The very short story of why I fell is that I tripped over the very corner of a moving box that was in the hall. One inch to the left and I would be fine, I wouldn't have had to be injected with 10 mg of morpheine on the spot just because the pain was so intense, and I wouldn't have to be figuring out logistics of how I am to get back to school soon. A call to 911 brought the familiar UAPD, Central EMS, and fire department, all of whom, and I kid you not, had been on calls with me before and had to not ask any questions about my history. The fracture was very high up on the femur, right above and adjacent to the plate that was there before. So it was an absolute bitch to get it stabilized as they couldn't use classic traction splints or anything but had to use a scoop stretcher which basically clamps like a clam shell around your injured leg. As pressure is applied, it kind of stabilizes itself but I felt every bump as we went to Washington Reional; usually I can handle it, this time all I could do was scream "this isn't fair, this isn't fair." I tried to get the cleaning ladies who rescued me in the hallway to tell some jokes but they had none so off to point A I went, shrouded in pain and uncertainty. We were also concerned I'd fractured my pelvis as well; thank god I didn't.
Got x-rays taken which were even more painful than the ride because they had to get ten billion angles all while my leg spasmed and convulsed as I cried. My friends were with me all the while, Larry, who had worked so hard to help me move, Col. Myers, always one to put a smile on my face, and Dr. Spicer, the head of the department f chemical engineering. Couldn't have done it without them, most definitely. This by far was my worst fracture, and being that I had to go to Childrens hospital again, I thought it impossible that I could handle another 150 mile trip to Little Rock with all the bumps along i-40, so I requested, and got my first trip on Air Evac. It was amazing! I'd never taken a trip on a helicopter, and was not only amazed y how small it was inside (there was hardly room for me in my stretcher which was very narrow, the nurse, the paramedic, and the pilot). They were cool and let me wear a headset during the duration of the flight so I could talk to everybody and ask questions being that I'm really interested in aviation. Rick was my paramedic, and Gala (sp) my nurse, for the whole flight. They were awesome, especially so because for the hour flight we got to talk about such topics as (a) dubya sucking a lot, (b) chemistry and how being high really does help you study the subject apparently, and (c) all the cool computer equipment they had onboard. Leon was the pilot for like 20 minutes, mostly because of labor laws (pilots can only work for 12 hours a day). The copter's base is in Paris, yes that's right, Paris, AR, and I can guarantee you, its a wide spot in the road and its not got an Eiffel Tower but its still cool to say we flew to Paris, and they provided the copter so that was ok. We had to do a flyover of Paris really quick because Tom's cel phone wasn't answering (he was our second pilot) but his pickup truck was indeed in the parking lot so we set down, stopped for a while while Gala went inside to pick up some cool Airevac stuff for me, and picked up Tom. Take off's in helicopters are really anticlimactic and smooth. The smooth part was good for me, but its nothing like taking off in an airplane but can be more likened to going up in an elevaor. Forty minutes later I was at Childrens for my treatments. The ride was bump free, the company was great, and I might drive down to Paris sometime when I'm better to see those guys again, I'll never forget them.
I found out that my doctor had gone for four days to Japan, so the short story was that I had to have one of Dr. Aronson's associates to do my surgery. I'm going to leave out a lo of details because they kind of went by in a haze, and they're recounted quite well in phone posts if you would like to listen to them as I talked in my drugged states. Basically I had some misunderstandings with my doctor, most of which stemmed from them not knowing me and me not knowing them. They really hated it when I tried to tell them how to do their jobs, but the fact is that I know the most about my body and my condition so when they didn't fill in the holes with donor bone left by the removal of the lower plate, and when I didn't get antibiotics right away (very very important for my condition), it was kind of disconcerting. When my doctor came in, he explained how I worked and everything seemed to click with me, the resident, and the other doctor. I hope I helped him to understand that its absolutely important to listen to the patient because its ok for them to sometimes doubt them. He was cool about it and we shook hands afterwords so all ended well.
I came home yesterday after finally enabling myself to pee (morpheine causes my bladder to totally close down requiring catheterization). They weren't going to let me go home until that happened so I was elated when I finally accomplished the job. I had great fun meeting with all of my nurses and techs. THey are what make dealing with hospital things and the unpleasantries of life when you live there, verydoable. Its just sad that there aren't too many quality ones out there and the ones that are quality, especially the techs, make hardly enough to live on. I definitely salute them; them, firemen, and policemen. They all made me making it home possible and barable.
The plan is to go back to school right after I get my staples out on the 27th of August. I have never been more determined to get back, more determined to attack life again even though it sometimes can be tough. I'll write more when I can think of things to write about but I'm wanting to keep this entry rather relatively short so I'll cut things short, even though there are probably things I'm forgetting.
I appreciate each and every one of the comments, phone calls, and emails I got from everyone. You guys made me cry on more than one occasion but that's ok. Crying helps. I just appreciate all the support I got.
Saved the best for last and I'll keep it short, so you guys don't get all the gory details, but one of my readers for a long while
unsilenceddream and I met via skype just about a week and a half ago. The link was instant, our personalities and experiences are uncannily alike, and she's been one of the most supportive of all of my friends through my current ordeal. When I called her to tell her about what happened, she said that she knew something was wrong with one of her friends and it all made sense now. It only took a bit of cajoling and teasing, but we realized that there was definitely more there than just friendship. So my never ending search has ended, and I've now got a girlfriend. Its going to be a scary experience, long distance relationships can be hard, but we're hoping that the link that we seem to have will help us work things out. I'll save you the sap but she really is neat :). Plus she's one of the bravest person I know, she read my journal in the past week or so from cover to cover. I'm kinda sad that I wasted money on eharmony but if that was the price to pay for meeting Liz, I suppose its definitely worth it. It also couldn't have come at a better time as she's always trying to push me away from sadness and into happiness and a positive attitude. I do want all of my friends in real life and on this journal to know that even though now I have a girlfriend, everyone who is my friend will always be my friend. I will never forget or neglect anyone I know, but the one most important thing for me is that I hope to feel happy and now I do; its a wonderful feeling. Some may say that this may be a passing phase, a new thing, but I think this one is different. Keep prayers, well wishes, and thoughts coming, I'm gonna need them. All the best and sorry for the long entry, it'll be cut appropriately.
