worst injury of my life!!
This labor day weekend my friend Adam came to Florence to visit, and then the two of us drove to West Virginia where we were to met our friends. We met them at Chris' family's house, which is a property they own and just share between the family. It's a good hunting/shooting/4 wheeling area, so Chris's family go there whenever they want to hunt or something.
When we got there Chris wanted to show everyone the area on 4 wheelers. If only for quick transportation and not a sport, because he said we'd be staying on the pathways through the woods/forest. so 5 of us went 4 wheeling: Chris and his gf Christina on one, Andrea and I on another and Andrea's husband Mark on the last one.
we road all through the woods and it was really nice, bumpy at times but pretty fun! we saw a really neat waterfall with lots of eroded rock, it was awesome.
But when we turned back to go back to the house, there was a curve where andrea got too close to the edge and the dirt gave way... The 4 wheeler flipped over and we were flung off, down a slope. The 4 wheeler flipped on its side, into a tree. Thankfully it was caught, because it would have easily rolled right over us and who knows where I'd be. But in the process of being flung from the quad, my hand struck something. My right hand. I thought maybe the 4 wheeler may have landed on top of it? it happened so quickly im not sure what happened. but suddenly I'm sliding down in the dirt grabbing a tree to get my footing and i see andrea hit the ground and roll, and she stops and starts whaling in pain. i rush over to her (trying not to fall further down the slope) in a panic, asking where it hurts and she says her back. Mark was behind us and saw us fall, so at this point he's coming down the slope to see andrea and that was when i realised how much pain my hand was in.
instantly there was a huge, oval shaped lump on the back of my hand. instantly swollen, a lot of pain. Chris makes his way down too, and says we need to move andrea over in case the tree supporting the 4 wheeler gives way. Mark attempts to move Andrea, while chris takes my (left) hand and guided me up onto the road. chris and christina were asking me if i was hurt anywhere else, and i wasnt except for my hand, which was hideously swollen. like i had no idea it could even swell up so much. Chris told Christina to wait with Mark and Andrea while he took me back and got help from his uncle to pull them and the 4 wheeler out. their phones had no reception, so Chris had to drive me back.
Even just the short walk from the slope to Chris's 4 wheeler left me completely winded. i legit thought i was about to faint. i have never fainted before, so i really dont know what it's like, but i was out of air, nearly fainted and about to vomit all at the same time. luckily, once we were riding back the wind cooled me down and gave me some fresh air and a moment to compose myself.
Chris got me back and Adam got a towel full of ice for my hand while Chris got our friend John to help get his uncle and help andrea. Adam and i sat waiting for everyone in the house and all i could do was cry and think about how much my hand fucking hurt.
Back on the slope when i saw my hand i was already psyching myself out. This is my right hand. i am right handed. i was suddenly so scared that i'd broken my hand and that id never be able to draw again and my life would mean nothing anymore without my art and i could do nothing but assume the worst for my hand and cry. Why couldnt it have been my left hand?? or my foot?? why did it have to be my dominant hand?
They got back with andrea, she seemed able to walk, but very slowly. Adam and I decided that we would not stay for the weekend because i had a feeling this was bad enough to need a doctor for. so after only being in West Virginia for like 2 hours, we had to go. Chris felt really awful for wanting to take everyone 4 wheeling. so before i left i hugged him and i told him a thought i had minutes before andrea ans i wrecked. I thought to myself while riding along, "i wouldn't be 4 wheeling out here if Chris wasn't here. If there was one person i could count on to save my life it would be Chris." i think it helped him that i told him that, and i mean it. He's that kind of person, he would always put anyone in need before himself. He's a really great friend. It's weird that i actually thought about this minutes before we wrecked.
So adam drove me back to Florence, where we got home and had Jade and Velvet look at my hand. Velvet kept saying how bad it was and i was like "i know please stop saying how bad it is" and i was shaking head to foot with nerves because i just want my drawing hand to be okay. it's so important that i draw, i want to make a living with this hand and i was just terrified. So Adam, Jade and I went to the ER and they took xrays. the doctor said surprisingly, no bones in my hand were broken. he said the xray film isnt precise enough to see if there are fractures or not, but he figured it swelled up so fast because the impact had burst a vein in the back of my hand and it pooled and swelled. they wrapped my arm in a splint, so my forearm is wrapped like a cast.. but not actually a cast. just tight ace bandages.
Jade and Adam are helping me with day to day tasks. Today we wrapped my arm in a garbage bag so i could shower. Doing things with one hand is really hard, especially typing.
Tuesday i will be calling a specialist to see if my bones are fractured or not. until then, im wearing this splint for the weekend. im really worried about work on tuesday. i guess i forgot to mention this here (oops) but for the past week ive been temping at UPS doing data entry. it's just parttime, and it pays decent so i like it. I dont think my hand will be healed by then... and even if i do go in, i'll have to do all the entry left-handed. ehhh. and tuesday is our big day because the dayton branch of ups is merging with our branch and my co-workers said it would be chaotic. i would feel bad if i didnt at least try to help with the process. :(
Anyway both my arms/hands are killing me, one from injury and the other from typing so much. if anyone would like to see pictures of my gross hand, i would check my twitter or jade's twitter. there were a few pics tweeted there.
Tonight i will attempt to paint with my left hand. because i'll be damned if i wont be productive every day.