The ER
New people surround me as I lay there on the ambulance gurney. They need to get me off but I want nothing of that. Sure the ER bed is bigger and more stable, but they have to move me. And I have no idea what that’s going to feel like. More questions come from the nurses, who am I, what happened, did I hit my head? I’ve answered all these at least three times tonight, pretty good at the answers now.
The next in sequence is all a blur… Five or six people surround me. I can tell you it happened, but not when. They ask me if I can take my shirt off. I didn’t even attempt it. Except for my socks, I’m naked from the waist down. Cut it off, I don’t care. My socks they didn’t even ask… Off comes the right foot, no problem. Off comes the left foot… and that hurt. Why the hell didn’t they just cut those off too? UGH!
Two X-ray guys show up with a big machine. I remember conversations about the bed I was on… Was I still on the ambulance gurney? Either way, the bed was “X-ray” compatible. They don’t need to move me. Thank gosh, cause I’m so good just where I am. I’m stable enough as they leave me in the good hands of the X-ray guys. I have a chance to thank Nick for not dropping me. He laughed. I did overhear him tell one of the nurses… “We don’t have to be anywhere I think we’ll stick around until the X-rays are done.” In hindsight that told me one of two things. Either it’s not as bad as it looked, or it’s way worse than it looked. To stump Nick the ambulance guy is an accomplishment. So yeah, there’s that.
Thankfully it was a quite Friday night at the ER. I did not have to wait for anything. As the X-ray guys were setting up, I reminded them, that I couldn’t move. That’s the point of the mobile machine, it moves around you. So they snap some pics, a few more… then they ask me with a straight face. “can you hold your right leg UP, straight up?” Um, SURE I can. Why not… He smiled a little, then assured me I wouldn’t have to. They know what they are doing , and my left leg was the one they needed good pictures of. The good leg was in the way. They also know they can’t move any broken limb until the pictures are back… Worst case they move something wrong and sever an artery or something.. yeah that’s no good. X-Ray guy suits up with a lead vest, slowly lifts my good leg out of the way. He’s good, never hurt at all.
I still don’t want them to move me from the gurney. But they did at some point. I loudly protested but never felt a thing. I think Charlie was there by now, and I assured her I was okay. Go wait for your mom. Liz and her mother showed up, we had conversations… make sure you get my car. At some point the doctor comes in. Broken leg, 4 places, surgery tomorrow. At some point I called my father. Conversation went well, but I made it a point… I’m in the hospital, had an accident, you don’t need to come up, call Paige. Surgery tomorrow. I’m not even sure I knew anything when I talked to him. Maybe that was Liz who told him that it was broken.
Whatever drugs they were pumping in sure made me forget things. I had no idea what time it was, or who I was talking to. I have no idea when I ended up in a room but I did. Where was Liz? Where was Charlie? They were putting my leg in traction, another point it time I questioned everything. As soon they put the weight on? I felt it. Worst pain ever. One more conversation with the doctor I think. But it was over quickly, so I went back to sleep.
