Two Weeks Ago

This time two weeks ago I was lying on a hospital bed being subjected to tests on my brain and checking for internal injuries/bleeding while Andy stayed close by answering questions I was firing at him about why I was even in hospital. Not that I recall that time but that's what I've been told was happening. I don't remember at all. I think that I woke up and started remembering/ being coherent at about 10:30 that night, five or six hours after I had somehow fallen off my horse. We might not ever know what happened back then. A week after the fall, I went back to work for three days and by Wednesday knew something was not right. I was struggling with moving around, I was emotional and I felt like I couldn't cope with the school day ahead. I made a doctor's appointment for that afternoon to get a second opinion. That doctor was surprised I was at work and gave me the rest of the week off as well as this week. He said I should be feeling better by the end of this week. He explained about my "post concussion cerebral dysfunction" and said I could not drive, work, ride horses or do any other physical &/or sporting activity. He was actually relieved to know that I hadn't been driving.

So, here I am two weeks later. The physical injuries I suffered which I feel didn't get any recognition from the doctor due to the concussion being the focal point, was pain in the left side, especially groin, chest and upper back area. The hospital doctor did say I would feel like I'd been hit by a Mack truck and not having been hit by one, I assume I now know what it feels like. I have been using a walking stick to get around when Andy's not around but today I didn't need it which was encouraging. The pain has lessened but I still get quite tired which is frustrating.

 For example, today I wanted to show Andy how easy it was to put up a pop-up speed tent and fold one up, which can be done in less than two minutes but when I tried to fold it up, I couldn't do it. I had to go and sit down because I was exhausted. The reason I was showing him is because I used a 2-man one on my road trip at the start of 2013 and since an Anaconda store is opening up this weekend with sales, I was thinking that maybe we could get a 3-man tent.


Before I fell off the horse, I was thinking about us moving. This house is very hot especially as we are experiencing the worst heat wave in about 8 or so years. These last couple of weeks have been around the late 30's Celsius which is close to 100 Fahrenheit and it isn't even summer, yet! There is no air conditioner in this place and it's only in the last couple months that we got screens put on the windows. The landlords do little to upkeep the home despite repeated calls from the real estate of which there is a thick file of evidence to prove the landlords are not responsive. We pay quite a bit of rent for 3/4 acre and an old, three bedroom house, but it sometimes gets too much when little things that need to be done, aren't done. After talking about it with Andy, the advantages and disadvantages, we decided that we need to stay put for a bit longer and see what happens early next year.

I was talking to someone recently about a decision I had made and they commented that since I was in the throes of concussion, I wasn't thinking rationally. I tried to explain that it was something I had been thinking about before the fall but I was a little put out by their condescension. I don't make hasty decisions and I do think things out thoroughly but this time I also included Andy in the process, duh. Oh well. They don't know me well.

I got my assignment result back today for the Uni subject I just completed and passed. I did well despite the negative comments the marker wrote. I was disappointed by the comments but pleased with the result.

Andy and I will probably stick around here at Christmas time rather than go on a planned vacation. We are still thinking of may be doing a road trip - hence the speed tent for a Christmas present. Andy has been taking good care of Milly and me. He gives her plenty of cold water and hoses her down to make sure she stays cool in this heat. He baked me a banana, choc-chip cake which was very delicious and as he ate the last piece of it, baked another one. I've had friends come around to visit which is also a good thing because I get bored. I know I should probably work on school report cards but I'm not sure I would make a lot of sense anyhow. It would be really nice if I was 100% again but as Andy pointed out tonight, it was only two weeks ago I was lying on a hospital bed unaware of my surroundings.Andy just asked me, "What are you doing?" and when I said I was writing a blog post he said, "I have no idea what that means but it sounds impressive." (It is easy for me to impress him.)

Today I was thinking that if I wrote my autobiography or even if someone wrote it for me, it could be called, "A Lifetime of New Beginnings" because sometimes it seems like I am not even in one place for a year before it's time to start a new beginning elsewhere. (It's probably just the concussion thinking like that. lol )  So that's it until the next blog post next time which by then, I will hopefully be on holidays relaxing near water and having fun!

