~~~~Day 2~~~~

100 Reasons Why I’m Not A Cowgirl

July 29, 2013

Hey everyone! Well guess what? When I woke up this morning it wasn’t a dream.
Darn.
Time to move on and make the best of it then!
Thank you so much for your prayers, they have DEFINITELY been felt.
As a lot of you know, I was in an accident while horseback riding with my family -Thank goodness it was me and not the kids!
I don’t have any memory of it whatsoever but my left knee is fractured, along with my right ankle, and I have a concussion and short term memory loss.
Did I mention I have a concussion and short term memory loss? ~winks~

The accident happened while we were on vacation in Arkansas, so my first hope was to get home. Yesterday morning I was released from ICU with instructions to seek further care from an orthopedic doc back in Bama. Right now I don’t need surgery but some of the swelling needs to go down before we will have a better picture. Blessedly, I was able to use a hospital wheelchair and lots of help getting into the car! (Getting around is a huge obstacle for me right now).

It was a nine hour ride home and I was not capable of getting out of the car the entire time so that was an adventure in and of itself. However, thanks to multiple trusty fractures in both legs, I was able to make the best of it by creating a detailed road map of bumps, cracks, and dips in the road between Arkansas and home.
I expect the department of transportation to find this information very useful 😉

At the end of our harrowing ride, we used a rolling office chair to get from the car to the bottom of the stairs. Y’all would have been proud of how I managed to half crawl while my dad and husband partially dragged me up each porch step! I kept having to stop to arrange my legs in order to make it bearable. (My legs do not like certain positions or sudden movements at all – so don’t look for any jigs out of me in the near future.)

Suffice it to say that I was the picture of grace 🙂

Getting back down the steps is going to be the trick. I’m holding off contacting the ortho doc until tomorrow in hopes of building my strength up some today because I know he will want me to come in – and that is a lot easier said than done right now :). My poor old arms aren’t used to dragging all the rest of me around and office chairs aren’t as stable as you’d like them to be with a couple of busted up legs.

I’m hoping to get back to work this week at some point and somehow. I was wearing my camera when the accident happened and Ricky hasn’t shown it to me yet.
He just keeps saying “It’s pretty bad”.
His tone tells me I may have to go camera shopping.

Right now I can’t actually put weight on either leg, get up, walk, or move beyond a few snaked inches, but I’m already getting around that by planning slow cooker meals I can cook for supper on my bedside table! Lol “Kids, come on to bed, it’s time to eat!”

Maybe I’ll spawn a movement and become known as a pioneer of bedside family dining 🙂

I still don’t remember anything but the doctors and Ricky said I asked them if the kids were okay at least 200 times. I only remember asking once if the kids were ok and Ricky said “Do you know how many times you’ve asked me that?” And I thought, ‘Well obviously not enough so why don’t you just answer me?’
Lol, See? I’m always difficult 🙂

It’s gonna be a journey and right now I feel like I could use a little more equipment to help me along, but I know that I truly have all I need.

God is good and He will create more good out of this.

Thank you for your prayers. They are being heard.

On yet another positive note: my dogs were being boarded and they are coming home later today. I can’t wait to see them again!!

One request: When you imagine this accident, please picture me in an English riding habit. Despite the fact that I’ve never owned one or wore one, that mental image of me just seems so much more fun! ~grins~

Gratefully,
Christy

~~~~Day 3~~~~

July 30, 2013

100 Reasons Why I’m Not A Cowgirl: Fun With Medical Forms

I went to the orthopedic doctor today. Getting out of my house was a bit harrowing. Keep in mind I’m not a roller coaster girl and I was in a borrowed wheel chair about to go down a never-before-tried ramp. But we made it. By the blood, sweat, and tears of my husband, my mother, and myself. The thing is the wheel chair didn’t have drop down arms and since I can’t put weight on my feet, I’m unable to stand up out of it to get into the car. SOoooo we pulled out the trusty old office chair again and I dragged/pushed/pulled/catapulted myself over into it, THEN put that as close as possible to the car and dragged/pushed/pulled/catapulted myself over into it.

