On the night of October 13, 2024, I drove to my son’s house near midnight because he had a plumbing leak. After getting the water turned off and cleaned up, I made my way through the early hours of the fall morning towards my house. The details are now lost, what I remember was hearing a terrible sound and seeing the airbags all around my car deployed.
At first, I felt nothing, but soon, I realized that my leg was jammed beneath the dash. The disquieting absence of feeling gave way to the realization that I was really hurt. Soon, the intersection was shut down by flashing red and blue lights, and firemen were at my door. In an odd turn of events, my husband showed up because it had gotten late and he tracked me on my iPhone. He was told to go to the Emergency Room after being permitted to wave at me.
Getting pulled from the car
Eventually, the paramedics and firemen descended on my car. They cut off my clothes, and tried to wiggle my leg free. It just was a bad situation. Ultimately, it took 6 paramedics to dislodge me from my car in what can only be described as the head-turning scene from The Exorcist. Once I was out of the car though and into the ambulance, life got much happier.
The truth was in the images
In the ER, x-rays showed that I had broken my tibial plateau (commuted … in pieces), something that I had never heard of before, and I’ve taken anatomy. So apparently, tibia plateau fractures (TPF) are serious orthopedic trauma. In addition, I had a spiral fracture of the tibia that was pretty large and long and went up into the knee joint. To add insult to injury, I also had a small, non-displaced fracture of the femur. So, wow. That went downhill fast.
I was admitted to the hospital for stabilization and had surgery to repair the TPF 3 days later. It wasn’t all bad. My mom flew up from Texas, and we had the best time talking and joking around. I was there for 3 weeks, so her company was appreciated.
Wheel chair life
When I came home I was in a wheel-chair, because … broken … and had to be moved into our basement. I was off of work for about 6 weeks and then went back part-time. I’m not going to sugar coat it. The 14 weeks after my surgery that I spent in a wheelchair were awful. I couldn’t get upstairs, go to the bathroom by myself, shower by myself, go to the refrigerator, drive to Walgreens, or even sit on the sofa to watch TV.
It gave me a whole new respect and level of compassion for people who spend their lives in a wheelchair. I was a huge whiner, and some of them are out there playing competitive basketball or participating in competitive dance. My gratitude journal came in handy, but a lot of posts were, shall we say, performative. I have experienced a lot of pain from this injury, and dealing with it early on was a big challenge.
Recovery!
Eventually, I moved from my wheelchair to a walker, which is how I’m getting around now. This has been life altering! I am able to carefully climb up the stairs, drive my car, and sleep in my bed upstairs with Thomas. When I bought myself a large diet Coke last week at Burger King last week, I was so ecstatic I’m sure the girl serving me thought I’d lost my mind. I took Misty for a short walk with my walker, and she was so excited her little tail practically flew off … and I cried I was so happy. I am getting to live my life again.
There is a diagnosis of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, which is a complication. It’s manageable now. When I was in the wheelchair, I constantly dreamt that I was walking in a field of flowers. I woke up and was always so disappointed. Last night, I met my kids for dinner in a restaurant. This summer … I am going to walk in that field of flowers and film it!
Getting through the worst of it wasn’t easy, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. If I end up needing a walker, or cane for the rest of my life, I’ll adapt … but I really think I’m going to be okay!
Here are my parting pictures, to which I say ouch.
