Free Falling

Not Baby Doll's actual piano

I am NOT a natural klutz although today somebody might want to argue that point. A couple of days ago I was gathering my purse and talking to my sweetie on the phone. I had a couple of errands to run and I was focusing on them. Not paying attention, I caught the toe of my shoe on Baby Doll’s toy piano. It totally laid me out! At least I didn’t land on anybody on the way down. I woke up the next morning sore and bruised, but otherwise none the worse.

So tonight Teach and I walked over to her friend’s house to pick up a Tupperware order so we could close out her party (she got lots of free stuff btw!). But we got visiting and didn’t get away until after dark. It was only about six blocks away, but in our little hamlet some of the sidewalks are rather narrow. During one particularly dark stretch with trees on one side and a high fence on the other, I stepped off the edge of the sidewalk and for the second time in two days, I found myself smacking the ground. Only this time I didn’t land on carpet…I hit the concrete and skinned myself in a few obvious places. But the worst thing I did was try to catch myself with my right hand…I know better.

Not my actual Denny's

Yeah, I have another story for you. It was mid-September in 2000. I was extremely pregnant with Crafty and I was hot and miserable. My sweetie and I went downtown, I’m thinking for a doctor’s appt, but it could have been something else. When we were finished with our errands, we decided to go to dinner, sort of a little mini-date.

We chose a Denny’s-style diner and headed inside. We spent an hour talking and eating and planning. Crafty was due in about a week and the doctor had already promised to induce if she didn’t come on her own. We finished our food and gathered up to go. When I stood up, I guess it was a little too quickly, because the next thing I knew, I was sprawled out on the ground. For the first time in my life, I had fainted.

Not my actual Instacare

When I came to, my sweetie and the manager and a couple of servers were standing around me. My sweetie hauled me to my feet and placed a protective arm around my swollen body where my waist should have been. “Are you OK?” He glanced worriedly at my belly. Still a little confused, I managed, “I think so…” We stood there for a moment, not knowing what to do. The manager offered his apologies and I ducked out and headed for the restroom. At least some things never change…

I backed my way through the door like I always do when I’m pregnant. After I had completed my business, I went to the sink to wash my hands. I reached for the faucet, and that’s when I noticed that my right thumb was hanging rather uselessly from my hand. It absolutely refused to grip the handle. I turned on the water with my left hand and carefully washed the injured limb. As I rejoined my sweetie, I whispered, “I think we better stop at the Instacare on the way home.”

Not my actual cast

Several hours later I was sporting a temporary cast that immobilized my hand and thumb. I hated what it did to me (imagine being 9 months pregnant and going to the bathroom with a cast on your dominant hand), but the worst part was the day my babe was induced. As they pumped me full of Pitocin and fluids, my hand became swollen inside the real cast I had received several days before. Since I had an epidural, the pain in my hand was way worse than the pain of having the baby. You would think that someone could have opened up the cast for me, but they refused!

Crafty was born (to read her birth story, click here) and I left the hospital the following day. On our way home we stopped at the orthopedic specialist’s office and he cut open the top part of the cast. Finally the pain eased.

Now, almost eleven years later, I’m not excited to report that my thumb is swollen and painful…at least this time I’m not pregnant (and I'm pretty sure it's not broken). I can still type...sort of...