I swear, after a five minutes of this mess you need a nap 🙂

We made our way to the doctor’s office and once there I sent Ricky off with my niece and Katy Rose to Chick Fil A. They were hungry and there was no sense in them having to hang around a boring doctor’s office trying to pretend they know how to use inside voices 🙂

So that left me and Mama and you know when it’s just the two of us we are going to have a little fun. In this case, our options for amusement were limited to medical paperwork but I made the best of what I had to work with.

Below are actual questions and my answers from the form:

Was this an accident? Perhaps. Although I’m not entirely sure this wasn’t a personal vendetta, I choose to think the best of the horse.

Is your pain sharp, dull, constant, or occasional? Yes.

What activities make the problem worse? Movement.

What activities make the problem better? Unconsciousness.

What are your symptoms? Broken bones.

How long have you experienced this problem? Since I was thrown from the horse.

It’s the little giggles that keep me going 🙂

We had a series of additional x rays and the doctor (who was very nice) said my left knee will need surgery. He also ordered an additional set of x-rays (some fancier ones) on my right ankle Thursday so, on a positive note, I will get out of the house a little bit (this is going to be a rare occurrence over the next couple of months) and probably get something from a drive through for lunch at some point 🙂 We have some excellent barbecue places around here.

Either way, it is a minimum of 8 weeks before I can put weight on either foot and an additional 8 weeks (minimum) for my knee once I have the surgery. No idea when that will happen yet but I’m having a hard time fretting over it in light of my VICTORY TODAY!!!

CHECK IT OUT!

TADA!!!

I HAVE A WHEEL CHAIR WITH DROP DOWN ARMS!!!

Woooohooo! This is amazing because it means I can drop the arm down and scoot over onto the couch or more easily climb up onto the bed, into a car, etc. This makes a HUGE Difference in my life and really gives me a tremendous break. My other option was to try to boost myself up by my hands and kind of swing/hop over, which isn’t always possible and honestly, as bruised as my ribs and body are, sometimes I just can’t manage. In a pinch I’ve had to push up on a walker and put weight on my fractured ankle – which isn’t pleasant.

My only disappointment is that we are only renting it, because I had already envisioned decorating it all pretty like and making a nice “custom” set of wheels.” 🙂

I also bought myself something called a transfer board, which is a board you can slide from your wheelchair to another chair on – and OH MY GOODNESS CAN SOMEONE GET THE INVENTOR OF THIS A NOBEL PEACE PRIZE PLEASE?

I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am with the ease of my new life over the course of just one day!

Things are looking up!

Thank you for your prayers and thank you so much for the sweet people who have started encouraging folks to visit SouthernPlate.com and share my recipes on Facebook, Pinterest, etc. I’m going to try to get back to work as soon as possible and your support takes that worry off me for the time being and means more than words are able to express right now.

P.S. My words aren’t always coming out correctly right now. Please bear with me as I get them unjumbled inside my head 🙂

Line of the day : “You know what, Mama? I bet horses have seat belts in Heaven.” ~Katy Rose

~~~~Day 4~~~~

July 31, 2013

Quote for the day: “Seriously Ma, I am really glad your hands are okay because Daddy does NOT make good ponytails…” ~Katy Rose

This is Moe. Moe is an impatient horse but I understand. I talked sweet to him, petted him, told him what a good boy he was, and even took a kick in my shin for him from the horse in front of us when impatient Moe kept getting all up in his bid-ness. But when Moe saw the open field, he went _________. The perfect term for it doesn’t suit this site so just fill in the blank there.

So this is Moe – And Moe is not on my Christmas card list this year.

~~~~~ Day Something~~~~

I just exempted myself from having to do math.

It’s August 1st, feel free to count if the notion strikes ya

Reasons Why I’m Not A Cowgirl : Got My Racing Stripes!

I got the best laugh last night from this e-card that Bobbi Denney posted on my Facebook page! heheehe

I have some more fancy schmancy xrays today so prayers are appreciated. I know the xrays are going to go fine and all that but I can’t help but dread having to rely on our local hospital system as I’ve never actually had a good experience there 😉 But hey, it’s gonna be an adventure either way so if it ends up being a little more on the Indiana Jones side I’ll just have more to write about later.

