FREE NEWSLETTER
Chris tripped and fell a few Sundays back. Her radius and ulna bones broke and the elbow was beyond repair. We were on a little day trip, to visit the Cleveland Aquarium.
Come the next day, the anticipated 2-3 hour surgery stretched to 7 hours. Afterwards, the surgeon, allegedly among the finest in the country for this particular procedure, reported good results. However, coming out of the long anesthesia, Chris had difficulty communicating, so was quickly rushed down the hall for an MRI. The nurses had explained the test was necessary to be certain there had not been a stroke. All Chris heard was the word stroke. When I was finally allowed into recovery, I found Chris, her face all scrunched up, struggling to hold back tears, as she waited for the results of the test. Seeing Chrissy like that made my eyes well up too. Luckily, my marginally inappropriate bedside sense of humor kicked in, and I soon had us both, as well as a couple nurses, laughing through the tears. The MRI was fine, still, our day trip would be extended a couple more days for observation.
So far things are going as they should for Chris, though her recovery will be lengthy.
It was only supposed to be a day trip. We were stuck, 100 miles from home, with no change of clothes, no meds or C-Pap contraption. Thanks to MyChart, meds were no problem for Chris. I went without my meds until I made a round trip home on Tuesday; the only one I really missed was the Rx for my restless legs. For future day trips, perhaps I will put together a go-bag with a few emergency essentials that can’t be easily purchased from a nearby department store.
Accidents happen in a heartbeat. We did okay because we were close to home, but real vacations require a little more planning. Things like proper travel insurance to pay for emergency transport home from a foreign country, or proper auto insurance if you are renting a BMW in the UK.
Dan, I hope Chris is and you are both doing well. Several good lessons we can take from your experience.
Early in our nomadic lives, J fell down some stairs and broke a foot. We were in a small town that we didn’t know, but that fortunately had an Urgent Care. And it was in the U.S., so we had our car. It meant some pain, several weeks of PT, and some derailed plans. We were very thankful that was all; a stair fall is no joke.
Strength and balance training are both important. I think insurance including for medical evacuation is a good idea, as is a go bag. Although in our case anything we would put in the latter is on our backs anyway 🙂
I’m reminded of a patient who began her trip to Italy by fracturing her ankle on stairs on her first day, thus ending her vacation early. I’ve had many other PT patients who gave me a deadline to get them ready for a trip already booked. Their time frame was often not in line with reality. Some went anyway, leaving me wondering what would happen if they had a problem far from home.
Dan, Best wishes to Chris for a full recovery. Living in a 55+ community, I see seniors having falls in their homes and getting injured. This is becoming more common. This week, our neighbor fell down from a standing position while putting on pants. She had surgery yesterday to fix a femur fracture. It is best to be more careful as we age.
Dan, condolences on Chris’ accident and best wishes to her for a swift recovery. I’m sure you will give her superb husbandly care!
I have a longtime habit of carrying a small briefcase with me anytime I’m going to be gone from home longer than an hour. I put my insulin pump controller in it (I’m a type 1 diabetic), and I always have two days’ worth of meds in one of those small plastic pill organizers, plus ibuprofen, loperamide, a change of underwear, a pair of socks, a spare pair of glasses, a few personal supplies, and a couple of energy bars.
The whole thing doesn’t weigh three pounds, but it’s solid gold. Can’t count the number of times it has saved me, especially in the car and the hospital and when I’m performing. It’s my backstage bag and my carryon “purse” on airplanes.