Back Again

Well, the past few months have been wild and wooly. I've spent most of my life healthy as a horse. Besides a busted chin at five (jungle gym at church), busted hand at fifteen (night skiing in North Carolina), I've spent the majority of my life away from the emergency room. One brief day surgery on a bum knee in my twenties, and except for a brief stay at birth, I hadn't spent a night in the hospital in over 4 decades.

In August, I had the misfortune of being the shortest, smallest person in a group around a handful of jittery horses. Rumor has it the biggest one bit the smallest one (lucky for me he was little as horses go), and the "little" horse in his effort to get away from the bully chose the path of least resistance - meaning through me. Since while small, I'm still solid, he couldn't actually get through me and instead had to go over me. Luckily for me, the only place he actually stepped on was my ankle, lucky again at the thickest, strongest spot. Off to the Emergency room we go. No major breaks, one tiny hairline, but still off my game for a couple of months.

Less than a week before I was due to "graduate" from the orthopedist, my elbow got red and ugly and looked like it had swallowed a golf ball on the day after Thanksgiving. Another trip to the emergency room to be diagnosed with cellulitis and given massive oral antibiotics. Unfortunately, they didn't seem to do the trick and by Monday morning, the redness had spread to wrist and above the elbow and my GP decided it was time for IV antibiotics, and a visit from the orthopedist. I half-heartedly tried to convince him that I had an appointment with Dr. Bones the next day, but he said I had to see him right away - that he would send him to the hospital...which is where he sent me. Surgery the next day to drain the elbow, then four more days of IV antibiotics.

Finally, as we enter 2007, I'm mostly well again and ready to get back on my game. The ankle is strong and mostly doesn't hurt, the elbow gets better every day, and I'm looking forward to staying well for awhile.