When it rains, it pours.
Guess what!
I hurt myself today!
Yayyyyy!
Not what I hoped to be writing after last night's entry. I had planned on writing something upbeat today. The day started out really well, after all.
I woke up on time, played on Tumblr, had my Pop Tarts, took a shower, listened to Lady Gaga, and actually put in the effort to blowdry my hair and wear cute clothes. I was proud of myself, for actually making myself cute for work... for once.
Little did I know, I wouldn't get much farther than my door before all hell broke loose.
Grabbed my lunch, grabbed my purse, headed down the stairs. Was astonished by the view of the pond when I got to the bottom of the stairs. So after staring for a second, and starting to walk a couple of times, I decided to take this picture on my cell phone:
Gorgeous.
Then I turned and made my way to my car, hoping that I wouldn't have to spend too much time scraping the windows. I notice very tiny snowflakes falling, so I start pondering whether it's actually snowing, or if it's just snow blowing off of the building (I'm still underneath the building, in the passageway between apartments).
La dee dah, snow snow snow, going to my car. BAM. WHAT?!
Midair these thoughts went through my head: pretty ice in the trees, snow, AM I FALLING?, gotta hurry so I make it to work on time, WHAT THE HECK I THINK I AM FALLING
Yeah. It felt like the longest fall ever, and half the time I felt like I was blacked out/didn't even notice. It was weird. I guess it just took me SO by surprise.
I had stepped onto the sidewalk JUST outside of the awning of the building I had been under. I guess some water had been dripping off of the roof and froze there overnight. The rest of the sidewalk was clear; all except for one puddle directly in my path.
And normally when I walk on wintry days, I walk super slowly, to make SURE I don't fall. Mainly because I fell earlier this year already on my way into work, and another time I fell going to class in college and scraped my hands all to crap. So I'm super careful about this stuff now. Usually. I guess I was just too much in a la dee dah it's a beautiful morning mindframe to pay attention.
So yeah. I slid like I normally do: feet sliding forward, butt hitting the ground, arms behind to catch myself (which is how I managed to break my arm in 1996). But THIS time, my right leg slid over to the right, and ended up backwards (the normal way) and I guess I must've landed discombobbled-like on my right knee. I guess this because it's scraped up on my right kneecap.
So I sit there for a second, and burst into sobs. Butt on the ice cold sidewalk, frozen over with the ice that did me in, I slowly bring my right leg back up in front of me and just sit there, holding it, crying. Looking around to see if anyone was around that might help me. Of course, nobody. A car drives by. The snow is coming down (yep, it was actually snowing) and I'm just sitting there crying, holding my leg and trying to figure out what the heck to do. And of course, the perils of yesterday come back to my mind: I can't afford to not make it to work today. I have bills to pay, and I already called off one day this week and lost that day's pay... I can't afford to lose any more.
So I probably spend 5 minutes or so sitting in a ball on the ground, my mind screaming "PLEASE DON'T BE BROKEN PLEASE DON'T BE BROKEN I CAN'T AFFORD FOR IT TO BE BROKEN RIGHT NOW".
After a bit of that, still bawling my eyes out, I decide to try to move my leg to see if it's broken and in such disrepair that I need to call 911. (I had my phone in my purse right beside me, so that was one less thing to worry about. I could call whoever I need to. The problem, though, is... who would I call? Nobody I know lives nearby. I would've had to call 911 or the apartment office. And I didn't want to call 911, because I didn't know for sure if it was as bad as the worst-case scenario going through my mind.) While still holding my right knee with my hands, I straighten my leg out flat on the ground and bring it straight back. Well, it moves. Maybe I'm lucky. Maybe I'm fine.
I sit for a couple more minutes before gathering my stuff and trying to stand. Good, it holds my weight. I can walk. Maybe it's not so bad.
So I walk VERY slowly, limping, out to my car, STILL crying. And of course, my car is covered in ice. So I start the car and start scraping. Some neighbors walk by, not even realizing anything's going on. It takes me forever to clean the windows, and I know I'm going to be late for work at this point. But I still have to make it to work! I can't lose any more pay!
