An Instant When Everything Changes
It often seems like things just go along day after day, with very little to differentiate one day for another. Then, in the blink of an eye, everything changes.
Friday was one of those days.
The power had gone out to part of the mobile home on Thursday. Having a rough idea of how the wires ran, I traced the point where the problem was. It seemed a leak had formed and water had gotten into the wall there, so I removed some of the siding and found out the water was incidental - mice had chewed the cable and let the moisture in. My son in law came up and double checked things and we disconnected the bad wiring and jumpered around it temporarily to keep things running without risking a fire. In the process we discovered another water leak in a different place.
The wife and I were preparing to take the dog to "Doggy Day Camp" Friday morning and then go shopping, after which I was going to work on the mobile home and get the wiring replaced. I was collaring the dog and getting ready to take her to the car. My wife decided to head out on her own. Neither of us realized that although the ground wasn't frozen, it was just cold enough to be covered with a thin skin of ice. The next thing I heard was a loud scream, and went out to find her lying on the ramp with her leg bent back under her.
We managed to get the leg straightened, but it was obvious something was wrong, so I called 911 and went to get a blanket to cover her. It wasn't long before someone came and soon the ambulance was there. It took awhile to get her on a backboard, then we had to pass her along down the ramp and put her on a gurney, which promptly sank into the mud! With all the rain and snow we have gotten, everything is a mess. Finally they got off to the hospital with her, and I followed with the dog, dropping her off on the way and still catching up with the ambulance before reaching the hospital.
After a number of hours in the emergency room and x-rays, they determined she had broken her ankle and also her femur, the latter just above where her artificial knee went to inside the bone. Being beyond their ability, they called for an ambulance to transport her to Albany Medical Center. We got the same ambulance as before, with some of the same crew. Great folks!
I wasn't able to go with her, but went and got the dog and took her home. They did cat scans on her in the emergency room, but I wasn't able to talk to her. She was admitted overnight. The next day I prepared to head to AMC, but first the son-in-law and I had the chewed wiring replaced with armored cable, which took longer than expected (naturally). Once that was working and the siding temporarily replaced, I headed out, leaving the water leaks for another time. I went to our oldest daughters' in Clifton Park and she drove me to the hospital, as I hadn't been there in years and don't like driving in Albany. Our middle daughter and son-in-law took the dog to their place and fed the cat. I spent the night on the couch in my wife's room.
On her second day there she underwent a six hour surgery to plate her femur. It was a long wait! The surgery was successful, however, and she was able to speak to me (though pretty loopy!). They fastened her ankle temporarily with external hardware as the surgery had gone on too long as it was.
I spent the night at the neighboring Hilton courtesy of the oldest daughter and son-in-law and actually got some sleep.
The next day they didn't do any surgery as her ankle was too swollen, and I was picked up by my daughter at 3:30, picked up my car at her place, and drove home. As it was well after dark by the time I got home, I had a rather unpleasant trip
The next day I drove down myself without problem and they still waited to do surgery, saying it would be done Thursday. I left after one pm and drove home, but this time had eaten a big lunch and once I was well out of Albany, had a hard time staying awake.
Almost as soon as I got in the door, I got a call that they were going to do the surgery in the evening! She hadn't been prepared and had eaten breakfast and lunch, so they had to wait until evening. This time it only took 3 hours, starting at 9:45 pm. I didn't feel up to going back down, but didn't miss anything. It went smoothly.
Today I slept longer in the morning and fasted all day until supper-time, so had no problem at all with drowsiness and had a safe and pleasant trip both ways, avoiding driving after dark also. She was in better spirits, but the painkillers were wearing off.
When I got home the last two days, I have managed to catch up the laundry and get the house back together and re-insulate the lower area where the wiring problem was and reinstall the siding.
They expect her to be released on Friday, so I will go down tomorrow and stay overnight again. Then she is looking forward to a long time in rehab. Since her last time in rehab several years ago, she has been recovering and we have been able to do things together we weren't able to do for awhile. Now we have to start all over again! She almost certainly won't be able to be home for Christmas, either.
