Little did I know how much my life would change that day.
After running a couple errands after work, I was walking back home,
being cautious of the snow and icy patches around me.
But apparently, not cautious enough.
As I approached my street and walked onto the sidewalk, I slipped,
my left leg bending backward as I fell into the gutter of icy cold water.
I don't know what shocked me more, the sting of the ice cold water
on my legs and backside or the sound of a pop as I fell.
I struggled a bit to get to my purse and find my cell phone
and called my sister, Trisha to come and help me.
About a minute later, there was a woman by my side, offering to help me up.
She lived across the street and had just happened to be driving by when I fell.
She also offered to drive me home, but I told her that my sister was on her way
and thanked her for her help. It wasn't until my sister came and we slowly
made our way down the street (only 4 houses away),
that I realized I should have accepted her offer.
Once finally inside, I made my way to the couch. By this time, I was in shock.
I felt lightheaded and just wanted to sleep. I was shivering with cold,
even more so than when I was in the icy cold gutter.
It took all my strength to remain awake, so I could help my sisters
to figure out what to do next and where to go.
After a few phone calls, we found an Insta-Care clinic that was open late.
When we got there, I somehow managed to fill out the paperwork needed
and waited for my name to be called. I went and had x-rays taken of my foot
and waited for what felt like hours, before a doctor came in and announced,
"It's broken!"
I was told that I would need to stay off my foot for at least the next six weeks
and that I would need to see an Orthopedic specialist.
Then I waited again for them to come and put a splint/cast on my leg.
After the cast was put on and wrapped up, it was time for crutches.
I wondered how in the world was I going to get through this!
The doctor wanted me to practice using the crutches to go back to the
waiting room, instead of using the wheelchair. As I entered the waiting room,
I felt cold water on my leg (which dripped onto my pants as the cast was applied)
It took me by surprise and threw me off balance, causing me to lose control of
one of the crutches, which went flying towards the Christmas tree that was
to my right, knocking an ornament off the tree, crashing to the floor in front of me.
I felt like I was in one of those Hallmark Christmas movies, gone horribly wrong!
Once I got back home, I realized I never wanted to leave the house again!
There are two narrow wooden steps that lead up to the deck to the front door
and I knew there was no way I could get up there with crutches!
So I tried the side door. It has a step up to a small landing and then a step up
to the door. I got up to the landing and then realized the step up to get inside
the house was higher than I could hop. I didn't know how in the world I would ever
get back inside. It literally took a leap of faith to make my way inside.
(And I never used the side door again.)
I was relieved to ditch the crutches a few days later and hop around using a walker.
After Christmas, I made an appointment to see an Orthopedic specialist.
The doctor viewed my x-rays and used the "S" word....surgery!
He felt it would be in my best interest not just for now, but as I got older,
to strengthen my ankle. There was just one problem...my insurance.
The surgery wouldn't be approved without my assigned physician's approval.
A physician I had never seen before and who was not accepting new patients...
unless you were pregnant...and since that wasn't going to happen...
They tried to see if my insurance would accept one of the doctors in the building
as my physician to get the approval, but they wouldn't budge.
Since I would have a different insurance plan in 2016,
one that didn't require an approval, we scheduled an appointment for
the first week of January and go from there.
The new year rolls around and I venture out to my appointment.
They take new x-rays of my foot and the doctor announces that it looks like
things are healing nicely. We realized that all those insurance issues ended up
being a blessing in disguise. He told me to continue to keep off my foot and
to come back in two weeks to get re-examined.
I had been on a leave of absence from work and now that I got the news
that I wouldn't need surgery, I decided it was time to go back.
However, it wasn't as easy as all that.
There was paperwork that needed to be filled out, mostly by my doctor,
before I could go back. I also needed to work out rides to and from work,
until I got my paratransit approval. Thankfully, I had a few co-workers willing
to help out with rides. However, I had to actually schedule an appointment
to have my doctor fill out the paperwork, which cost me $75.00. Ugh!
My first day back to work was January 15th, just a few days shy of a month away.
I was a bit concerned that I would forget how to do a few things, what to say,
stuff like that, but thankfully it all came to me pretty naturally.
I must admit that I was hoping for a bigger "welcome back" response.
