HELMETS ARE GOOD FOR YOU.
Heyy guys,
So now that I'm not in as much pain, and not hopped up on nearly as many drugs, I figured I'd let you guys all know what happened yesterday.
SO, here's how it all went down (I know, this sounds like it was a police raid or something :P)
So Sunday we had an event at Frazier, Gaelin and I did pretty well on cross country, only had two refusals, but then we ended up getting eliminated on stadium. It was a schooling show, so not that big a deal, but it does mean we clearly are not yet fixed.
Mondays after a show are usually Gaelin's day off. Yesterday though, I decided I would hop on bareback in a halter and lead rope, and take him to the back field to graze while I did some required reading of Atonement. We got back there and he was behaving like an absolute gentleman, just quietly munching away, even occasionally putting up with me lying back on him (though most of the time, I was sitting up.)
So at this point, I had my book in one hand and the lead rope slung across my knee/thigh, where I assumed I'd be able to grab it quickly if need be. Gaelin was being so quiet, and I had a very bad itch on the back of my head, so I did something unusual and took off my helmet for a nanosecond so that I could itch my head. Because I had had the book in one hand and needed both to take off my helmet and itch my head, I set the book open on his withers.
Now, I should probably point out that this wasn't my helmet, it was a friend of mines, and maybe a half size big, but with a bandana underneath, it fit alright. So I took off my helmet and hooked it to my jeans belt. In the five seconds I had my helmet off, Gaelin spooked at something (I have no clue what), and I was unable to grab the lead rope in time. I fell backward straight off his hind end, and hit the ground head first, then my back hit. Excruciating pain shot through my back and my head, and my first thought is: Don't move, something might be broken. Second thought is: I have to call Corinne (barn owner). I somehow managed to sit up, and put my helmet back on (for fear I would be yelled at for not having my helmet on) and call Corinne. I cried/sobbed hysterically though the call to tell her I was in the back field and in a lot of pain. She said she would be right up.
The next thing I remember (bits and pieces are missing because I was in shock, but I never actually blacked out) is seeing Julia and Tessa (my friends) on the back of her truck, and Tessa holding my hand and me asking if Gaelin is okay and me repeating my name, address, date of birth, where I was, what day it was, etc. Oddly, I was freaking out that I couldn't remember my blood type, not that it was needed.
The police, my parents, and the ambulance came fairly quickly after that (all in that order)- when they put me on the backboard, and put my neck in the neck brace thing though, that was so painful. Those plastic stretcher boards are hard as rocks when you've hurt your back.
SO, the drive down the farm road trail was a little bumpy, but the ladies in the ambulance kept telling me landmarks that we were passing so I would know how close we were to the road. After that, when we got on the road, the next thing i remember is being in the hospital and being wheeled into the ER, and passing a butterfly that had been painted on the ceiling. I remember saying they should paint more of those on the ceiling so little kids wouldnt get scared. It had made me smile. Remember, I was in shock, so thats why I didn't remember a lot of things.
The doctors kept asking me if I blacked out, which I hadn't, then they put a catheter in my arm and I think they gave me morphine at that point. I was definitely given it, i just don't remember if it was then, or a little later. I was wheeled into the X-Ray room where I had to be moved from my hospital mattress (which felt like heaven at the time) to the xray machine. Not exactly the smartest thing considering they didn't know if I had a spinal cord injury or not yet, but they didn't have a whole lot of options. Being rolled onto the xray machine hurt so bad.
After the X-Rays, they put me in a CT Scan to make sure my head and back and neck were okay. They had a cool tiled ceiling, and the guy in there, Kevin, had me raise my arms over my head. That hurt a lot too. I finally got to go back to my own hospital bed, where they gave me what I've started calling the Turtle medicine (it had an odd name, like Torderall or something- its basically like a stronger Advil) and Valium. I could feel it in my body when it was injected via the catheter. That was odd.
