Last Sunday

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Last night a storm came through and blew in a cool front. The temps are now in the low 80s instead of mid-90s to 100s.  The humidity is gone. There's a breeze. It's a beautiful morning.

Dr. BB decides that he's going to go for a bike ride. He has a new bike route he wants to try and his new yellow custom-made bike (from Sotherland at BicycleWise!) has been adjusted and he wants to try out the fit.  I decide that I'm going to take the dog out on a extra-long walk. 

This is what I'm dealing with.  Isn't she cute?  Look at those ears! That happy smile. That tongue that says "I'm so exhausted and hot and why can't we be home already?"!

I get Hannah home when I get a phone call from Ted that he's about 15 miles away and he crashed pretty hard so can I come get him. I ask him if he needs to go to the hospital (I would have recommended he call an ambulance and I meet him there), but he says "I'm not sure, but you'll need to get my bike."  He's worried about his bike, so I figure maybe he's got some cuts and bruises and I head out to get him.

Mistake #1: I have just been out on a long walk with the dog. I don't grab food or water for myself.
Mistake #2: The Elantra is in the driveway, so I just take it instead of messing with getting the new car out of the garage and doing to the car shuffle. This is a problem because the Elantra doesn't have the bike rack on it and it has a tiny backseat.
Mistake #3: I don't grab my Kindle or phone charger.

I rush out, grab an ice pack, and get to Dr. BB. He's sitting at a pump at a gas station, holding his arm to his stomach.

"My collarbone is broken. I can feel it move."

"I can't drive you to the hospital with a broken collar bone. Call an ambulance."

He's on the phone doing this while I'm removing the front wheel from his bike, attempting to muscle the stupid thing into the backseat (he interrupts his phone call to tell me to be careful not to scratch the fork on the bike), grabbing his water bottle and helmet, and slowly panicking.

It seems that a combination of gravel and a pothole got him and he just went over. He's bleeding everywhere and the adrenaline is starting to wear off and he's in some degree of pain.

The ambulance gets there faster than it had any right to.  I take off, head back home where I do the following:
1) Get a charger for my phone, his and hers Kindles, and pants and sandals for Dr. BB.
2) Throw some extra treats in the dog's kennel.
3) Leave the backdoor unlocked (it's a small town!) in case I need to call someone to walk the dog for us.

Things I do not do.
1) Get Dr. BB a shirt.
2) Eat or drink anything.


I get to the hospital before Dr. BB.  By the time I get to see him in the ER, he's had some pain meds, and they send him off to x-ray. While we're waiting for the x-ray results, they start cleaning out his road rash.  X-rays come back. Yep. Broken collar bone.

Meanwhile, they're starting to talk about releasing him and having him call an orthopedic doctor later in the week.

I am starting to feel...not great. I realize that it's mid-afternoon and I need something to eat and drink like two hours ago. I get some tunnel vision, so I put my head between my legs and when I feel better, I tell Dr. BB that I'm going to head to a vending machine.

I walk out of his room and head to the nurses' station to ask where the vending machines are and then...

...I remember nothing. I literally just passed out. On the floor. Of the ER.

I wake up to find that I had been admitted to the ER.

Life's a fucking joke, people.

Don't forget to drink water, people. Dehydration can do you in.