I did a very, very dumb thing last week.
I fainted. On the stairs. And I fell down half the flight. When I wasn't wearing my sling.
Here's what happened: I'd felt faint in the shower a couple of days before and had half-fallen, half-slithered down the wall to a sitting position in the tub. I kind of frightened myself with that, so I decided that it wasn't a good idea to shower without Urbaner being around to keep an eye on me.
Friday morning the kids were home from school because of parent teacher conferences. They were all downstairs playing the box of exes, so I decided that instead of showering, I'd run myself a bath and soak in the tub for a while. Can't faint as easily laying in the tub, I thought. Be safer, I thought.
It was safer, alright. I didn't feel faint or lightheaded at all when I was laying there in the water. Oh no.....that didn't happen until I got out. As I was drying off things started to feel a little....odd. Off kilter. Wonky. So, I sat down on the bed for a bit, then laid down with my feet up in a modified Trendelenberg position. I stayed there for a few minutes, then got up and went about getting dressed, feeling generally much better. I grabbed my sling and headed out of the room to go downstairs and have the kids help me strap myself in to it.
That's where things get a little muddied for me. I know that I started feeling lightheaded and thought that I'd better sit down on the top step of the stairs. That's the last clear thought I have. The next thing I remember clearly is seeing the kids worried faces staring down at me and a HUGE pain in my shoulder.
My left arm (the one that was supposed to be the sling) was above my head and I was halfway down the flight of stairs.
Long story short, I had to go to the ER (via POV, thankyouverymuch. I was embarrassed enough to have fainted without having to go to the ER via ambulance). Nothing was broken, just some bruised ribs and, as the doc put it, 'insult added to the injured shoulder'. And a serious case of feeling like an asshat for fainting. My shoulder is painful, yeah....but it's not as bad as it was right after the surgery. It feels worse than it did on Thursday, but it's getting better with each passing day.
The cause of the syncope? I was vasodilated from the warm bath, slightly dehydrated, hadn't eaten that day, and was in pain. My blood pressure dropped, and I fainted.
I saw the ortho surg today, and luckily I haven't delayed my recovery by too much. I bought myself an extra 10 days in the sling, but I get to take the abductor pillow off - which I did as soon as I got home. I can actually type two handed now, which I LOVE. My next ortho appointment will see the start of physical therapy, which I'm excited about - I'm ready to get this show on the road. I'm also ready to shave my left armpit. I can't really see under there too well, but from what I have seen ...*shudder*. Some serious deforestation is going to be necessary when I can raise my arm high enough to get a razor under there.
In the meantime, I'm going to make the most of having my arm in a more 'normal' position, and I'm going to try some knitting.....
Monday, November 10, 2008
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5 comments:
urgh, sorry to hear that :o(
Glad it seems to be getting better though, can tell from this post that you can type more!
Cripes! OW!
Glad you didn't set your recovery back. Hope the only serious pain is to your pride. :-)
Take care of yourself.
At least you didn't have to pick kitty litter off of your face. I once passed out in the bathroom and bounced my head off the kitty litter box. My husband found me lying face down in kitty litter (outside the box, but still.. )... oh and did I mention my pants were around my ankles? Ya.. well.. anyway.. I'm so glad you weren't seriously hurt, and that the shoulder wasn't screwed up.
Take care!
C: yeah, now that I can type two handed again blogging will resume on a more routine basis.
Tony: No, no serious injury, just a bruised ego. I don't like the ER and I especially don't like having to explain to five or six different people how I was a total dumbass, haha!
MB: ok, I have to ask.....how the hell did that happen? I'm thinking that it might have been a vagal response and that the cat pan was in the bathroom.....right? And yeah, I'm glad I didnt have to pick kitty litter off my face!
The rest of the story?
I'd had part of my toenail removed, something I've had to have done before, but this time the pain was much, much worse.. because the doctor left a wad of cotton inside my toenail socket.. which I discovered a couple of weeks later when the cotton worked its way to the surface.. but I digress...
It was the middle of the night, I woke up for more pain meds. Took them without eating, went to the toilet, and the tremendous THUD of my body hitting the ground woke my husband up from a sound sleep. The kitty litter box is across and to the left from the toilet. So when I pitched forward in a faint, I smacked my head on the box. So there I was... panties around my ankles, ass in the air, kitty litter on my face, covered in a cold sweat... and then I started vomiting. In the morning I had a bruise on my temple and kitty litter road rash down the side of my face. Stupid? Completely.
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