I finally finish clearing the windows and I get in. I turn Lady Gaga OFF. I can't enjoy it right now. I start backing out and my leg KILLS. Because, of course, I have to drive with my right foot... and any movement left or right makes it ache.
And so I drive with my right foot on the accelerator, my right hand holding my knee to give it some stability, and my left foot on the brake. And somehow, through all the bawling and shaking and outcries of "I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO," I make it to work.
I say, "SCREW IT, I'M PARKING CLOSE. THEY CAN BITE ME." and pull up into customer parking so I won't have to walk as far. I cringe in pain as I try to bend my leg to get it out of my car to stand up. I stumble and limp across the icy parking lot, slowly, so as to not fall AGAIN and do even MORE damage. I make it inside, STILL bawling my eyes out. Nobody really notices; it's not very busy, and the cashier is helping a customer. I slowly make my way to the back of the store, still in my mind thinking, "What am I going to do? I don't know what to dooooo."
As I get to the back of the store, one of the truck employees notices me and asks if I fell, and I tell her I did. Then I see my manager, Laura, talking to the housewares supervisor, Ed, so I approach them. Still, of course, completely in tears and limping more than I ever have. They immediately k now something is wrong, and whisk me off to the break room, where Laura checks out my knee and they decide that Ed is going to drive me to the local Med Center. And so he pulls his car up, and Laura walks me back out to the front door, after checking with Julie (Admin.) about making today a personal day, so I don't lose money. (Because I had been, mid-sob, mumbling about how I can't afford to pay my bills if I lose 2 days of pay this week.) So, she got that squared away, and I left with Ed for the Med Center. I sign in, fill out paperwork, all that jazz, and finally they call me in. The nurse does her thing, then the doctor FINALLY comes in and looks at my knee for like 2 seconds and then says we'll get an x-ray. So I wait what feels like ages, and then a nurse comes and gets me and walks me slowly through the office to the x-ray room, where I have to lie on a table and lay in 3 different positions for the x-ray. Then that's finally over, so she takes me back to the room, and not long after, the doctor comes back in and tells me the good news: not broken. just strained.
So a nurse wraps my leg in big bandages, after putting a small bandage and ointment on the scrapes on my knee, and they send me on my way with a prescription for some kind of medicine and instructions to decrease activity and keep it wrapped for 7 days.
Case closed. Ed drove me back to my car, and I drove home, where I stopped at the apartment office to fill out paperwork about what happened.
And then after making it up my stairs and inside, I called Laura at work and asked for tomorrow as a personal day, too, so I won't lose any more money; and that way I can start back on Monday, and maybe it won't be so painful.
(It probably will still be painful, but I'll have to suck it up.)
So, the good things: it's not broken and it's nothing serious, and I didn't lose any pay at work.
The bad things: I now have used ALL of my personal days for the ENTIRE YEAR. Yeah.
And I have to keep it wrapped and it hurts like crap to even stand up. So by the time I get to work, it'll probably still hurt like crap; and if you aren't aware, my job isn't some easy waste of time job. Well, it is a waste of time... haha... but it isn't easy, physically. I'm on my feet all day, constantly power walking from one end of the store to the other, climbing ladders, crawling around on the floor, bending up and down with my knees, carrying boxes...
Nothing that can be done with my leg in its current condition. So... we'll see.
But at least it isn't broken. That would've been the kicker. There's no way I could've worked with a broken leg. And that would've made me out a LOT of pay, and I wouldn't have been able to pay for ANYTHING. So, I did luck out.
But ugh, it hurts. I hope it heals quickly.
Got invited to go see a Michael Jackson cover band in Broad Ripple tonight. Awesome invite, am I right? Not going, because there's no way I could maneuver Broad Ripple and the crowds like this. But I am going to the movies and a concert tomorrow; both of which should be fine, as my mom will be here, and she can drive, and we'll be seated for both. It'll be nice to sit and relax.
So, there. The story in ridiculous detail (because that's how I roll). I hope you're all having a better week than I am.
