According to the Global Emotions Report, 2017 was the saddest year yet with people across the globe feeling stressed, worried, anxious and in physical pain more than in any previous year. 2017 is not a year that I am going to look back on fondly. I have had stomach ulcers and a dislocated elbow but besides those I have been relatively healthy, no broken bones, no surgery, no major issues. That all changed in March 2017.
I was driving down Hulen during the day on a Saturday and I had almost reached Bellaire Drive. I have driven down Hulen literally thousands of times and never had any issues. It looked like they had repaved the last corner and it was raining. Suddenly my poor little Scion came off the ground, started hydroplaning, hit the curb, popped up, hit a chain link fence, then hit a hill behind it and hit another fence. Luckily no other cars were involved.
I reflexively grabbed my steering wheel hard which was a huge mistake. I was in pain but thought that it was just from the impact. After getting the car taken care of I went home. Throughout that night the pain got worse and worse. I had no health insurance at the time and I was being stubborn about going to the hospital. I finally gave in around 6am and went to JPS. After x-rays they put me in a wheelchair and took me to a part of the hospital I had never been in before, it was like a bunker. They told me I had a broken left leg at the knee and I had shattered my right wrist. I’m not going to go into the gory details but the reason they had me in this part of the hospital is because they were about to rebreak my wrist and put it in a cast. They did not tell me that, they just did it. Screaming, cussing and crying ensued, the pain meds they gave me did NOT dull the pain. It was awful.
A few days later they informed me I had to have surgery and have a plate and screws put into my wrist. It was my first surgery and I was scared and afterwards they told me that I would likely have to have this surgery several more times over my lifetime. I was not thrilled about that. 6 weeks off work and rehab began and then the bills started coming in, about $30,000.00 of them. I was miserable, in a boot, a cast and on painkillers and I was not fun to be around.
After slowly recovering I got back to work. Then in November I was on a ladder in my garage getting some Christmas decorations down when I fell off the ladder and landed left leg first on the concrete. The pain was crazy intense and I shattered my ankle. The day after Thanksgiving I had surgery to put a metal plate and 10 screws in my ankle. This surgery was way more serious and more painful, I could put no weight on my leg for 8 weeks. My mom got me a lovely pink scooter, I could barely move, more pain killers, more crying, more misery.
After another 2 months off work I attempted to go back full-time. I am lucky enough to have two wonderful bosses who knew I was not ready to come back full-time. They cut my hours down to 3 days a week and that was the best thing that could have happened! I was able to heal, do physical therapy and keep my insurance. I am still recovering to this day. I have a cankle and they say it will stay swollen for quite some time. I will probably never be able to wear heels again. I will not be climbing up any ladders from here on out, that’s for sure.
So if anyone else had a terrible 2017, you are not alone, apparently it really sucked for a lot of people! But I made it through and you gotta just keep on going. Shout out to the hubby for dealing with me! I think he deserves a medal!
The night is calling... 