A friend, Debbie Tidwell, is organizing meals for my family a couple of nights a week. We are just doing two nights right now because I feel it is asking a lot as it is but just those two nights will be a HUGE help. There is so much going on and so much of my energy goes into just being able to get from Point A to Point B that supper gets completely overlooked. Poor Ricky is doing all he can and with me being literally stuck in a chair or on a bed, cooking is impossible. I didn’t think much of it until last night when Ricky heated up some Shepherd’s Pie a friend had sent and it was like Manna from HEAVEN! What a blessing! It just seemed to magically appear at the end of our long day and everyone was so grateful for it. I don’t know that I’ve ever tasted a finer supper. Having that happen twice a week would be an immeasurable blessing. The other times we can hot dog, beefaroni, grill cheese, pizza, and spaghetti it 🙂

In other news, my wardrobe is bringing me constant laughter. I have all these things on my legs, casts, boots, etc, so Ricky and Mama got me these men’s basketball type shorts to wear. We got them big so they are easy to get over the casts and such. It’s not like it matters if they are too big since I can’t actually stand up anyway. Well, Mama got me two pairs and they are just plain, but Ricky got me one pair that has these bright yellow racing stripes going down the sides. Every time I see those stripes I can’t help but picture me moving along slow as a turtle in my wheelchair with my racing stripes!

Heehee!

Here is my post from facebook this morning:

I am a morning person.
My husband is not.
So now we have the added challenge of me not being able to get out of bed until he does because he has to help me.
So I wake up around 4:30 and wait….
And think about coffee…
And what the sunrise might look like…
And mentally letting the dogs out…
And more coffee…
~sigh~
Just so ya know, staring at someone who doesn’t want to wake up does NOT wake them up
GOOD MORNING!

I’ll report back later on news from my xrays. Hoping it will be something good. If any of y’all are hanging in there and still reading this, holler at me or better yet, share a horse joke ~winks~

~~~~Day Something~~~~~

August 2, 2013

Folks in the medical field, we need to talk about ceilings. Surely to goodness I’m not the only one who has brought this to your attention but your ceilings are terribly boring. I’m talking to dentists, chiropractors, hospitals, doctors, nurses, anyone who works in a medical office that deals with humans. You decorate your walls with matted prints of ducks and still life flowers (usually in the most depressing colors from the seventies, but I’m not judging). You add in all of this furniture that goes so nicely and then you get dressed up in coordinating scrubs : Which was odd. Yesterday I went to a hospital that had their staff dress in scrubs which coordinated with the wood trim. I thought that was a big excessive and more than a little demeaning. They’re people, not trim work.

But I digress – allow me to get back to my rant… STILL after all of this work, your ceilings are white and plain. If we’re lucky they have those ugly tiles with all the assorted dots so we can at least look for constellations or try to find a smiley face. Why not a poster? The first poster I ever bought was a Michael Jackson one, the one with the purple background and white glove. I’m not one to crank up the Thriller nowadays but even that poster would be intensely amusing as opposed to…blankness. Better still, what about historical documents? I could’ve gotten into some Gettysburg address yesterday when I was laying on that alienesque examination table while the big machine loudly whirred around my foot for half an hour.

Even better still, what about puzzles, magic eye thingies, current news and events, pages from a magazine haphazardly taped up there? Anything would be an improvement.

Grumpy cat. I think we need grumpy cat.

Getting my Wheelchair Engineering Certification…

On to bigger and better things… I had all sorts of x rays and things done yesterday and hope to hear something from them today. I also found out a bit of useful information that you might want to file away should you or anyone you know ever be unable to put weight on both of their legs at the same time: So far, I have used six different wheel chairs at assorted medical facilities. Due to my injuries, I cannot put weight on my legs so I can’t stand to get from one wheel chair or one chair to the next. I have to be able to slide over or lift myself with my arms in order to go from one to the next (after this is over, I plan on holding a series of arm wrestling contests in order to recoup medical expenses). One of the things that makes this possible are wheelchairs with arms that raise up or lower.

So here is my research, six different wheel chairs at assorted medical facilities with different staff and nurses – each time the staff told me that the arms do not move and I’d have to stand to get from one chair to the next, which is not possible for me right now.

Each time, the arms moved on those wheel chairs but the staff didn’t know it.

Just keep in mind that the people you encounter in doctor’s offices and such have never dealt with you before and they don’t know your injuries. For all they know you could be wearing braces and casts as a precaution. So they rely on you to not do that you are not supposed to do and to tell them up front if they ask you to do something that you are not physically capable of doing. And YOU have got to figure out how to make whatever equipment available work for you. In the end, it’s a plus if you just have someone to push it.

I have had the nicest nurses, doctors, and techs to work with since this happened. I count that as a blessing and an answer to everyone’s prayers.

OOH OOH YESTERDAY I WENT TO TARGET! It was an adventure, I didn’t even think I could do it. But Mama and I were at the hospital getting all those fancy xrays done and I needed some more things for the kids before they started school. Mama said “Do you want to run in Target on the way home?” I looked at her and said “Can I do that?”

“Sure you can, they have wheel chairs there.” So we parked and Mama went in and came out with one of those nice motorized ones. That thing never looked so good…but you have to stand up from the car to get into it. I actually tried. It ain’t happening. So she went back and got a regular one (it’s great they have these because my wheel chair won’t fit in Mama’s car and I can’t get into my car since it is too high).

To get into the other chair I had to boost myself, hold myself elevated, and walk with my hands over a span of about eight inches – I know y’all can’t properly appreciate the strength it takes to do this having never been there, or having never been thrown from a horse and having to do this day in and day out for every single little movement for days on end and doing it yet again with arms so sore and shoulders so achey you are afraid they might just up and go on strike, so y’all need to trust me when I say that you should really be impressed by this.

As a matter of fact, take a moment if you can and just sit back and read the following sentence out loud:

“Wow, I can’t believe she did that! She is amazing! Holy cow! That is awesome!!!”

Yeah. It’s just that impressive.

Anyway, So I got into Target!!! It felt great to be able to shop for my kids myself. So I had to take a picture 🙂

Getting in the house was another problem all together. With just me and mama to get me up the ramp, we had a challenge. The ramp is a little steep at first and keep in mind Mama had both her legs broken and ankles crushed just eight years ago (an odd camaraderie we have going on here). She started pushing and I was using my old sore arms to roll those wheels as best I could. It was touch and go but we finally got to the porch. There is a six inch step from the porch to the house, which me and Mama creatively solved by putting a kitchen chair just inside the door and me transferring to that, then she held the office chair while I transferred to that and got out of her way, then she brought in the wheel chair and I moved back to that.

It takes us a little longer but by golly we get it done!

And now, I’ve got to get to work because there t’ain’t no short term disability at Southern Plate and daylights a wastin’!

