Anyone that knows me knows that I can be an absolute klutz. And often my clumsiness results in fun and interesting injuries. There was the twisted knee from the bumper car, the broken finger on the dive boat, the stress fracture in my toe while cooking...the list goes on. It's rather impressive that I've really only broken one bone (the toe doesn't count since the break didn't show up on x-ray), and only one set of stitches (child birth related don't count). Usually I manage soft tissue damage and that's it. All this to say I'm accident prone.I have not yet registered with NHS. It didn't seem like a priority since Maggie and I are so healthy in general. We don't need a doctor, right? Totally forgot the accident prone thing. Duh!
So last night, after picking Mom and Dad at the airport (yay!) we all went to Rob's office family Christmas party. There were bouncy castles for the kids, there was food, there was wine and beer, there was good company and good cheer. All in all it was a fun evening. The time came to head home and put Maggie (and Oma and Opa) to bed and off we started. Then Rob declared that he had something cool to show us. Off we went to look. Somewhere along the hallway (painted concrete floors...) I stepped wrong and my shoe slid, my foot went out, and Maggie and I went flying. I twisted to try to keep her from getting hurt (she's perfectly fine...scared more than anything), my knee and hand hit the floor, and something went POP.
The next thing I know I'm being treated by a former combat medic who essentially refused to do much other than call the base EMS. Security showed up, EMS showed up, everyone still at the party showed up...it was terribly embarrassing. There was paperwork. It's a bit of a pain blur. EMS decided that they could do nothing but give me a blanket to support my arm (I totally bonded with that blanket!) and send me off to A&E (accident and emergency). So Rob took the family home (we were about 5 minutes from home) while the last few party stragglers kept me company till he came back. It's amazing how concerned people can be when your shoulder is sitting at around nipple level. Anyway, Rob came back and helped me into the car and off we went to the hospital.
We walked into A&E at 10pm, Rob filled out the admissions paperwork for me while I sat in a chair and cried like a little girl. I was in a wheelchair headed to xray a few minutes later. The mean, horrible (yet really sweet and pleasant) xray tech took my blanket away, causing the pain to shoot off the charts. Love that blanket! Then back to the front desk to wait for 5 or so minutes for the doc to come for us. He examined me (best line: "Hmm, that's the end of your humerus. That shouldn't be there. I need to check your xrays."). Sure enough (big shock here!) my shoulder was dislocated. Most painful thing I've experienced. Ever. Childbirth was a walk in the park in comparison. Seriously ow! To add to my joy, I'm allergic to the really good pain meds. So off we went to get an IV set up and start pushing drugs that I can take and gets things back where they're supposed to be. I got to see the xrays (I asked). Freaking cool! Bones really should not look like that! Anyway, there were drugs pushed. One of them was a sedative that contained an amnesiac. I remember the doc pushing the drug and joking about doing nursey things, and I remember being wheeled into another room. I was apparently conscious. I'm told it looked really cool when they set the arm. The doc told one of the nurses that it was the loudest pop he'd heard doing one of those. I'm kinda sorry I don't remember since it sounds pretty epic. Instant pain relief! Then back to xray, back for a final exam by the doc, and that was it. I have an appointment at the fracture clinic on Monday. Total elapsed from the time we walked in to the time we left: 3 hours. The staff were phenomenal. I have nothing but praise for the NHS. Fast, efficient, and very friendly.
I should register with NHS.
Wow. What an end to your office party. It will be memorable in the years to come. Sounds like the med system is better there than here. We are glad they took such great care of you. When Natalie was a baby I fell on black ice while holding her and instinctively you do fall in a way to protect your child. My knee swelled up huge and I couldn't walk on it the next day. All I remember was her crying for Ernie, her favourite stuffed toy that went flying when I fell. We hope the rest of your holidays are accident-free. What great timing though with mom and dad there to help. Enjoy your holidays!!!
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