I did get a good response from my co-worker "neighbors" though,
at least they let it be known how happy they were to see me,
how concerned they had been and how much they missed me.
Others never said a word, while others slowly made their way over to
welcome me back. I thought someone would have made a sign or had a card
go around to sign, but nope, nothing like that. Oh well.
Two weeks went by, getting back into the swing of things, waking up early,
getting dressed, facing my fear of going out the front door and hobbling
my way out, when I went back to the doctor to see how my foot was doing.
My foot was x-rayed again and I talked with one of the assistants while waiting
for the doctor. We were talking about how I would probably be able to
start putting weight on it and start up with physical therapy, etc.
Then the doctor comes in...
"I've never really liked the look of your ankle..."
SAY WHAT?!?!
and that I would need to see an Orthopedic specialist.
Then I waited again for them to come and put a splint/cast on my leg.
After the cast was put on and wrapped up, it was time for crutches.
I wondered how in the world was I going to get through this!
The doctor wanted me to practice using the crutches to go back to the
waiting room, instead of using the wheelchair. As I entered the waiting room,
I felt cold water on my leg (which dripped onto my pants as the cast was applied)
It took me by surprise and threw me off balance, causing me to lose control of
one of the crutches, which went flying towards the Christmas tree that was
to my right, knocking an ornament off the tree, crashing to the floor in front of me.
I felt like I was in one of those Hallmark Christmas movies, gone horribly wrong!
Once I got back home, I realized I never wanted to leave the house again!
There are two narrow wooden steps that lead up to the deck to the front door
and I knew there was no way I could get up there with crutches!
So I tried the side door. It has a step up to a small landing and then a step up
to the door. I got up to the landing and then realized the step up to get inside
the house was higher than I could hop. I didn't know how in the world I would ever
get back inside. It literally took a leap of faith to make my way inside.
(And I never used the side door again.)
I was relieved to ditch the crutches a few days later and hop around using a walker.
After Christmas, I made an appointment to see an Orthopedic specialist.
The doctor viewed my x-rays and used the "S" word....surgery!
He felt it would be in my best interest not just for now, but as I got older,
to strengthen my ankle. There was just one problem...my insurance.
The surgery wouldn't be approved without my assigned physician's approval.
A physician I had never seen before and who was not accepting new patients...
unless you were pregnant...and since that wasn't going to happen...
They tried to see if my insurance would accept one of the doctors in the building
as my physician to get the approval, but they wouldn't budge.
Since I would have a different insurance plan in 2016,
one that didn't require an approval, we scheduled an appointment for
the first week of January and go from there.
The new year rolls around and I venture out to my appointment.
They take new x-rays of my foot and the doctor announces that it looks like
things are healing nicely. We realized that all those insurance issues ended up
being a blessing in disguise. He told me to continue to keep off my foot and
to come back in two weeks to get re-examined.
I had been on a leave of absence from work and now that I got the news
that I wouldn't need surgery, I decided it was time to go back.
However, it wasn't as easy as all that.
There was paperwork that needed to be filled out, mostly by my doctor,
before I could go back. I also needed to work out rides to and from work,
until I got my paratransit approval. Thankfully, I had a few co-workers willing
to help out with rides. However, I had to actually schedule an appointment
to have my doctor fill out the paperwork, which cost me $75.00. Ugh!
My first day back to work was January 15th, just a few days shy of a month away.
I was a bit concerned that I would forget how to do a few things, what to say,
stuff like that, but thankfully it all came to me pretty naturally.
I must admit that I was hoping for a bigger "welcome back" response.
I did get a good response from my co-worker "neighbors" though,
at least they let it be known how happy they were to see me,
how concerned they had been and how much they missed me.
Others never said a word, while others slowly made their way over to
welcome me back. I thought someone would have made a sign or had a card
go around to sign, but nope, nothing like that. Oh well.
Two weeks went by, getting back into the swing of things, waking up early,
getting dressed, facing my fear of going out the front door and hobbling
my way out, when I went back to the doctor to see how my foot was doing.
My foot was x-rayed again and I talked with one of the assistants while waiting
for the doctor. We were talking about how I would probably be able to
start putting weight on it and start up with physical therapy, etc.
Then the doctor comes in...
"I've never really liked the look of your ankle..."
SAY WHAT?!?!
No comments:
Post a Comment