~~~~Day Something~~~~~~

August 3rd, 2013

Yesterday we were supposed to hear the results of my MRI and CT scan. When the afternoon rolled around, we finally called and received a call back from the nurse who informed us that I was scheduled for surgery and the date. Nothing else. I have no idea what surgery entails, if there are other options, etc.

~sighs~ I get doctors like this a lot in my life.

We have the most wonderful family doctor though, a really wise man who is kind and talks with you instead of down to you (or not talking to you at all) and he’s spoiled me. So I’m calling tomorrow and seeing if I can get an appointment with someone who will talk with me. I realize that is asking a lot but hey, I’m a diva like that. 😉

In other news, The oddest thing to discover is branding and marketing for orthopedic centers. Would have never thought there was a competition for broken bones. I colored in the branding on my brace last night. #mylegisnotabillboard

This is my Zoey keeping me company in my hospital bed at home. I think I’m boring her.

Last night Katy Rose wanted chicken and dumplings and my friend Jyl was here so we all got together and made them. My job was dipping the dough in flour and Karo tore it into pieces. Jyl did the stovetop work. This is Katy wiping flour off of Zoey. It was quite a cooking adventure!

Some friends sent me this card. LOVE IT! lol

Also, if I’m ever elected ruler of the universe, anyone who breaks both legs at the same time will be given a trip to Disney World as soon as they are able to walk again. 🙂

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

August 4th, 2013

Things I’m grateful for today:

That my kids still have a Mama.

That my arms work.

That I can move my right knee, that is a HUGE help in getting around.

The strength that slowly increases day by day when I fear exhaustion will take it away from me.

That God is doing something awesome in all of this every single moment.

All of that money I’m going to win in arm wrestling competitions after this is over to help recoup medical expenses.

The blessing of meals that give us some normalcy – and how funny we all must look descending on them like we haven’t eaten in days.

