AFTER THE FALL (Down the Stairs)

I suffered a fall in my house last Tuesday. I've heard that expression before and always thought it to be a strange statement but, take my word for it, if you fall down nine out of thirteen non-carpeted steps and land upside down on a non-carpeted landing, you really do suffer.

I'm really not sure what happened. My daughter said our resident ghost pushed me. Nevertheless, in one instant I was gingerly stepping down the stairs and in the next instant, I was snowballing down the stairs, hitting every inch of each step with every part of my body. Hoooleee cow; does that ever hurt!

Fortunately, The Frontiersman was in the kitchen as I made my grand descend down the stairs and somehow, by the grace of God, he actually heard me tumbling down.

In his never ending quest to be my helpful, loving All American Hero, he rushed over to me (while I was still trying to figure out what the hell happened and what planet I finally landed on), scooped me up under my arms and dragged me backwards, bumping my butt on each of the remaining two steps.

Once I was finally on the carpeted floor, in one fell swoop, The Frontiersman hoisted me up to a standing position and I immediately responded by passing out, so he tells me. Not to be deterred, he hoisted me to my feet again and I heard him say (from someplace far away), "We've got to get you to the couch." I was dazed and had no strength, but I was trying to find enough strength in my Jell-O legs to walk as he half-dragged me over to the couch. He plopped me down on the couch and hurried to get a blanket for me.

As soon as he covered me up, I said, "I have to go to the bathroom." One of us got the blanket off me and he helped me into the bathroom. After depositing me on the 'throne', I asked him to go upstairs and get some clothes for me.

Again I passed out, this time falling off the toilet. I awoke in a heap on the bathroom floor. I began calling out to The Frontiersman. "Help...helloooo...help." In my fog, I realized he didn't hear my pitiful cries so, somehow I managed to put one hand on the edge of the bathtub and one hand on the wall and haul myself back up and onto the toilet again.

Just as The Frontiersman walked in with my clothes, I greeted him with a projectile upchuck. Talk about a look of surprise. At any rate, I somehow got cleaned up; I don't even remember it but, I was back on the couch and our son, The Computer Genius, was standing in front of me, looking bewildered.

"What happened", he asked, looking dazed himself. "I fell down the stairs", I replied. Jason's thoughtful, intelligent remark..."You better be more careful." I guess that's the best any college kid could do at eight-thirty in the morning.

The Frontiersman was on the phone with 911, The Computer Genius was putting his shoes on and they tell me I was getting dressed. I really don't remember.

In the blink of an eye the ambulance crew was walking through my front door. There were suddenly four people asking me questions and checking out all my cuts and bruises. In a short period of time I was strapped onto a backboard with a cervical collar secured on my neck and people were lifting me onto a gurney and wheeling me out to the waiting ambulance.

I can't say enough good things about the volunteer ambulance crews and especially the crew that showed up to help me out on Tuesday morning. They were absolutely wonderful. They were professional, kind and caring. Each one of them looked like an angel to me.

After arriving at the hospital, the paramedic gave my information to the nurses and told me they were leaving me in good hands. I had no doubt.

Once the nurses completed their evaluation of my pitiful, beat up body, a wonderful doctor came in and talked to me for a bit and then told me he was sending me for a CT scan of my head and neck. I was wondering if they would see the strange little elves that live in my head and make me say and do the crazy things I do.

Thank God for my hard German head. Although battered and bruised, my head and neck were fine. It has taken a few days for the dizziness and headache to dissipate but, other than that, I don't expect any lasting effects. I'm not sure if that's good or bad.

Dr. LaMotte came back after he got the results of the CT scan and unstrapped me from the backboard and began to roll me onto the gurney. I let out a howl that was probably heard all over the hospital.

"What's hurting, what's hurting", he asked. I told him it was my left ankle and mid back.. He decided to send me back to radiology for x-rays.

After that, my daughter and son came in to see me. My daughter was very worried because Jason had called her and told her to meet him and their dad at the ER because I had fallen down the stairs and was being taken there by ambulance. Once she had the opportunity to see I was still pretty much in one piece and in relatively good spirits, relief came over her face.

After we talked for a few minutes, Roxanne asked Jason to go find their dad. She needed to get back home and take care of her responsibilities there.

The doctor returned to let us know I have a broken toe and that my ankle was possibly also fractured. My back was just badly bruised.

The nurse came in and gave me a hypodermic of something in my IV for pain. She then removed the IV and brought in the cutest, lightest little cast for my ankle and then a pair of crutches. She showed me how to use them, had me sign a bunch of papers and told us I was free to go.

The Frontiersman went out and brought the car up to the door and Jason stayed with me while I hobbled, on crutches, down the hallway and out the door.

During the past few days, I've had the opportunity to reflect on my accident and realize how blessed I am that, although I'm pretty beat up and a little broken, it could have been so much worse. God is very good to me. I'm blessed to have a husband who acted so quickly to help me. I'm blessed to live in a community where neighbors care about each other and come quickly when their help is needed. I'm blessed that we have excellent hospitals in the area, staffed with professionals who really know what they're doing and I'm very blessed to have wonderful family and friends who love me and take good care of me.

Something like this makes you stop and appreciate the blessings you have been given.