I hurt myself today!
Yayyyyy!
Not what I hoped to be writing after last night's entry. I had planned on writing something upbeat today. The day started out really well, after all.
I woke up on time, played on Tumblr, had my Pop Tarts, took a shower, listened to Lady Gaga, and actually put in the effort to blowdry my hair and wear cute clothes. I was proud of myself, for actually making myself cute for work... for once.
Little did I know, I wouldn't get much farther than my door before all hell broke loose.
Grabbed my lunch, grabbed my purse, headed down the stairs. Was astonished by the view of the pond when I got to the bottom of the stairs. So after staring for a second, and starting to walk a couple of times, I decided to take this picture on my cell phone:
Gorgeous.
Then I turned and made my way to my car, hoping that I wouldn't have to spend too much time scraping the windows. I notice very tiny snowflakes falling, so I start pondering whether it's actually snowing, or if it's just snow blowing off of the building (I'm still underneath the building, in the passageway between apartments).
La dee dah, snow snow snow, going to my car. BAM. WHAT?!
Midair these thoughts went through my head: pretty ice in the trees, snow, AM I FALLING?, gotta hurry so I make it to work on time, WHAT THE HECK I THINK I AM FALLING
Yeah. It felt like the longest fall ever, and half the time I felt like I was blacked out/didn't even notice. It was weird. I guess it just took me SO by surprise.
I had stepped onto the sidewalk JUST outside of the awning of the building I had been under. I guess some water had been dripping off of the roof and froze there overnight. The rest of the sidewalk was clear; all except for one puddle directly in my path.
And normally when I walk on wintry days, I walk super slowly, to make SURE I don't fall. Mainly because I fell earlier this year already on my way into work, and another time I fell going to class in college and scraped my hands all to crap. So I'm super careful about this stuff now. Usually. I guess I was just too much in a la dee dah it's a beautiful morning mindframe to pay attention.
So yeah. I slid like I normally do: feet sliding forward, butt hitting the ground, arms behind to catch myself (which is how I managed to break my arm in 1996). But THIS time, my right leg slid over to the right, and ended up backwards (the normal way) and I guess I must've landed discombobbled-like on my right knee. I guess this because it's scraped up on my right kneecap.
So I sit there for a second, and burst into sobs. Butt on the ice cold sidewalk, frozen over with the ice that did me in, I slowly bring my right leg back up in front of me and just sit there, holding it, crying. Looking around to see if anyone was around that might help me. Of course, nobody. A car drives by. The snow is coming down (yep, it was actually snowing) and I'm just sitting there crying, holding my leg and trying to figure out what the heck to do. And of course, the perils of yesterday come back to my mind: I can't afford to not make it to work today. I have bills to pay, and I already called off one day this week and lost that day's pay... I can't afford to lose any more.
So I probably spend 5 minutes or so sitting in a ball on the ground, my mind screaming "PLEASE DON'T BE BROKEN PLEASE DON'T BE BROKEN I CAN'T AFFORD FOR IT TO BE BROKEN RIGHT NOW".
After a bit of that, still bawling my eyes out, I decide to try to move my leg to see if it's broken and in such disrepair that I need to call 911. (I had my phone in my purse right beside me, so that was one less thing to worry about. I could call whoever I need to. The problem, though, is... who would I call? Nobody I know lives nearby. I would've had to call 911 or the apartment office. And I didn't want to call 911, because I didn't know for sure if it was as bad as the worst-case scenario going through my mind.) While still holding my right knee with my hands, I straighten my leg out flat on the ground and bring it straight back. Well, it moves. Maybe I'm lucky. Maybe I'm fine.
I sit for a couple more minutes before gathering my stuff and trying to stand. Good, it holds my weight. I can walk. Maybe it's not so bad.
So I walk VERY slowly, limping, out to my car, STILL crying. And of course, my car is covered in ice. So I start the car and start scraping. Some neighbors walk by, not even realizing anything's going on. It takes me forever to clean the windows, and I know I'm going to be late for work at this point. But I still have to make it to work! I can't lose any more pay!
