Man Down

My second day of not getting up until after 7:30 in the morning. Gracie does not approve, and lets me know by touching her wet nose to mine. 

Thursday afternoon, Grant fell in the office. He had been playing his “stupid computer game”, and his butt went to sleep. Sitting there too long, much? Evidently, when he stood up, his right leg was okay, his left leg gave out, and down he went. Hard fall. I heard the commotion, ran in and found him lying on the floor in agony. At first, we thought the pain was from his hitting the wooden trunk we use as a coffee table, but since there’s no bruise, we’ve ruled that out. 

After lying there for 15 minutes or so, with Gracie weaving over and around his body (Sizing him up to eat? Cats are so food forward.), Grant was able to pull himself up, using my old walker for support. Thank goodness Denny has been making him do counter push-always to keep his upper body strong. Perhaps my procrastination also gets a plug, since earlier in the week I’d thought about taking some stuff to donate, including the walker that no one has used for 5 years. I didn’t get around to it.

In absolute agony, Grant made it to bed. What to do? We thought about a walk-in clinic, but if anything was really wrong, he’d end up in the hospital anyway. Perhaps just wait a while. He was very concerned something was damaged in his 25-year-old artificial hip. I made salmon rice bowls, not using Grant’s fancy Asian recipe (first dinner I’d cooked in 5 years.), but throwing the marinated cucumbers he’d made on top, with avocado, chopped homegrown green onions, and a glob of sour cream. Not shabby. Always  eat before you go to the hospital. It may be a long time before you see food again. We did this when I fell off my bike on Loop Road in the Everglades and broke my collarbone. Really glad we stopped at the bbq place on the Tamiami Trail before we drove to Broward General.

Thus fed, we faced the challenge of getting him in the truck, which he did through sheer determination, and using our little footstool for a boost. On to Orlando Regional Medical Center, where he was taken after his bike accident.

They have free valet at the emergency room! What a help. The parking attendants got Grant into a wheelchair, and I drove him in. After that, we were slowly but steadily moved through the medical process. Intake, vitals, IV attached, EKG, moved to ER room, X-rays, hospitalist doctor’s visit, pain meds and muscle relaxer given by nurse, ortho doctor’s visit. Diagnosis: broken pelvis, nothing near hip. There would be a CT scan to confirm. If nothing else showed up in that test, he could stay in the hospital for a couple of days for pain management and physical therapy to learn how to use the walker, or he could go home in the morning. Either way, no surgery, lots of pain, healing. 

It was 2:00 AM Friday. I said if it were me, having done this 5 years ago when we lived on Key Biscayne, I’d go home to avoid more exposure to hospital germs. But it was his decision. I was exhausted, so I left to go home and sleep.

7:45 AM, Gracie declared she was starving. We began our day. Grant has decided to come home. After making coffee, feeding the cat, eating breakfast, showering, and getting dressed, I headed to ORMC. Dang, I do like the valet at the ER.

The physical therapist watched Grant walk a little, using the walker I’d brought. Thus okayed to leave, he got a final approval from the hospitalist who sent pain med Rx orders to Walgreens, which we picked up on the way home. The walk from the truck to the house was a lot easier.

I made him a bowl of cereal which he ate in the living room recliner. After a while, we all went to bed. Gracie definitely approves of our new schedule.

After getting up for my lunch (Grant was asleep with the cat), I worked in our front yard, continuing my goal of digging up the sunshine mimosa, M. strigillosa, which has taken over the bed. 

Dinner was pizza from Marco’s, because our local Pizza 14 is closed for a couple of days. Early to bed, and late to rise. I am way too old for late nights in the hospital.