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| At the Good Sam ER waiting room |
Yep, that's me... you're probably wondering how I got into this situation. Well, it all started last Sunday when I decided to get some fresh air and take Milo for a walk... right after a terrible ice storm. The girls and I headed out for a walk and Matt drove off to the grocery store. A half block from our house, the dog pulls one way and my feet slipped totally out from under me on the slippery-as-snot ice! My head broke my fall. I didn't even have time to catch myself with my hands or anything! I think my head bounced because I remember hitting twice, but who knows. I was so dizzy and nauseous that I couldn't stand up. Everything was blurry. So, I called Matt and told him to turn around and help me. I most definitely did not want to pass out on the corner of the street with just me and the girls there. I had a huge bump forming on the back of my head, which in my confused state made me think the rest of my head had been flattened, which freaked me out. Anyway, Matt called 911 and within a few minutes an ambulance, fire truck and police car were there. It was kind of difficult to get me to the ambulance because of the ice. (I'm not kidding when I say this ice was ridiculous!) They finally got me in the ambulance and gave me an IV with some Zofran to stop the nauseousness. Then, I spent the next five hours at the ER in the waiting room by myself (well, with about 20 other patients also without any of their family members - thanks, Covid). Because of the pandemic and the ice storm, the ER was packed. The sick people got put in rooms or the hallways next to rooms, while the injured people stayed in the waiting room. I saw three broken wrists and a guy with a dislocated shoulder that looked painful - all ice related injuries. Another guy had fallen on his head like me, but he seemed to be faring better than me. He could at least walk around without the world spinning. I got a CT scan of my head and neck and waited for the doctor to read the results. Turns out it was a concussion. They sent me on my way and said to follow up with my doctor within a week. Aunt Erin came over to watch the girls so Matt could come pick me up.
The first night home I did not want to fall asleep. I was scared I would not wake up. You hear all those suggestions that someone is supposed to wake you up every hour, but the ER doctor said that was not what they recommended anymore. I finally was able to fall asleep, but then I woke up almost every hour for some reason.
I spent the week recovering. I got headaches and really tired if I tried to do too much. I felt really weak in my legs, too. It was weird. I took quite a few screen breaks and just rested. I had the follow-up with my doctor on Friday. She said everything looked good and that the recovery can take anywhere from 4-6 weeks. Well, I was not expecting that! She did say it would be ok to fly (I have a girls trip planned for next week to New Orleans!) But, she said I can't drink alcohol. At the most, I could have a glass of wine. I said, well, we have a food/drink tour where we get to try all sorts of cocktails. She said that I could have a "sip" of each one, but that was it. Bummer!
Oh, while I was at the ER, the girls were so upset and scared for me. Daddy helped them make me cards that they sent me pictures of. It made me smile to get them! I'm pretty sure they were super traumatized by the whole thing. I got lots of hugs the next day!