I finally finish clearing the windows and I get in. I turn Lady Gaga OFF. I can't enjoy it right now. I start backing out and my leg KILLS. Because, of course, I have to drive with my right foot... and any movement left or right makes it ache.
And so I drive with my right foot on the accelerator, my right hand holding my knee to give it some stability, and my left foot on the brake. And somehow, through all the bawling and shaking and outcries of "I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO," I make it to work.
I say, "SCREW IT, I'M PARKING CLOSE. THEY CAN BITE ME." and pull up into customer parking so I won't have to walk as far. I cringe in pain as I try to bend my leg to get it out of my car to stand up. I stumble and limp across the icy parking lot, slowly, so as to not fall AGAIN and do even MORE damage. I make it inside, STILL bawling my eyes out. Nobody really notices; it's not very busy, and the cashier is helping a customer. I slowly make my way to the back of the store, still in my mind thinking, "What am I going to do? I don't know what to dooooo."
As I get to the back of the store, one of the truck employees notices me and asks if I fell, and I tell her I did. Then I see my manager, Laura, talking to the housewares supervisor, Ed, so I approach them. Still, of course, completely in tears and limping more than I ever have. They immediately k now something is wrong, and whisk me off to the break room, where Laura checks out my knee and they decide that Ed is going to drive me to the local Med Center. And so he pulls his car up, and Laura walks me back out to the front door, after checking with Julie (Admin.) about making today a personal day, so I don't lose money. (Because I had been, mid-sob, mumbling about how I can't afford to pay my bills if I lose 2 days of pay this week.) So, she got that squared away, and I left with Ed for the Med Center. I sign in, fill out paperwork, all that jazz, and finally they call me in. The nurse does her thing, then the doctor FINALLY comes in and looks at my knee for like 2 seconds and then says we'll get an x-ray. So I wait what feels like ages, and then a nurse comes and gets me and walks me slowly through the office to the x-ray room, where I have to lie on a table and lay in 3 different positions for the x-ray. Then that's finally over, so she takes me back to the room, and not long after, the doctor comes back in and tells me the good news: not broken. just strained.
So a nurse wraps my leg in big bandages, after putting a small bandage and ointment on the scrapes on my knee, and they send me on my way with a prescription for some kind of medicine and instructions to decrease activity and keep it wrapped for 7 days.
Case closed. Ed drove me back to my car, and I drove home, where I stopped at the apartment office to fill out paperwork about what happened.
And then after making it up my stairs and inside, I called Laura at work and asked for tomorrow as a personal day, too, so I won't lose any more money; and that way I can start back on Monday, and maybe it won't be so painful.
(It probably will still be painful, but I'll have to suck it up.)
So, the good things: it's not broken and it's nothing serious, and I didn't lose any pay at work.
The bad things: I now have used ALL of my personal days for the ENTIRE YEAR. Yeah.
And I have to keep it wrapped and it hurts like crap to even stand up. So by the time I get to work, it'll probably still hurt like crap; and if you aren't aware, my job isn't some easy waste of time job. Well, it is a waste of time... haha... but it isn't easy, physically. I'm on my feet all day, constantly power walking from one end of the store to the other, climbing ladders, crawling around on the floor, bending up and down with my knees, carrying boxes...
Nothing that can be done with my leg in its current condition. So... we'll see.
But at least it isn't broken. That would've been the kicker. There's no way I could've worked with a broken leg. And that would've made me out a LOT of pay, and I wouldn't have been able to pay for ANYTHING. So, I did luck out.
But ugh, it hurts. I hope it heals quickly.
Got invited to go see a Michael Jackson cover band in Broad Ripple tonight. Awesome invite, am I right? Not going, because there's no way I could maneuver Broad Ripple and the crowds like this. But I am going to the movies and a concert tomorrow; both of which should be fine, as my mom will be here, and she can drive, and we'll be seated for both. It'll be nice to sit and relax.
So, there. The story in ridiculous detail (because that's how I roll). I hope you're all having a better week than I am.