All Broke Up

Well, sorry for the long dry spell.... and I can't promise the hope of much in the way of words from me...

Had a lovely beach ride nearly three weeks ago, that ended in an fall (no fault of Beau's... as I told the ER Doc, gravity just got the better of me!) I'm still not quite sure what exactly happened. Savanna and Linda and I were just enjoying the day and the next thing I knew, I was hanging in mid-air! I had just allowed Beau to break to the canter- we were 6 or 8 strides in; "chasing" after Billy on his bike when I had ended up parting ways with my saddle. There was no issue- no spook, no buck, no shy or bolt- I just fell. I'm not sure if it was a balance thing with the ever bigger belly, or what... but in an effort not to have the baby hit the ground, I tried to land on my feet. Saved the belly, but broke the ankle!

Shattered it really. I broke both sides of my right ankle, shearing off the top of the joint space on the medial aspect of the limb. We rather ingeniously got myself and all three horses, 2 kids and dog off the beach and headed out. I didn't want to go to the closest ER, I wanted to hit the hospital where we are doing the baby; where my Mom works... so I made Bill bring the kids and trailer home then we did the drive to the hospital. After x-rays and an ER visit, it was clear we needed an ortho consult... on a Sunday... humm. We had an ultrasound to be sure and sat attached to a heart rate monitor for baby all afternoon. Basically as I told them, he never touched the ground, and Beau never touched me. In fact after I came off he stopped and backed up a few strides (as did Squeeke! Good pony!) So; broken ankle but the baby remains safe and sound.

We went home with no pain meds- lets not drug the baby thanks... and waited a LONG night to see the orthopedist in the am. After he reviewed the case he recommended surgery. Well, not what I wanted to hear... so we opted for a cat scan to be sure it was really the only option. Another long night, and another test later- yup. No choice. 27 weeks pregnant and under the knife! Sigh. And to boot, there was such significant swelling they were not comfortable going thru the soft tissue... so I had to wait a WEEK for surgery. Lets be clear folks. Tylenol is for headaches and such- not broken bones. And, then with upset tummy issues I had to even stop taking that. I'm confined to the recliner and crappy living room futon, bearing the brunt of broken bone pain and pregnancy symptoms. Heartburn anybody?! I am only up on crutches for the bathroom and totally non weight bearing...100% reliant on others for everything.

Finally surgery day arrived and as unhappy about the procedure as I was, I was glad to be "fixed" and on the road to recovery. They were able to stabilize the joint with a plate and 8 screws, and left the outer break to mend as it was pretty clean. I was kept most of the day to let the spinal wear off... yup, I was awake for the whole thing! I wanted to do what was best for the baby, so minimal drugs please! After I regained function of my legs, we headed home. BAD idea! After just a few hours it was clear that even after 4 percoset dosed out over the course of the afternoon, and some Advil to boot, I wasn't going to "hang!" Another ER visit and then an admit for a night stay with some better pain management... lets see if the kid comes out "looking for glue" as my Mom says... but I needed it!

Before we were sent home this time, we had another ultrasound- they checked baby's kidney function (for drug exposures) and my amniotic fluid levels. Based on great results there, we got cleared to use ibuprofen a few days for pain, as well as the percoset and tylenol... came home in the afternoon and back to the chair I went. Well, pain meds and I don't do well. Nausea and vomiting, and then day 3 off the meds I went. Another 10 days of sitting, and yesterday we finally had our follow up. We opted not to do another x-ray, as we will need one in 6 weeks... and Id like to minimize exposure (I know, kinda late now?!) so had the stitches out and a hard fiberglass cast put on. I have until Dec. 7th for non weight bearing- boring stuck at home can't do anythingness. Then they will x-ray and I'll get an air cast "boot" for 6 more weeks of progressive weight bearing and then rehab. Sigh!

My Mom and Bill's Mom, and the kids have been great. It's hard to let go of control and let others do for you... but I'm managing. I've missed a lot of fun kid events, but did manage to sit in the car while Bill drove me along behind the kids door to door trick or treating last night. It's a real drag to be stuck with my foot up, you don't really realize how much you do day to day, until you can't do it! I've certainly missed the computer- but with no lap-top getting to and sitting at the desk top has been pretty out of the question. The kids were desperate for the TV (we just have the living room one) so I escaped the candy trading, sponge bob event and have myself propped up on Bills for now. My leg is on an chair with pillow underneath and I'm craning to see the screen and reach the keyboard lined up perpendicular to the desk, but "My" space (and the bedroom) are out. There is no way to negotiate the spiral stairs, and I sure miss the horses, but I'll be fixed soon enough, the baby is fine and hopefully there will be no lingering issues from the break. Bill bought me a new "bed" yesterday- a much nicer futon for the living room, so hopefully sleeping will get better- sometimes I get overwhelmed when I think about the timing... the baby, the holidays, the kids... but it could have been so much worse and I am thankful for good insurance and supportive family! I'll hopefully be up and around more soon, but until then posts will certainly be slower! And once I can get down to my computer etc, I do have some very nice shots from that day at the beach- Savanna got Squeeke into the water!