Labor Day Break
Holiday. Visit. Friends. Drinking. Kidding around. Playing. Running. Chasing. Near miss. Falling. Twisting. Impact. Unnatural sound. "Oh shit, that did not sound right!" Running. "Dude, are you alright?" Rising. "I'm fine." Walking. "No, I'm not fine. My collar bone is broken." Pain. 3:00 AM. Load up in the car. Pain. Drive. Pain. 911. Turn around. Pain. Run the yellow. Pain. ER. Pale. Pain. Worry. Pain. Crying. Pain. Paperwork. Pain. Get up. Pain. Wheelchair. Pain. Doors. Pain. Bed. Pain. Sphygmometer. Pain. Cutoff new shirt. Pain. X-rays. Pain. Doctor. Pain. Nurse. Pain. Hypodermics. Pain. Instructions. Pain.
So the night went, into morning. My best friends came back for a visit and played darts and had some beers. We finally got a call from another friend, that he and his girlfriend were on the way, we had another drink, then they wanted to go somewhere else. The second place we tried was good for everyone, so we had some more beers. The evening started around 8:00 PM, Keith and his GF, got there around 11:00. We ended up at a place with beers of the world. I had been nursing mine a lot slower than everyone, and I'm glad I did. I only had perhaps three sips of the last one over the course of an hour and a half. I knew I'd have to be driving and didn't want to be impaired. We all sat talking and laughing past last call outside, and ended up walking around when they closed. When we got to the parking lot and were about to go to our respective vehicles, Keith said something that caused Court to start running after him, and turned and ran himself. Court was catching him and just as he reached him, Keith turned, between Court's overextension and the turn's centrifugal force, Court fell and turned to (I assume) avoid a face plant on the asphalt. It wasn't the sound that slapping flesh makes, but was a sharper, higher pitch sound. It was a snap. He thought at first that he had knocked his shoulder out of joint. I guess the pain made him feel the collar bone, and he could feel the break. I drove him and his wife Kirsten to the hospital with directions from the 911 operator. Thank goodness for cell phones.
Kirsten was upset. I don't think she ever has had to go through anything like this before, she didn't know how to take care of Court, and there was nothing she could do to help his pain. Court was in a lot of pain, especially for a fall that was not much different than many he's probably gone through in his life. Older bones don't flex like 10 or even 20 year old bones. Kirsten felt so helpless, it made her cry. Kirsten isn't one to cry much, she's usually very upbeat, smiling and laughing. She's a pretty strong woman emotionally.
We got Court through the ER, and "home" (actually they were staying at Kirsten's parents' house.) Kirsten got him settled down on the recliner in the living room so he would be semi upright, in an effort to avoid the pain he felt lying back. The morphine they had given him was starting to kick in, and Kirsten didn't want to go at that time to get his pain prescription filled so it was time for me to leave. It was approaching 5:30 AM.
Please take care. Please don't horseplay in parking lots. Have a safe and nice weekend.
Update 9-5-2007: Court's X-Ray and a short comment.
Labels: human
posted by Charles @ 1:12 PM
Comments: 13 <-<<Add One!
13 Comments:
oh no, that's awful. at first i thought this happened to you. i am quite relieved it did not but certainly feel your friend's pain....the description brought back many memories of 4/15/06....pain.pain.pain....and the 'snap' sound especially. hope he heals quickly and is not in any more pain. i was quite thankful for my vicodin
Poor Court. I feel so sorry for him & I know how painful that must be for him. I hope & pray to God that he recovers soon & might not have to go though much pain & heal fast.
I trust he must be in capable hands & hope that there might be some wonder medicine available in America by now for broken bones!
That is really so sad... no pool, no golf, no football or whatever etc... but I guess that is just but secondary to the other activities...
Ouch! The post itself sounds so painful, made me wince. And I've never had a broken bone ( touch wood ), so I can't imagine how painful it must be.
Get well soon, Court.
Oh, and like lime, I too thought it was you that was hurt, at first.
The point was to let you know how it hurt, although the words can never be a substitute for the experience, it may give an idea of it. I hope no one else has to experience it, and endeavors to avoid it. It took only a second to see it coming and to be a memory, but unfortunately Court is still living it. I had to maintain my rationality and calm to be of any use to him or his wife, so it may have seemed to them that I was unsympathetic, but I know the pain from bones broken in the past of my own. It hurts like a son of a __tch, and although Court told them that it was probably a 9 on a scale of 10 in pain, I find it hard to imagine a 10, with a broken bone as a 9.
What an awful thing to happen to your friend! I've never had a broken bone, but I've heard a broken collarbone (or any other bone) hurts like all get-out.
It is quite understandable, the way you felt. People tend to always translate a situation in accordance to the 'moulds' that they tend to be. For example, a rational being will do it rationally while a poet will translate pain as a poem.People who know what kind of a person you are will not take your seemingly unsympathetic 'behaviour' unkindly. I ,for one, know how worried you have been about Court ever since that happened.
Hope That Court shall heal fast.& that there is something that he is taking to not feel that pain!
` OW! Damn! Yeah, I thought it was you at first as well, which was confusing because you just commented on my blog.
` I'm glad at least you have an important lesson for us not at your expense.
` Poor Court! I know the pain: Once, I broke my foot and I was forced to walk on it and wear shoes AND TIE THEM UP RIGHT despite the fact that my foot was three times larger than normal, or I would be horribly punished and shamed.
` Yeah, that didn't work out for me at all.
` Actually, I've had lots worse pain than just broken bones, and never have I been given effective painkillers, if any, for anything.
` On my scale, a broken bone is like a 6 (unless I extend the scale to 14, which I think it needs to go to).
` It's rough. Tell him he's at least fortunate to have painkillers and someone to take care of him! You've got to count your blessings, as they say!
S E E Quine,
Who was responsible for your having to wear shoes on a swollen broken foot, and why weren't they reported to the authorities?
What would you put up there on the upper reaches of your scale? The reason I would put broken bones so high (besides the fact that I've had them,) is that I believe that much worse would cause loss of consciousness. The brain can only take so much, and can only respond to so much. Considering how quickly the swelling occurs with a broken bone (mine was seconds to double the size) the histamines can't be much worse for other things, but I suppose I could easily be wrong here.
It ended up to be very different Labor Day! At least the first part was obviously very nice!
I have looked on your blog now and then, but always saw the WMD/GWB thing on the top and started to wonder if you were not going to post anyting before 2009. Finally, I looked down a bit and realised that you are still blogging...
I didn't worry too much as I have seen your name regularly on Monas' blog.
charles I'm sorry to hear you long weekend was marred by this unfortunate event.
The collarbone break has to be one of the worst injuries because of it's location and the difficulty in having to wear a brace.
I hope your friend heals quickly without any problems.
tc
` My dad made me go through that. And now he doesn't know where I live.
` I know, he needed to be in jail, though a mental hospital would have been more constructive.
` I think being tortured with surgical instruments would be a '10' on my scale.
` Amazingly, I didn't lose consciousness, though I think I may have gone into shock.
Ouchie! Ouchie!!
It sounds like you guys were having a blast at least up until that point. I will try and remember not to rough house in parking lots. ;)
I hope Court is doing well and is in much less pain now!!
--snow
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