My dogs.

All of the pictures Katy keeps drawing of me on a horse – wearing a seatbelt.

My hospital bed that allows me to get in and out of the wheel chair on my own.

Friends who made me a little cooking station that I can reach in the kitchen. I may not have the strength or energy to get to it but having it there makes a big difference!

Hot Water. Soap. Shampoo. Sunshine. Green Grass out my window.

pillows. ramps. wheel chairs. coffee. coffee makers I can reach. makeup that makes me feel more human. that pedicure I got a week before this happened.

My hospital bed table which is the coolest thing EVER.

All of the people who are praying for me. I’m overwhelmed that y’all would think of me and to have you personally lift me up in your time with God is the greatest honor.

Have no doubt, when you go to God, He listens.

Daddys are like that 🙂

~~~~August 5th~~~~~

You’d be amazed at how far you can drag yourself.

When you have to.

When you have two legs that can offer no help.

When you need to get somewhere.

To a wheelchair, into a bed, into a chair, across the floor.

When your arms and shoulders scream in pain as if they are broke, too, from the overuse and exertion.

But by the strength and grace of God they keep going.

They say a man must learn to crawl before he can walk.

But in the end, sometimes it rests on whether or not you are willing to drag yourself.

I’ve walked on my own two feet and now I’ll drag myself with my own two arms.

By God’s grace, I’m stubborn that way.

🙂

~~~~~August 5th~~~~ (again)

PRAISING GOD FOR ANSWERED PRAYERS TODAY!

I made an appointment for a second opinion with an orthopedic surgeon in a nearby town that I have always had excellent medical experiences in. (I know that sounds like an odd sentence, but you gotta trust me. One town = bad medical experiences. Nearby town = excellent medical experiences).

About the doctor today: I LOVE THIS MAN! First of all, when we arrived, people actually helped us in. That is a first. The nurses were so gentle with my legs during the xrays, and even helped me get on the xray table.

THEN, when the doctor came in, he talked with me. He explained my injuries, he answered all of my questions, he looked for ways to make my life easier right now (and succeeded).

AND! AND! AND! AND! He said he does not recommend surgery on either leg. So here I am going to get technical and keep in mind that I have no idea what I’m talking about here but basically, the injury on my left leg is such that if it is to a certain degree, surgery is recommended. Mine is just a 1/2 cm past that degree and he said that by the time he went in and did surgery and then it settled back down, it would pretty much be where it is now, but with additional complications from the surgery.

He ALSO said that he may let me start putting a little weight on one leg in FOUR WEEKS!!!!

WOOOHOOOO! TOSS THE CONFETTI!!!

HE ALSO said that I should be able to walk (with some help and not without pain) in time for my book tour. My publisher is being wonderful about this and we are going to talk tomorrow and map out a new plan for a book tour that will be a little easier than what we had originally plotted out.

But let me get back to my point.

NO SURGERY!!!!! and that means that this past week actually counts towards my recovery time rather than me having to start back from square one after surgery.

A THOUSAND THANK YOUS to God for moving in this and to all of you who have prayed for me. Prayer is a powerful thing and you pray powerful prayers! Also thank you to Traci Collins, the nurse who suggested this doctor.

AND Cindy Riggs sent supper tonight! Oh my goodness was it ever wonderful. This has been an overwhelmingly blessed day and I’m topping it off with the most heavenly heat pack on my shoulders that is making those clenched up muscles feel like they are in a spa.

AND I borrowed an electric wheelchair for using inside the house. AND I got a new apron as a gift! 😉

AND I also got a brace for my left leg that ACTUALLY FITS and is pretty darn comfortable! AND he said I can bend it 60% instead of having to keep it straight all the time. AND the new brace has this locking thing that allows me to bend it just that much but not over bend it, so I know I’m not messing anything up.

You know what?

I can’t put weight on either leg.

It takes all the strength I have to drag myself to the wheel chair .

I am wore out exhausted and I think every pore of my body hurts right now.

And I am absolutely overwhelmed with how wonderful my life is!

