So . . . it's time for a story. Right now the story doesn't feel very funny, but I know that someday I'll look back and laugh about it. In fact, it will probably be one of those stories that come up every now and then at various gatherings, so I figure I'd better get pretty good at telling it, lol. For now, though, when I'm not quite sure how everything is going to turn out, it feels a little raw.
On Monday, July 5th, Chris had the day off work in observance of Independence Day. He {thankfully} decided to go with me to take all the kids to running practice for their summer run program. Run practice was at Centennial Park in Owasso that morning and began at 9:00am. While the kiddos ran, Chris and I walked the park.
I think it's important to note here that I didn't carry a drink with me while walking, nor had I eaten anything that morning.
Run practice finished up about 10:00am, at which time we located Brooke, Brianna, and Brenson, but could not find Brecklyn. The kids end practice under a pavilion that has bathroom attached to it and a playground nearby. I was not alarmed at all at first because I just thought Brecklyn was probably in one those places. However, after a few minutes of looking for her and not being able to find her, I called Brianna and Brenson (who were at the playground) over to help us look for her.
The scariest thing about this situation is that this park has multiple trails that lead to several exits. A few of the trails exit into a large neighborhood. One trail exits the park to a sidewalk that runs alongside a busy street. I knew that had Brecklyn somehow followed one of those trails into the neighborhood, she could easily get lost and not be able to find her way back to the park. After another few minutes, we enlisted Coach Renee and her daughters, Britt and Kyrie, to help us look.
Brecklyn was wearing bright pink that day, and Chris and I soon spotted a small child in pink on the other side of a pond that is in the park. I was so relieved! He ran around to the opposite side of the pond to retrieve Brecklyn, only to discover that it wasn't Brecklyn. As Chris was headed back toward me, Brooke and I were looking around the playground again to make sure we hadn't somehow just missed her. I was really starting to get concerned at this point. It wouldn't be difficult to take a child from this park (because again, there are lots of trails and several exits) and my heart was pumping pretty good. As I stepped onto the ramp leading from the playground area to the walkway leading back to the pavilion, I slipped and heard my foot "crack". I hit the ground and knew immediately that something was broken. I told Brooke, "Run and get Daddy . . . I think my foot is broken!"
Now, it was still pretty dewy and the ramp was made of artificial wood which can get slick when it's wet. At first I assumed that I slipped on it because it was wet, but now I think that I stepped in goose poop and that's what caused me to slip. There are tons of geese at this park, and especially around the playground we always have to dodge goose poop. I had also made the poor choice to wear flip-flops that morning, and I have wondered several times if I would have folded my ankle over in real shoes.
Anyway, I'm lying on my back on the ground when Chris gets to me. I tell him my foot is broken (because that's where all the pain was located), and I was feeling very dizzy. I tried to sit up, but had to lie back down because of the dizziness. I really thought I just needed something to drink and if I could just get some water in my system then I would be okay. Brooke brought me a drink, but sadly that didn't help with the nausea that was setting in. I told Chris several times that I was going to throw up.
Meanwhile, Brecklyn had been lost for close to 20 minutes at this point and panic was really starting to set in for Chris and me. Coach Renee came over to tell us that she wasn't able to find her (but her daughters were jogging the park still looking), and I think she was a little surprised to find me on the ground. There was a park bench not too far from where I was, so I told Chris that I needed him to try and get me to the bench. However, when I tried to get up I started to throw up and black out and had to lie back down again.
My head was absolutely spinning, and I finally told Chris to call 911. He called and said, "I have a lost child and need some help." Then he said, "Oh, and can you please send an ambulance too? My wife hurt her foot and can't get up." At the time, I was for sure not laughing. Looking back on that moment, though, it is pretty funny!
The thing was . . . Brecklyn didn't know she was lost. Each of the kids have a mile goal they're trying to reach for the summer, and Brecklyn was one mile behind where she needed to be to be on track for her goal. After practice was over, she decided to go run the mile and get caught up without letting anyone know what she was doing. She had used the bathroom and talked to some of her friends before going on her run, and it takes her about 13-14 minutes to casually jog a mile. While hunting for her, Kyrie ran into her friend's grandma who was riding a bike and asked her to help with the search. It was the grandma who actually found Brecklyn, but Brecklyn wouldn't go with her because she didn't know her (which is a good thing, but not really helpful to this situation, lol). The grandma rode slowly behind Brecklyn while Brecklyn jogged back to the pavilion, at which point Brecklyn found out she was "lost" and had everyone fraught with worry. At that point, though, we didn't care about the details. We were just so very thankful that she was found and safe and with us again!
While I was lying in the grass, a little boy was playing on the playground. I heard him say, "Momma, that lady is just layin' there. Why is she just layin' there?" Then a few minutes later, "Momma, she's still there. What is she doin'?" And again, a few minutes later, "She's still there, Momma! She's still layin' there!" Another detail that is funnier as more time passes!
