knew it was bad. I don't know if I landed badly or maybe he kicked my ankle as he made it finally up the bank. Horse took off and I howled.  Afraid he would come back immediately, and run over me sprawled in the trickling stream, I thought maybe I should start crawling out! Luckily, a young apprentice whip was with me this day and he radioed for help and rescue began. My wonderful husband arrived on scene to literally carry me out of the stream and the gracious landowner friend arrived with the 4-wheeler to get me up to the ambulance. Several friends were very helpful with all of this and I am deeply grateful to all. My horse was found and all arrived home to barn. I went to ER.

As I had noticed blood dripping out of my left riding boot, I suspected it was a bad break. I told the very young, very nice EMT's to NOT take off my boot as it was holding my leg together. They looked undecided, saying they should stop the bleeding, while I said DO NOT TOUCH MY BOOT.  I have learned from others injuries and knew that I needed the boot to stay until we were in the ER and ready to stabilize leg.  This was the point the Fentanyl started helping.  I realize that one never remembers the ambulance drive. I asked Mike if we had lights on and went past cars. He laughed and said yes.

Had surgery Sunday night, screws and plates etc. Hard cast. Non-weight bearing. Saw the nice ( I think) surgeon briefly who said no walking, no weight-bearing for 6 weeks then reevaluate.  Maybe a shoe by January. At least this is what I remember. Pain drugs tend to make me foggy. This brings me to the picture in front of liquor cabinet because I really want a glass of wine! So trying hard to get by on Tylenol, I hope to have a glass tonight! I have driven my wonderful husband crazy by doing logistics, which is what I do when stressed. Made him clean the windows, dust the furniture, polish the table ( because people will see my house). I miss feeding my horses, I miss feeling their breath on my cheek, I miss riding, I even miss mucking stalls!  Thank you to all who helped. Thank you for all the cards and food and well-wishes. It takes friends for sure !!