March – lions to limp lizards

March roared in full of piss and vinegar, with our legs busy Skiing and our heads spinning in the Weather of the days. And then boom…

The to-do list vanished, and the calendar entries got wiped out. The boom not being of the pleasant kind and even somehow, somewhat obscure to describe. After the boom it becomes a cautionary tale and a slow recovery.

I’ve written about Cautionary tales before as it seems I have a pendant for the unusual sort of shit stuff that happens to some people. Don’t ask me why I am one of those, although this time it was about judgment. I will state that I should have changed my angle of attack.

Setting the scene. It is later than I would like, but finally, hot tub time. It’s still pretty cold out (around -20), and I go down first to open up as per usual. He does the closing and the maintenance. I stand on the step, unlatch the lid, and push up. It seems uncommonly and uncomfortably heavy, but I occasionally have to double push it up. What was different was that my left hand, which I was using for leverage, slipped as the lid came back towards me. And before you can say a really nasty word, the hot tub lid slammed me into the hot tub itself. Boom. My head and arms in the water, my torso caught time, and my feet dangling on the step. I did call for help once, but he was either 2 or 3 flights away, and I had no way of knowing if he would hear me. I found the adrenalin necessary to extract myself from this precarious and bloody painful position. Sadly, the painful part didn’t go away with extraction, and much assistance was required to get my wet body inside, dried off, ice packs and drugs secured, and put to bed. I declined the trip to ER based on several factors.

There are many positives, and I am trying hard to focus on that. Mangled ribs beat a lot of other end results that could have happened. I have a great GP who provided treatment over the phone. We both declined x-rays as it doesn’t matter if they are bruised or broken treatment remains the same, as long as the lungs aren’t compromised. I have an incredibly wonderful and strong husband who had provided great nursing care under my direction. My boss was very understanding, and a co-worker stepped up to the plate this week and next. I’ve got an ER nurse friend for advice. I’ve been quite diligent on core strength for the last few months and that has been incredibly important.

So as to #whatsbeenonyourcalendar challenge, my March is now rest, ice, drugs, fiber, fluids, protein, and vitamin D. And lots of books, so I should be good for #whatsonyourbookshelfchallenge soon. I am also spending some time catching up on reading blogs and hope to work on updating Young A’s ABC book.

If you know me, then you will recognize that 4 to 6 weeks of rest is really hard. Today, to stave off craziness, I went for a sidewalk walk, back and forth for 4 minutes (wow, 4 mins 🙄). I also managed to sew for a few minutes, but it was too much standing and sitting. Then after supper I made cookies because, well cookies. Someone else did all the heavy lifting of items, and I just did the fun part. Oh, and I might have had to test that one from the middle – it had been squished by the hot mat. Quality control and all you know 😏.

The items above helped me connect to things I enjoy without overdoing it. I am motivated to take super good care of myself because I have a new grand baby to hold in the next couple of weeks.

Yeah, I know I’m lucky, and yeah, I know my actions could be seen as lacking judgment. I am on the road to recovery despite a trio of setbacks. I will be challenged to keep my patience each day many times.

It’s definitely not the post I had planned. One about connecting with friends, the spring weather, and my volunteer side. But sometimes reality changes in a heartbeat, something I often noted at work and have experienced first hand myself. So that’s why my March went out like a limp lizard. Definitely not a lamb because they are cute and cuddly and well… this just isn’t that.

Bernie