SO THEN (sorry, this is getting so lengthy) there was a three car accident, and I guess they either needed my section of the ER, or just didn't want it to be too loud for me (because my head was still hurting like nothing else) so I got rolled out into the hallway. and stayed there for like, 2 hours. Then the doctors came back to do a third x-ray, of my neck this time, to double check something. That time I had to sit up and that REALLY hurt. But the girl doing the X Ray that time was a lot nicer than the other two the first time.
A while later, one of the nurses came and helped me up to see if I could walk without getting dizzy or lightheaded- essentially to see if I was okay to go home, or if I needed to stay the night. Luckily, I got to come home.
So basically what the doctors told us was that I had a contusion on my back (medical term for bruising- and a very bad one at that, my entire mid back is swollen as I write this), and that I did not have a concussion. They gave me Percocet for the pain, which I am supposed to take 2 every six hours as needed for two days. However, the nurse thought because I was so small, it would be better if I took one every three hours if needed. So that's what I'm doing. I'm also icing my back every twenty minutes, and trying to keep walking around so my back muscles don't get stiff. But unfortunately, I'm not allowed to ride :/ I did go to see Gaelin today though, who didn't know the difference, hehe.
So yeah, that's what happened. I'm at home now, last night was one of the longest nights I've had in forever, because I had to be woken up every two hours to make sure I was still breathing. So, didn't get a lot of sleep last night, but I napped for the better part of two hours today. Overall, I'm hoping to be mostly healed by the end of this week, and am hoping to start riding lightly next week. Let's keep our fingers crossed! ps- always your helmets guys. By the Grace of God I somehow managed to walk away without a concussion, and with only a massive bruise on my back. Ironic, isn't it? that as an eventer, I get injured doing the simplest thing- walking/standing still! oh well. Nothing ever goes as planned I suppose :P
PS SORRY THIS WAS SO MASSIVELY LONG.
for those of you who decided EH TL;DR --> fell of pony at a standstill after he spooked, went to the ER, spent a lot of mostly pointless hours there to find out i have no concussion and a badly bruised back. now i'm on percocets for pain. YAY PAIN MEDICATION! :P
love you guys to death :)
xx Nell
So now that I'm not in as much pain, and not hopped up on nearly as many drugs, I figured I'd let you guys all know what happened yesterday.
SO, here's how it all went down (I know, this sounds like it was a police raid or something :P)
So Sunday we had an event at Frazier, Gaelin and I did pretty well on cross country, only had two refusals, but then we ended up getting eliminated on stadium. It was a schooling show, so not that big a deal, but it does mean we clearly are not yet fixed.
Mondays after a show are usually Gaelin's day off. Yesterday though, I decided I would hop on bareback in a halter and lead rope, and take him to the back field to graze while I did some required reading of Atonement. We got back there and he was behaving like an absolute gentleman, just quietly munching away, even occasionally putting up with me lying back on him (though most of the time, I was sitting up.)
So at this point, I had my book in one hand and the lead rope slung across my knee/thigh, where I assumed I'd be able to grab it quickly if need be. Gaelin was being so quiet, and I had a very bad itch on the back of my head, so I did something unusual and took off my helmet for a nanosecond so that I could itch my head. Because I had had the book in one hand and needed both to take off my helmet and itch my head, I set the book open on his withers.
Now, I should probably point out that this wasn't my helmet, it was a friend of mines, and maybe a half size big, but with a bandana underneath, it fit alright. So I took off my helmet and hooked it to my jeans belt. In the five seconds I had my helmet off, Gaelin spooked at something (I have no clue what), and I was unable to grab the lead rope in time. I fell backward straight off his hind end, and hit the ground head first, then my back hit. Excruciating pain shot through my back and my head, and my first thought is: Don't move, something might be broken. Second thought is: I have to call Corinne (barn owner). I somehow managed to sit up, and put my helmet back on (for fear I would be yelled at for not having my helmet on) and call Corinne. I cried/sobbed hysterically though the call to tell her I was in the back field and in a lot of pain. She said she would be right up.
