February 22, 2016—-Yuma, Arizona

Today is grandson JP’s 26th birthday.  Gad zooks!  I’m getting old.  I can remember him as a little boy, always questioning and exploring things.  Now he all grown up and is my MAC guru.  He’s the one that gave LOL a new meaning, just for me.  (Little Old Lady)  That’s me!

And now the saga of my latest fall.  When I passed the story on to Dwight and Sheila, they both said why do these weird things keep happening to you!

So here goes!  I fell on Saturday afternoon, tripping on one of the rugs in the motorhome.  I hit hardest on my right knee, next on my right wrist, and the final blow came to my face, full force.  I hit really hard and couldn’t believe I wasn’t bleeding from some part of my body.  Bill came to help he, but knows at times like this my body goes into shock, and I don’t want to move or be moved until I settle down a bit.

When I was able to get up, with much help from Bill, I walked back to the bedroom and climbed up on the bed.  Then the pain hit, big time.  It was more pain than I had with either of my knee replacements.  After this went on for a bit, Bill and I both decided I needed to go to the Emergency Room…in an ambulance.  That seems to be the quickest way to be seen at an ER.

The ambulance arrived in about 15 minutes.  They debated how to get me to the ambulance without doing further damage to my knee.  They couldn’t believe that I had been able to walk back to the bed.  As I think about it, I should’ve lay down on the sofa.  I will try to remember that for the next time!  There were five paramedics around the bed.  They finally decided to strap me to a back board and haul me out that way.  I was given strict instruction to keep my hands folded over my chest and not reach for anything.  The whole thing was an ordeal, but we were soon at the ambulance door.   My hands were still folded and I ask one of the attendants if he had a lilly for me to hold.  He was young and didn’t have a sense of humor!

They immediately hooked me up to an IV.  I said, “I think something is dribbling and I’m pretty sure it isn’t coming from me!”  The “kid” thought that was funny.  I was correct!  The IV had sprung a leak.

Off we went down the street, with blinking lights flashing, but no sirens on.  We are parked on the east side of Yuma and the hospital is in the northwest part of town, so it wasn’t a quick trip.  The guy in the back was about twice as old as the kid driving, so we pass the time exchanging funny stories and jokes.  It helped relax me.

When we got to the ER there were lots and lots of people waiting for their turns so they parked me by a wall.  Someone ask me how I was doing and I said fine.  They only dropped me off the gurney once.  The old EMR guy said this was a “two-fer night” and did I  want to go back so they could dump me off again.

It was about 15 or more minutes before I got into an examining room.  I had chosen to wait until the hospital for pain medicine, so the first thing the nurse did was to put “happy juice” in the IV.  Then I floated out of reach of the pain.  That was a blessed relief. 

Because of the large number of people waiting to be seen in the ER, there was lots of activity going on, but I always had someone with me at all times…except once, and it was a rather strange incidence.  Wa doctor was there, questioning Bill about my heart attack situation.  Bill told him what had happened and the doctor side he had exactly the same thing happen with him.  We both even had stints put in. 

We talked for a few more minutes until he suddenly coughed, grabbed his chest, jumped up and ran out of the room and down the hall.  We didn’t see him again.  We wonder if he had another heart attack.  Several minutes went by before anyone else came in and they weren’t answering questions.

I had an MRI, a CAT scan, and numerous xrays.  I wasn’t allowed anything to eat or drink because they thought I might need surgery.  When it was decided that was not going to be necessary, they sent me home with an Rx for pain meds, and directions to a Walgreen’s open until midnight.  It was 10:30 by then and the pharmacy couldn’t fill our order until 12:00.

I told Bill I needed food more, so we went on.  I said there was a Wendy’s not far away and I could get a Frosty.  We found it connected to a service station, so Bill went in.  The Wendy’s part was locked up.  I said there was a Burger King a few blocks on down the street.  It was closed.  Yuma must roll up the sidewalks at dark!!!!!

We knew there was a McDonald’s just before the Freeway Entrance, so we headed for it.  Bill drove to the drive in window and ordered a chocolate shake.  Their response was, “Our ice cream machine is broken.”  Can you believe it?!  I said, “Let’s go home.”  Which we did!  By then it was 11:15 and we were both very tired from another one of my medical adventures.