visuals from vail

just an update

before

yes, this is the actual x-ray
also, it's his left leg, not his right like i initially thought! [so now he's broken BOTH fibulas. impressive!]

after

4 screws. 1 long rod. a ~2 hour surgery. lots of pain meds.
and the hospital bill ONLY came to $34,000! [THANK GOODNESS FOR INSURANCE!!]

one recovering ex-skier!

don't worry, the oxygen came off as soon as we got there
we were actually allowed to be discharged yesterday because josh passed his physical therapy "test" of starting to maneuver around on crutches. however, he is definitely not ready for major trekking around just yet.


we have our hotel room set up like a mini-recovery ward, and we'll be headed back to NC tomorrow morning. the journey to the airport --> onto the plane --> onto another plane --> to the parking garage --> to our apartment is going to be a bit challenging as you might imagine, but i am sure we will have plenty of help.

it's very pretty here, but the 8,000-foot altitude has been a bit of a challenge. with mild pregnancy-induced anemia and reduced lung capacity, i'm finding myself breathless at times, and sleeping was very hard [i seem to be much more comfortable when upright -- getting that uterus weight AWAY from the lungs]. however, it's definitely doable and i'm confident that the magic of fetal hemoglobin physiology will keep baby girl nice and oxygenated.

this graph is such a med school favorite!
on the docket for today
✔ movies! we have moneyball and 50/50 for today

✔ pain med management

✔ getting arrangements set for tomorrow

✔ take-out

✔ admiring the view:


i hope everyone is having a good weekend . . . or at least making the best of it, even if it wasn't quite as expected.

i guess we can call it a babymoon

premonition
i hadn't mentioned it, but josh headed out to a conference in colorado this week -- i guess because i don't like to advertise when i will be home alone.

he was going to a vascular surgery conference to give a talk -- very impressive, and he worked really hard on it. he was also going to do a little skiing, as the conference was in vail.


the truth is: i had a very uneasy feeling about it. i made him promise several times that he would NOT try anything daredevilesque on the west coast slopes. after all, the last time he had skiied was with me and i think it was around 2003 in pennsylvania. he certainly outperformed me [that's not hard], but neither of us were experts. as i kissed him goodbye the nagging impulse that something bad was going to happen didn't really fade. i just . . .somehow . . . knew.

when he called me at 4:45 pm [i was in clinic], i picked it up and jokingly greeted him with, "so, did you break your leg?"

there was a pause and suddenly i was horrified to realize that i already knew the answer.

not his tibia. but you get the idea
it was a right tibial fracture and he was going to the OR in a couple of hours, 2 time zones away. he would have nails of some sort placed in there. and he would be spending at least 2 days in the local hospital there. the only consolation to me was the realization that they probably have excellent orthopedics in the ski haven.

plans, schmans
suddenly my fantasies of a relaxing weekend flew out the window. it's times like these that i realize that 'plans' are just that -- one potential idea of what the next block of time might hold. things can change in an instant. even though i know it's "only" a broken leg, i knew i needed to be with him in the hospital, just like he stayed with me through my recent mishap. i called my OB [fine, i called our close friend dr. s -- but he happens to legitimately be one of the OBs in the group i see!] to get his opinion on whether it was safe to fly, and he reassured me that it was fine.


so, by the time you read this, i will be on an unexpected little adventure [my first-ever flight booked less than 12 hours in advance!] at altitude to be with josh. hopefully the surgery will be LONG over with and he will be feeling okay! he will be in a cast and on crutches for at least the next 2 weeks, so that will be interesting [it's his right leg, too, so no driving].

getting him around is going to be interesting -- but i can only imagine that people are likely to be helpful towards the clearly pregnant woman accompanying her injured husband in a wheelchair. the only question is: which of us will be at greater risk for DVT? heh, i kid, but i also worry, because i'm very good at that. but there are so many what ifs in this case that it's probably better i just move on and try to enjoy the ride. after all, things could have been MUUUUUUUUCH much worse. and i did say i wanted a babymoon . . .

what a week

by the numbers

workouts for the week: 1, so far.


nights with page-free sleep: 1, i think. and it was glorious.

to-do items in my planner for the week: 8

percentage completed: 0%

proper meals cooked: 0

plans are not necessarily reality
pages answered: many

estrogen level: high and still climbing

[source]
moodiness quotient: also extremely high. and likely related.

minutes spent online ogling baby-related items: too many

i really tried not to play the waiting game this week, but i will be completely honest: i STRUGGLED to get through it. thankfully i get to sign off of the pager in 54 minutes [i have clinic today, which is much more fun!] and will have a very peaceful weekend to relax and recover. and check off a few of those neglected boxes . . .

happy #(*$&@# friday!