The EMTs looked at my foot (which was already swelling), asked me a few questions, and then loaded me onto the stretcher. This was a first for me!
Later that week (on Thursday), I followed up with Dr. Isaac, an orthopedic doctor in town. He confirmed that my ankle was broken, and that I wasn't allowed to put any weight on it for at least six weeks. Sigh. It was after this appointment that Tia brought me a knee scooter that her mom had used when she had ankle surgery, and that made life much easier.
Dr. Isaac said that it is a clean break and should heal well if I follow his instructions of keeping it elevated, putting no weight on it, and icing it daily. I definitely want to avoid surgery, so I'm doing my best to be a good patient and follow doctor's orders! I had quite a bit of pain during the first four to five days, which made sleeping well at night pretty difficult. There were a few times that it felt like my toes were on fire, and I finally realized my boot was too tight because the swelling had increased since I had been in the ER. Overall though, I'm feeling much better now (it's been 9 days since I broke it).
I was pretty annoyed with Chris for taking photos of all this, but he knew I would want to have them. He was right!
You can see in all these photos that Brecklyn is staying as close to me as the EMTs would let her. She was very concerned with this situation!
The kids were in tears as I was being loaded into the ambulance, so I smiled and waved at them to let them know I was going to be okay.
Not only was this my first time to be on a stretcher, but it was also my first time to ride in an ambulance. It was bumpier than I thought it would be, and I quickly declined when the EMTs tried to start an IV while we were bumping down the road. I don't do great with IVs anyhow, and that just sounded like a terrible plan to me! Also, I found out while riding along that one of the EMTs has kids that go the same school my kids go to. I know exactly who his kids are!
No one was permitted to ride with me in the ambulance, but Chris wouldn't have been able to anyway since he had to take care of the kids. The big kids were scheduled to start swim lessons in Oologah that morning at 11:00am, so Chris called my parents and asked them to meet him at a QT right off the highway to trade vehicles (because Grampy and G-Jo don't have a vehicle big enough for them and all the kids) and take the kids to swim. They agreed (and we were so grateful!). As soon as the kids were safely with my parents, Chris took my Dad's truck and headed to the hospital to be with me. I had no idea, but I had goose poop all over the back of my shirt, so on his way to the hospital Chris stopped at Sam's and bought me a clean shirt. I was very grateful for this, but it made me laugh a lot that he went to Sam's for the shirt :-).
Waiting in the ER
Thankfully, things moved very quickly in the ER. I'm pretty sure we were there just over an hour. I was still feeling pretty sick, and a nurse gave me some pains meds. Remember that part about how I hadn't eaten yet that day? Well, I told the nurse I didn't want to take the meds on an empty stomach, so she gave me one swallow of water and one saltine cracker. It made me laugh a little because I was seriously thirsty (I was not permitted to have my water in the ambulance), and I just couldn't see what good one saltine cracker was going to do me!
When the doctor came in, I told him that I thought I had broken my foot, he ordered x-rays, then came into my pod and said, "Good news! Your foot is not broken!" I was honestly kind of mad when he said that. I thought, "Seriously, allllll this drama and it's not even broken! Something had better be broken then!" And sure enough, he said, "But, your ankle is broken." I was pretty relieved to hear that. I mean, how stupid would I feel for all the fiasco and nothing actually be broken?!?
The ER fixed me up with a boot and crutches, then sent me on my way.
Yes, I was pretty annoyed with the whole situation!
What can I say though?
We had plans that evening to have Ross, Tia, and the girls over for hot dogs and fireworks, but decided to we'd had enough excitement for the day and canceled the plans. Mom and Dad fed the kiddos lunch, then brought them home, but offered to handle swim lessons for us for the rest of the week. I was so thankful for this as my brain was already spinning with how I was going to get the kids everywhere they needed to go for the week with my ankle in the shape it was in. The ER doc had instructed me to keep it elevated as much as possible, which was no problem as it was much more painful if it wasn't elevated.
Swelling was an issue as was bruising
Dr. Isaac said that it is a clean break and should heal well if I follow his instructions of keeping it elevated, putting no weight on it, and icing it daily. I definitely want to avoid surgery, so I'm doing my best to be a good patient and follow doctor's orders! I had quite a bit of pain during the first four to five days, which made sleeping well at night pretty difficult. There were a few times that it felt like my toes were on fire, and I finally realized my boot was too tight because the swelling had increased since I had been in the ER. Overall though, I'm feeling much better now (it's been 9 days since I broke it).
It has certainly felt like our summer has come to a screeching halt, but really we are just doing a better job at prioritizing things. My parents have picked up a lot of things for us, and our family and friends have been wonderful to bring meals in and help out when needed. We are so grateful for all the ways God has blessed us . . . even (maybe I should say especially) when life has unexpected surprises like this one!
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