A Snow Day Can Change Everything

March 2, 2007, started out as a day off of work due to a foot or more of snow - businesses actually closed for the day. Great - a three day weekend! I thought I'd start the day with a little shoveling with the hubby (Steve). A few steps out of our garage and I went down hard on a sheet of ice! I heard the "snap, crackle, and pop" of the old right foot as I fell. First words out of my mouth were "I broke my foot, I broke my foot!" Steve knew it was serious when he looked at my foot and it was positioned 90 degrees from normal.

Steve managed to get me into the back of the Jeep and attempted to get me to the ER. However, as I mentioned, we had just started shoveling and we had over a foot of snow. Even in the Jeep we kept getting stuck. Steve finally called 911 and they sent out an ambulance AND the Fire & Rescue Truck to get me out of our driveway. About an hour and a half or so after the initial fall I was in an ambulance getting the first few mgs of Morphine!

I spent that Friday in the ER in Burnsville with a good friend of mine - Tracy! I can't describe how great it was to see her show up there while Steve continued to try and get out of the driveway. After getting my foot back in alignment and doing some x-rays, I was finally on my way home that evening with instructions to see an orthopedic specialist on Monday.

The Monday appointment was what we expected - surgery was needed. My ankle was broken most spectacularly in 3 places.

On Wednesday I had surgery to put in several screws and a plate in my ankle. I had the greatest nurse - Nancy. Nothing too memorable about that day as much of it was spent "out of it."

Steve has been great about waiting on me hand and foot (pun intended). I think he secretly is enjoying getting to run the show!

Now I've come to the Monday after surgery (3/12). I'm out of work for a few weeks, on crutches for 4 weeks and total recovery time of 8-12 weeks. I've got a lot of time ahead of me to rest, read, and watch tv. Steve and I went out for lunch and to get my handicap parking sticker. I'm getting around pretty well considering I'm on crutches and have a huge cast on my foot that weighs at least 50 pounds. OK, probably not that much, but it's heavy.

On our drive home I was telling him how I would have won both showcases on the Price is Right today because my guess for the winning showcase was within $250 of the actual retail price of the showcase that won! I explained this to him with the intensity one might tell their spouse when they've discovered a cure for cancer or something else very important. It was then that I realized it might be fun to blog about the various things I encounter on my road to recovery.

I'm spending a lot of time off of my feet and am getting to know a lot about various infomercials that will help you lose weight or at least make your cooking time more efficient - who doesn't love the Magic Bullet! It was sad today when I realized that I was stuck on a channel watching an infomercial about a guy who had a hair transplant and the success he's had with it. As most of you know, I will never, ever need a hair transplant!

I'm bummed about the various things I'll be missing over the next couple of months - trips to see friends, training for the 2-day Avon Breast Cancer Walk, and the walk itself with my sister. But, I get to hang out at home and be forced to rest and relax - not a total bad thing. I'll be the one who is actually able to watch all of the NCAA tourney starting this Thursday (without costing my employer money)!

So, that is what is going on in the world of Debbie right now. I'll keep posting about the various things I encounter and you can read, not read, whatever. It's called Debbie's Discourse, but we could also call it the "keep Debbie semi-sane blog."

Stay Safe!