Praising God tonight.

~~~~~~August 6th~~~~~~

I’m not saying I’m the world’s worst wheelchair driver, but we’re definitely going to have to repaint some interior walls when this shenagle is over 🙂

~~~~~~~My legs know how to party~~~~~~~~~~~

Yesterday at the Doctor’s office my ortho doc took one look at my heavily bruised leg (It was kicked by another horse before my horse threw me and dragged me around a bit) and said

“Oh look! Mardi Gras Leg!”

~giggles~

(My leg is bruised green and purple, if you didn’t get that.)

~~Things I’d like to say to Blue Cross Blue Shield~~

You are not my doctor. I just saved you thousand and thousands of dollars by getting a second opinion, so get off my tractor and cover my stupid blood thinners and the new brace that actually fits. It will save you tons of money in the long haul. Don’t make me use my Mama voice.

I’m Rocking my Bionic Leg today 😉

So today, I did something crazy.

You likely have no idea what a production and how much work it is for me to get out of the house. I mean WORK. It takes a lot of sweat, muscle, and sometimes even tears for that to take place. Well I told Mama, “I wish I could get my nails done but I guess I’ll just have to wait until I can walk again to do that.” and she said “If you want to get them done we’ll just go this afternoon.”

Just like it was nothing.

Like it wouldn’t involve she and I hoping I can get myself from the kitchen chair we sit in the doorway to the wheelchair on the front porch using only my arms and hands, hoping we can get up and down that ramp and hoping I can catapult myself from the wheelchair into the car and hoping we can manage to disassemble the wheelchair enough to make it fit in her trunk and hoping I don’t get thirsty because you can’t drink anything 30 minutes before you go or the entire time you are gone because, you know those handicap bathrooms? Well the big secret that very few people know is that very few of them are truly handicapped accessible.

Anyway, you are just going to have to trust me when I say that it is a lot of work for me to leave home and a little bit tense the entire time I’m gone, then a lot more work for me to get back into the house.

But Mama, she’s been where I am before.

She broke both her legs in a car accident eight years ago. She was taken to the hospital and scheduled for emergency trauma surgery when the doctor who was scheduled to do her surgery clocked out and went on vacation instead. So Mama laid up there with her legs broke in five places and both ankles crushed for 24 hours until I finally raised a little stink to get folks looking into her case and they realized she had been forgotten. (That was the same hospital and same orthopedic office I up and decided to quit yesterday when I got my second opinion).

She couldn’t bear any weight on her legs for two months and during that time, I’d take her to doctor’s appointments and she and I would make emergency sanity saving runs to Wal Mart and the Grocery Store just to show her she still could. We’d figure out ways to get her in wheel chairs that weren’t really designed for people who couldn’t use at least one leg and we’d find ways to wash her hair when she was laying down and all sorts of other solutions.

We’ve been here before. Isn’t that crazy?

I mean, what are the chances of you knowing one person who has broken both legs? Much less a mother and a daughter who have both broken both legs in their lifetimes? We are a true wonder duo, the two of us.

So leave it to Mama to know that something as small and trivial as getting your nails done can make all the difference in the world between feeling like you are jailed in bed for 8 weeks or paroled for a day out!

So me? I went and got my nails done today.

It was a lot of work and to most people I imagine it wouldn’t have been worth it, but to me, it meant I was still living my life. Just as I have every day since this has happened. Not a day has gone by that I haven’t woke up, done my hair, put on my makeup, drank my coffee, and lived my day.

There will be no taking to my bed in sorrow. There will be no pouting. There will be no counting my curses instead of my blessings.

Or any of that “woe is me” mess.

I’ve got too much to be grateful for.

And the good sense to know it.

And a shiny new manicure sure doesn’t hurt matters 🙂

A drawing by Katy Rose of me riding an Alicorn in Heaven- with a seatbelt 😉

I’ll be doing some live video chats on my Facebook page this Friday so be sure you stay tuned. I’ll be answering questions about the Southern Plate Magazine (which won’t be on news stands much longer) and talking with you about the recipes you’ve tried out of it as well as most anything else you want to talk about. 

P.S. Psalm 119. That’s the stuff. Not just the first few lines or the last paragraph. Not just a few choice words spoon fed, but the whole shabang. That’s the stuff.

~~~~August 8th~~~~~

We had a long but wonderful day yesterday. The kids started back to school and my hubby (who I may rename “The Saint”) went in late to work so I could go with him to take them.