It only takes a moment to change everything.
Friday was one of those days.
The power had gone out to part of the mobile home on Thursday. Having a rough idea of how the wires ran, I traced the point where the problem was. It seemed a leak had formed and water had gotten into the wall there, so I removed some of the siding and found out the water was incidental - mice had chewed the cable and let the moisture in. My son in law came up and double checked things and we disconnected the bad wiring and jumpered around it temporarily to keep things running without risking a fire. In the process we discovered another water leak in a different place.
The wife and I were preparing to take the dog to "Doggy Day Camp" Friday morning and then go shopping, after which I was going to work on the mobile home and get the wiring replaced. I was collaring the dog and getting ready to take her to the car. My wife decided to head out on her own. Neither of us realized that although the ground wasn't frozen, it was just cold enough to be covered with a thin skin of ice. The next thing I heard was a loud scream, and went out to find her lying on the ramp with her leg bent back under her.
We managed to get the leg straightened, but it was obvious something was wrong, so I called 911 and went to get a blanket to cover her. It wasn't long before someone came and soon the ambulance was there. It took awhile to get her on a backboard, then we had to pass her along down the ramp and put her on a gurney, which promptly sank into the mud! With all the rain and snow we have gotten, everything is a mess. Finally they got off to the hospital with her, and I followed with the dog, dropping her off on the way and still catching up with the ambulance before reaching the hospital.
After a number of hours in the emergency room and x-rays, they determined she had broken her ankle and also her femur, the latter just above where her artificial knee went to inside the bone. Being beyond their ability, they called for an ambulance to transport her to Albany Medical Center. We got the same ambulance as before, with some of the same crew. Great folks!
I wasn't able to go with her, but went and got the dog and took her home. They did cat scans on her in the emergency room, but I wasn't able to talk to her. She was admitted overnight. The next day I prepared to head to AMC, but first the son-in-law and I had the chewed wiring replaced with armored cable, which took longer than expected (naturally). Once that was working and the siding temporarily replaced, I headed out, leaving the water leaks for another time. I went to our oldest daughters' in Clifton Park and she drove me to the hospital, as I hadn't been there in years and don't like driving in Albany. Our middle daughter and son-in-law took the dog to their place and fed the cat. I spent the night on the couch in my wife's room.
On her second day there she underwent a six hour surgery to plate her femur. It was a long wait! The surgery was successful, however, and she was able to speak to me (though pretty loopy!). They fastened her ankle temporarily with external hardware as the surgery had gone on too long as it was.
I spent the night at the neighboring Hilton courtesy of the oldest daughter and son-in-law and actually got some sleep.
The next day they didn't do any surgery as her ankle was too swollen, and I was picked up by my daughter at 3:30, picked up my car at her place, and drove home. As it was well after dark by the time I got home, I had a rather unpleasant trip
The next day I drove down myself without problem and they still waited to do surgery, saying it would be done Thursday. I left after one pm and drove home, but this time had eaten a big lunch and once I was well out of Albany, had a hard time staying awake.
Almost as soon as I got in the door, I got a call that they were going to do the surgery in the evening! She hadn't been prepared and had eaten breakfast and lunch, so they had to wait until evening. This time it only took 3 hours, starting at 9:45 pm. I didn't feel up to going back down, but didn't miss anything. It went smoothly.
Today I slept longer in the morning and fasted all day until supper-time, so had no problem at all with drowsiness and had a safe and pleasant trip both ways, avoiding driving after dark also. She was in better spirits, but the painkillers were wearing off.
When I got home the last two days, I have managed to catch up the laundry and get the house back together and re-insulate the lower area where the wiring problem was and reinstall the siding.
They expect her to be released on Friday, so I will go down tomorrow and stay overnight again. Then she is looking forward to a long time in rehab. Since her last time in rehab several years ago, she has been recovering and we have been able to do things together we weren't able to do for awhile. Now we have to start all over again! She almost certainly won't be able to be home for Christmas, either.
It only takes a moment to change everything.
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