Friday, November 02, 2007

Friday's Fall

I felt pretty good this morning when I got up and since Kathleen was not sleeping on the couch I was able to use the front door to get the paper. I mad myself some oatmeal and flax seed for breakfast and then went into the living room and read the paper.


After recycling the paper, I cleaned the toaster oven as I had noticed that the tray was getting full of crumbs. Then I vacuumed the downstairs, something that has needed doing for several days. Then I went outside and raked the leaves off the front lawn and then blew off the driveway. As I was winding up the electric cord, I slipped and fell off the front steps. I landed on my right knee and when I was able to get up; my knee was bleeding pretty good.

Both my wrist hurt and I had a hard time standing up, but I finished winding the electric cord and put it and the blower away in the garage. Then I made my way into the house so that I could clean myself up and see the extent on my injuries.

My right hand was purple already and I had an abrasion on the back of my hand. My left wrist hurt the most, but there was nothing visible. My right knee had a nasty abrasion and really hurt, my right leg had a couple scrapes on it, but once I cleaned it up the bleeding stopped.

My right knee on the other hand would not stop until I sat down an elevated it. I had made myself a cup of coffee before I sat down and when I finished it my knee had stopped bleeding. It was still oozing a little and was starting to stiffen up.

Wanting to keep in somewhat loose, I decided that I would go outside and dig up my onion and garlic bed: something that was next on my list to do before my fall. So I went back outside and got my spading fork and my weeding pad and old rug to sit on. Kathleen suggested that I take the phone in case I needed to call her, so I took the phone out of my study and also my cane in case I stiffened up and could not stand up.

I must have been quite a site, fortunately the back yard is pretty secluded so about the only one who could have seen me. I did manage to get most of the onions and garlic dug up; it had gotten pretty overgrown with weeds, so it was not just a matter of digging them up but also separating them from the weeds.

Kathleen came out around 1400 and picked the last few raspberries and gave me a couple. I told her that I was only going to work until 1500, as that was as long as I thought that I could work. As it was I was having a hard time getting up because my knee was really starting to stiffen up. I had taken three Tylenol about noon and I was needing to take some more, so I cleaned up my tools and then headed into the house.

I made myself a salad again today, it is something that is easy to do, but I needed something more, so I made a couple sour dough heel pizza toast. After I finished eating I took three more Tylenol and then sat down in my easy chair. For some reason I felt chilled, so I got a blanket and wrapped it around myself.


Well, right now I have an ice bag on my wrist; I am trying to type with one hand an also keep my knee moving as much as possible. Kathleen just told me that dinner is ready so I will finish this after I eat.

Kathleen made a chicken and rice dish with some baby peas in a cream of chicken soup base, it tasted pretty good. We only had one piece of chicken breast, so we split it. I guess it is time to go to Costco again.

One thing I did find out is that it is hard to push myself up from the table, between my knee being so sore and both my wrists being sore makes it really interesting getting up. I have to adjust myself so that I can get most of my weight over my left side and then push up using just my legs and stomach muscles.

Well as much fun as I am having keyboarding one handed I think it is time to call this blog finished, so I am just going to say good night and hope that I am able to get some sleep tonight.

4 comments:

Sue Albert said...

I'm sorry to hear that you fell. I hope you are able to get a good night's sleep. and that you feel much better tomorrow

Alyssa said...

Oh my goodness Dad! My knees hurt just thinking about it. I have fallen one too many times on my knees and so they are very sensitive. It sounds like you are able to get around, sort of, despite your injury. I hope you are able to take it easy and not feel like you have to do anything other than kick up your feet and watch the big Ducks game tomorrow.

Bob Roush said...

Sue, I did not get a really good nights sleep, but I do not feel too badly today. I had to sleep in my easy chair because I did not want to try to navigate the stairs with my bad knee in the middle of the night.

Alyssa, I think that you have inherited my propensity for doing damage to your knees.

My knee is not quite a stiff as it was last night, but only if I keep it exercised, if I sit too long I have a really hard time getting back up.

My left wrist is still really sore, and my right wrist and palm is a pretty shade of purple, but it only hurts when I touch it.

This morning I raked leaves again, and that hurt a little, but I felt that it was important to use my wrists and I needed to try to keep the leaves off the ground as best as I could.

The leaves are not coming down a rapidly as they were a week or so ago...there just are not that many leaves left in the one walnut tree, the other walnut tree has already lost all its leaves.

After I finished raking, I worked in the onion and garlic patch, I think that I have the majority of them harvested, but I am trying to prepare the old garden bed for growing things again other than weeds.

Taking it easy is not really in my vocabulary, I have worked so long that I do not know how to do much else.

Alyssa said...

Yeah, I thought that was the case!!!