Fallen

So, in case you haven't heard, I fell off my horse last Monday - 4 days ago and have had all the rest of the week off work. Mainly because I can't work, I can barely walk and for most of the week have slept. I don't know what happened because I can't remember. The last thing I remember was saying to Leah that I would go down to the paddock and wait for her there. I don't even remember riding away from her. People have asked me questions such as:

• Was the horse going fast?
• Had you been riding for long that day?
• Did the horse spook?

I had bad concussion and I don't remember. Before I had gone to my friends' place to ride, I had picked up Andy and Milly who had been out walking and had seen a big snake. Snakes are out in full force and there's been quite a few cases of people being bitten and having to go to hospital. Nine of the ten most venomous snakes live in Australia so people don't hang around to find out whether the snake they see is one of those or not. It's still only Spring and it's really  hot and dry here. The weekend is supposed to get temperatures such as 40 Celsius (104 F) and not vary much in the coming week. Andy was letting Milly go swimming in the creek but with all the talk of snakes, he's keeping Milly on dry ground.

Monday I fell off my horse Lucky, at about 5pmish. Andy was  playing with Milly and Lilly (our friends' dog who is also a black Lab) and he saw Lucky go back up to the paddock riderless. He ran down and saw me lying on my side very still and after checking for my pulse, called out for an ambulance which was there very quickly. Meanwhile, Lucky had gone to where Leah was saddling up Melody and he turned to go back to me expecting Leah to follow. When Leah got there, John (Leah's dad) gave Andy his phone to speak to the guys who were coming with the ambulance. Leah said I was talking and asking questions but my eyes were flickering all over the place and I didn't know who John was.

The ambulance took me away and Andy went in the other ambulance. He was the only one allowed near me in the hospital. They gave him a chair and got him to answer all the questions I was asking while they tested me for internal bleeding and head injuries. Andy said that I told them I was feeling like throwing up but they had already given me all they could for nausea. All the tests were clear. They kept me in overnight for observation and every two hours asked me where I was, what had happened, took my blood pressure, temperature etc. I started becoming coherent at about 10:30 that night just before Andy left. By morning, I was allowed to go home. I felt every bump. I talked to Nathan on the phone and he said I didn't sound 'normal'. I still find it difficult to get around. I hold on to the walls or Andy. He is being very good and won't leave me for long periods of time. He gets me whatever I want/need which isn't much yet.

Leah was quite distressed on Monday night as she had seen her teacher lying very still on the ground and wasn't allowed to see me even though they waited at the hospital. She came with her parents to visit us on Wednesday night. Jane's boys were also upset but she brought them and her husband out to see us last night (Thursday). I went to see the doctor yesterday and thought of dropping in to see my students on the way home but I don't have the energy or the physical capacity to walk that far. I should be back at work on Monday. I have fluid retention which is obvious in my legs, face and feet which is annoying. My left side hurts the most - upper back/shoulder blade, upper part of my legs.

Mostly I have just been sleeping when we haven't had visitors. Today is the first day I have spent any time on the computer and I managed to read a couple chapters of a book. I have been up for about four hours now as we had our neighbor friends drop over but I am ready for bed again.

In the back of my mind, I remember that only 4 years ago, almost to the day, Dave was admitted to hospital when he fell off a horse. I know the circumstances were different and his fall caused the pulmonary embolism to his lungs from which he passed away less than 10 months later but these are still thoughts that enter my mind.

As for me, I am planning to ride again... I think. I know that it hasn't put me off riding but I also know that I will probably be tentative at first and not trust Lucky as much as I once did. Was he spooked by a snake? I don't know. The last time I had ridden him, he had kept pulling in the other direction and I had kept making him go where I wanted him to go until he was doing what I wanted. This is the first time I have fallen off a horse as an adult and I know that my friends who ride often, talk about their falls as being relatively common. Well, no matter what, guess I won't be riding again until I can walk and even run again. I won't be able to play netball on Tuesday and highly unlikely I'll be able to play squash on Wednesday.

It's report writing time and I handed in my last uni assignment two weeks ago so at least study is out of the way. It's almost the end of the school year and then we have a few weeks of summer to enjoy before the new year begins. So far, we have made no plans but both of us want to spend time at the coast, soaking in the sea, ducking under waves and even collecting shells. But first, let me just walk again without needing help.

Just out of hospital - less than 24 hrs after the fall,
holding my wrist hospital band.