Last Sunday while schlepping pizzas I slipped and, in one of those split seconds that change everything, broke my left humerus. I was working with 2 young 'uns and they were both out back havin' a smoke. I laid on the floor and screamed (to anyone who would listen), "I've been hurt badly! Someone please help me!" "Please help me" has become a sort of mantra throughout the whole ordeal. More on that later. Some Good Samaritan customers came around the counter and to my rescue. They called Tom, Jackie (one of my bosses) and "the squad". I took my first ambulance ride and Tom and Jackie met me at the hospital.
They were authorized to give me 5 units of morphine but after 2 I broke out in hives. I was informed that the answer to "do you have any drug allergies?" is no longer "not that I'm aware of". With morphine out of the picture, they went to percoset. I couldn't tell you if it helped with the pain or not, it made me nauseous in a productive and most unpleasant manner. Heaving uncontrollably was way too jarring on my freshly broken bone, so I requested something milder. A prescription was written for vicadin, which I was told was usually pretty well tolerated. Usually. I actually tripped on it for a little while before the, uh, productive nausea manifested again. Now I came of age in the late 70's, early 80's (and all that that implies). When and how did I become such a chemical lightweight? Anyway, pain management since day 2 has consisted of acetaminophen and ice packs.
But more frustrating than the pain is the dependence. Due to the location of the break, casting is impossible, so I just have a splint. Every time I stand up or move, I need to support my left arm with my right hand - to not do so is exceedingly painful. Ask me how I know. So, given all this, I'm pretty limited in what I can do independently. Really limited. Think about it. So Tom (and, to a lesser extent, the girls) need to be enlisted to complete the most mundane (and personal) tasks. Although they (for the most part) have complied without complaint whenever I've asked, it doesn't make asking any easier. Very humbling, this experience.
Well, one handed typing while trying to hold the computer on my lap has exhausted me, so I'll save my tales of social woe for another posting.
2 comments:
makes u want to hit the rewind button-those split seconds...you poor thing...
oh, no kidding! I wish I could just see the fall - the break is in such a weird spot - so many people ask how I did it and my only answer is that I just don't know. I was up, then I was down. I also wish I had a better story to attach to it - people seem so disappointed when I say "I fell". They want to hear, "well, when I was skydiving..." or at LEAST, "I fell off of a bar stool..." If I were a better liar, I could be having a lot of fun with this! :-)
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