~~~~~~~WHAT HAPPENED?~~~~~~~

I am going to attempt to tell you what happened when the horse threw me because so many people have asked. Keep in mind, though, that I have absolutely no memory of it, so I am telling you based on what others have told me.

I do remember that we were riding trail horses in Arkansas through a wooded path. My horse was a bit stubborn and didn’t like the pace of the other horses, so he kept trying to get past them. I’d rein him in and that would work for a few minutes, then he’d be all up on the horse in front again, trying to push him further or get past him. At one point, the horse in front of us kicked back at my horse and connected his hoof with my right shin, which is still a lovely bruise today 🙂

As we started coming out of the path towards a field, someone said “We’re almost there, after this hill we will be in a field and then we’ll be back.” I remember leaning back as we started down the hill and thinking “Oh good, we’re almost done.” That is my last memory until late Saturday night in the hospital.

They said my horse saw the field and took off and I couldn’t stop him. As I lost rhythm with the horse, I began to get thrown but hung on, I made it to the side of the horse and was still hanging on with my right foot hung in the stirrup when he started to throw me. Once I began to fall they said I hit the ground and rolled for quite a bit before finally stopping facedown. My son said “Ma, you were just laying there with your face in the ground moaning and they wouldn’t let us move you.” I told him “Baby, next time Mama is laying facedown on the ground moaning just roll me over and tell me to hush.”

Apparently, after a while, I rolled over on my own.

At this point, Ricky said I started talking. They asked me what year it was and I said 2012. They asked me who the president was and I told them George Bush. I kept asking over and over about the kids, I wanted to know if they were okay and if they were off horses. They kept answering me that they were fine and they were off horses and with a family who was looking after them while we waited for the ambulance. I don’t remember a thing of this but they said I kept asking over and over, every minute or so, I’d start the same conversation as if I hadn’t had it before. When the ambulance was came, I told my husband to stay with the kids. He wanted to go with me and I said “If you don’t stay with the kids I will burn your supper!”

I’m pretty impressed with myself over that because I’m pretty sure I have much nastier things in the recesses of my mind that I could have called forth than threatening to burn his supper!

They put a collar on me, cut up my absolute favorite jeans (oh how I wish I could replace those!) and put me in the ambulance. As they were putting me in, Ricky said I looked at him and said “This will make a great blog post.”

Lol. I don’t remember a thing.

This was Saturday morning. According to my husband, I spent the day asking if they kids were okay and if they were off horses and who was taking care of them. He said I asked that hundreds of times.

I don’t remember anything until it was dark outside and I opened my eyes to find myself in a hospital room. The sign on the wall said “Washington Regional” and I though “How did I Get in Washington DC?” but the hospital was actually in Arkansas (Dear Arkansas, you should name your hospitals after your own state because that name freaks out people  when they are coming out of concussions).

I asked where I was and what happened, then followed it with asking about the kids again. When Ricky answered me, I looked around a minute and asked about the kids yet again. Then I remember thinking “Oh, I think I’ve already asked that.”

Then, I asked when I could go home. I was hurting pretty badly and knew I had a nine hour drive ahead of me and figured it was best to get it over with as soon as possible. The nurse explained that I had been asking the same things over and over and that I needed to stop doing that before I would be able to go home, so that woke up my inner drill sergeant and got me snapping to attention and forcing myself to become more aware.

I remember the name of every single nurse and every single detail of my stay from then on. They kept asking me if I remembered the accident and I kept telling them I didn’t. Folks would try to prompt me to get to remember and finally I just said “Do y’all need me to remember for some reason because I’d really rather not.”

At that point, they quit trying 🙂 The next day, I was able to leave around lunchtime. They wouldn’t let me have a wheelchair but they let me have a walker, which is ridiculous considering I was told not to put any weight on either leg. Two nurses wheeled me out and helped me get into our car and we began a nine hour drive home to Alabama, where I was physically unable to get out of the car the entire time, so I didn’t drink or eat anything for the full nine hours. We arrived late that night and that is where the very first entry on this post begins.

This feels really strange to write because I don’t remember it, so I feel almost like I’m making it up. I hope it makes sense to you because it really doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me right now 🙂

 ~~15th Wedding Anniversary~~

To read the next post in this series, please click here.