The next thing I remember (bits and pieces are missing because I was in shock, but I never actually blacked out) is seeing Julia and Tessa (my friends) on the back of her truck, and Tessa holding my hand and me asking if Gaelin is okay and me repeating my name, address, date of birth, where I was, what day it was, etc. Oddly, I was freaking out that I couldn't remember my blood type, not that it was needed.
The police, my parents, and the ambulance came fairly quickly after that (all in that order)- when they put me on the backboard, and put my neck in the neck brace thing though, that was so painful. Those plastic stretcher boards are hard as rocks when you've hurt your back.
SO, the drive down the farm road trail was a little bumpy, but the ladies in the ambulance kept telling me landmarks that we were passing so I would know how close we were to the road. After that, when we got on the road, the next thing i remember is being in the hospital and being wheeled into the ER, and passing a butterfly that had been painted on the ceiling. I remember saying they should paint more of those on the ceiling so little kids wouldnt get scared. It had made me smile. Remember, I was in shock, so thats why I didn't remember a lot of things.
The doctors kept asking me if I blacked out, which I hadn't, then they put a catheter in my arm and I think they gave me morphine at that point. I was definitely given it, i just don't remember if it was then, or a little later. I was wheeled into the X-Ray room where I had to be moved from my hospital mattress (which felt like heaven at the time) to the xray machine. Not exactly the smartest thing considering they didn't know if I had a spinal cord injury or not yet, but they didn't have a whole lot of options. Being rolled onto the xray machine hurt so bad.
After the X-Rays, they put me in a CT Scan to make sure my head and back and neck were okay. They had a cool tiled ceiling, and the guy in there, Kevin, had me raise my arms over my head. That hurt a lot too. I finally got to go back to my own hospital bed, where they gave me what I've started calling the Turtle medicine (it had an odd name, like Torderall or something- its basically like a stronger Advil) and Valium. I could feel it in my body when it was injected via the catheter. That was odd.
SO THEN (sorry, this is getting so lengthy) there was a three car accident, and I guess they either needed my section of the ER, or just didn't want it to be too loud for me (because my head was still hurting like nothing else) so I got rolled out into the hallway. and stayed there for like, 2 hours. Then the doctors came back to do a third x-ray, of my neck this time, to double check something. That time I had to sit up and that REALLY hurt. But the girl doing the X Ray that time was a lot nicer than the other two the first time.
A while later, one of the nurses came and helped me up to see if I could walk without getting dizzy or lightheaded- essentially to see if I was okay to go home, or if I needed to stay the night. Luckily, I got to come home.
So basically what the doctors told us was that I had a contusion on my back (medical term for bruising- and a very bad one at that, my entire mid back is swollen as I write this), and that I did not have a concussion. They gave me Percocet for the pain, which I am supposed to take 2 every six hours as needed for two days. However, the nurse thought because I was so small, it would be better if I took one every three hours if needed. So that's what I'm doing. I'm also icing my back every twenty minutes, and trying to keep walking around so my back muscles don't get stiff. But unfortunately, I'm not allowed to ride :/ I did go to see Gaelin today though, who didn't know the difference, hehe.
So yeah, that's what happened. I'm at home now, last night was one of the longest nights I've had in forever, because I had to be woken up every two hours to make sure I was still breathing. So, didn't get a lot of sleep last night, but I napped for the better part of two hours today. Overall, I'm hoping to be mostly healed by the end of this week, and am hoping to start riding lightly next week. Let's keep our fingers crossed! ps- always your helmets guys. By the Grace of God I somehow managed to walk away without a concussion, and with only a massive bruise on my back. Ironic, isn't it? that as an eventer, I get injured doing the simplest thing- walking/standing still! oh well. Nothing ever goes as planned I suppose :P
PS SORRY THIS WAS SO MASSIVELY LONG.
for those of you who decided EH TL;DR --> fell of pony at a standstill after he spooked, went to the ER, spent a lot of mostly pointless hours there to find out i have no concussion and a badly bruised back. now i'm on percocets for pain. YAY PAIN MEDICATION! :P
love you guys to death :)
xx Nell