Welcome back, pianistimo!

[abell88]

Missed you! Glad you're feeling a bit better and can make it to the computer.

[gilad]

welcome back!glad that you're recoverying nicely.

[thalbergmad]

Hope you recover quickly. I will come over in the spring for a cycle.

[pianistimo]

thanks for the encouragement!  yes it was a stupid accident.  i was at the park with my four year old and decided to 'help' her climb down a sort of pyramid rope climbing apparatus.  i had this strange feeling that i was about to kill myself when i took the first step up.  it's not that i don't have balance, it's just that i have better ability to help her climb down from the ground.  unfortunately, she was 5 or 6 feet up (she climbed to the top) and i didn't want her to fall through the center and break her leg.  so, as i gingerly climbed up, she was climbing down.  she let go with both her legs and feet when she thought i would catch her (i said that i would - but meant that i would help her climb down) so i had her in one arm around the waist, and slid with my left hand on the rope down to what i thought was the ground.  it was actually the last rope of the climbing thingy.  i flipped backwards and she went catapulting out of my arms about two feet from the ground.  i still don't know how she managed to land ok.  but, thankfully at least she was ok.

for me, when i flipped on the last rope, i heard crack crack.  that was my tibea(mid shin) and fibula (right under knee).  my tibea plateau was shatterred a bit, too.  i won't know how much until the cast is off.  all i knew at that moment is that i was unable to move and had a lot of pain.  thankfully, a lady took care of me and ivana and called the paramedics.  they had a blow up cast (which really works great) that relieved a lot of the pain instantly when they blew it up.  they had to take it off when i got to the hospital.  i didn't want to give it back so soon - but then for two days had to wait for my turn to get casted.  of course, in the meantime, getting x rays and rediculously painful stuff like that.  pain killers don't work well on me for some reason, but the worst was actually after getting the closed reduction my leg felt just like it did AGAIN when i broke it.  it kinda felt like someone took it and twisted it backwards from the knee down.  

i know i'm feeling sorry for myself, but it is the first time i ever broke a bone (minus a broken toe and broken tailbone).  now, i think i have more compassion for people who are laid up and especially the guys in iraq.  they need our prayers, a lot, because once you are injured badly, it's really hard to move (or even think of moving).  i hope they have access to air casts because they make all the difference in mobility.  (feel for civilians in those war torn countries, too, and also the recent disasters in lousiana and now in indiana and kentucky).  there's always someone who's got it worse.  i was happy to make it to the hospital and even though i had to wait - it's much better than getting shot (although i kinda wished for it right after it happened).   of course, with three children, i can't just exit because of a broken leg.  i feel kinda whimpish.  i thought i had a lot of pain tolerance, but it was borderline pass-out pain.  some days i am stoic and other days, am just telling my hubby and kids what to say to me.  ("can you pat me on the head and tell me everythings going to be ok")  i'm liking the pampering, but frustrated by basic moves, like just going up and down the front steps of the house.

yesterday, i decided to eliminate fear and use my crutches on the steps.  if i fell forward onto the grass, at least the neighbors would get a good laugh.  then, i just sat on the front steps and waved at passers by while getting some sun.  today i can wiggle my toes a lot better and it is a little bit less painful to move around.  my next mission is to go up the stairs. ahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha   actually going up isn't bad because i could scoot, but going down, i might have too much momentum.

[pianistimo]

do you mean that, thalbergmad?  that was an instant cheer up.  i asked the doctor how long til i can bicycle and he said four months.  the last x ray showed the tibea and fibula healing ok.  hopefully, the tibea plateau will let me bicycle again.  even if i pedal more with the left leg, it should be ok.

pennsylvania is a really cool place to bicycle and hike.  up north, there's the grand canyon of pennsylvania which is supposed to be a really great hike.  there's a lot of groups that cycle and hike - so if you are serious, i'll try to recover fast and find a group that will casual and yet guided.