I think my orthopaedist will now realise I am a klutz, if he hadn't before.

I had an incident Friday after PT where I went to get into the car and instead of getting in like they tell you by sitting down and then swinging your legs in, I did it like i normally do, by putting a leg in and then easing myself in. However, this did not work. My steering wheel was set too low, so when I got in, my right thigh somehow got caught between it and my body and for a moment or two I struggled to free it, and it hurt. I went on for the rest of the afternoon, but since then it's been swelling more, and whereas my pain had fallen to a 0-1, it's been a 2-3, mostly due to the swelling, and a little sharper around the actual kneecap.

So, I did what any patient with anxiety would do. I went on MyChart and sent a message explaining this, asking if I needed to come in before my appointment that is on October 14th and have my x-rays early just to make sure everything is in place. It's probably fine, but I know there's a lot of cement used and there hasn't been enough time for the bone to heal over it much. So someone will read this Monday and go, 'really?' and pass it on to a PA, I'm sure. But I figure it would be better to speak up rather than to say nothing. If I have done something, I don't know what to do. I'm out of FMLA for the year. Hopefully, that is not the case. Sigh. Only me. Can't even get into a car gracefully and without injury.

Oh...ow...

Earlier this evening I hurt my neck, and spasms have gone down all the way to my lower back. At first I could barely move it at all. Now I'm mostly okay when going to the left, but moving it to the right sends pain through the muscles of the neck and down into my back. I was having pain and a little numbness in my foot and hand on the left side earlier; now I'm not sure. I did come home and immediately took a very low dose of tizanidine, a muscle relaxer, and half a Percocet that I had left over from my knee surgery last year. I almost never take anything stronger than ibuprofen or acetaminophen, but the pain was the type that took your breath away. I am having trouble bending down at all, because the spasms went down to my lower back and it's messed up as well. The midback muscles are tight and the pain reaches around to right under the shoulders into the sides and even into my pectoral muscles on the chest. So I'm pretty stiff and while not in the pain I was, I still hurt. I have cervical degenerative disc disease anyway, which translates to bulging discs in my neck, and my neck curvature is opposite of what it's supposed to be, on a straight and J-shaped spine rather than the normal S-curve. So it's easy to make it worse. If I still feel bad tomorrow, I'll try to get in to my doctor's office for an evaluation.

I laid down about 7 pm and woke up just before midnight, feeling pretty decent until I moved. Apparently in that time I moved over to my left side and got my pillow back (I had been keeping my neck straight on the mattress). When I moved to my right side, it was a different story. I went ahead and got up. I'm eating a breakfast sandwich and thought I'd post on my week so far. I know I haven't really done much writing the last few days. Sorry about that. Sunday was the game, of course, and I don't normally write then because, well, I'm usually pretty tired afterwards, especially when we play late, which we did, till about 9:30, and I got home around 10:30 pm, so I'd been over there about 13 and a half hours, and we played about seven.

I think I mentioned that I was feeling overwhelmed at work. If not, let me do so now. I'm working three positions in a standard 40-hour work week, and I'm non-exempt, meaning I clock in and out and should not have overtime. On Monday morning I was in scheduling from 9 am-noon, had lunch, and then my temporary boss asked me to come back from 2-3 pm since a couple of people were leaving at 2. I did so, but wound up there till 3:45 pm. Then I desperately started tackling the backlog of charge sheets I had to enter. I usually work on the same day or maybe the day after at the most. Monday I was working on a giant stack from last Wednesday, where we'd had a very crazy busy clinic. I couldn't work down a list like usual because it had been more than the same day or the day before, so I had to look each encounter up by financial number, which slowed me down, and also, some numbers had been punched through and I had to look them up by medical record number instead, which further slowed me down.

My regular boss came by to ask me about the referral queue, which normally has about 7 or so encounters on it in a 10-day period at the beginning of the week, and had 65 or so this time. I simply have not been able to work it down, and it has crept up each week that I've worked in scheduling, then jumped up this past week, with all the charge sheets I got. He found me sitting there attempting to get through my giant stack of charges, and we wound up having a long talk about how it's affecting my work. I was very candid. I also admitted that I'm not particularly assertive, and probably shouldn't have agreed to help extra when I was so far behind, but I hadn't expected to be there for almost an additional hour. I also told him that I've been having to use almost every moment I'm not in scheduling to try to keep up with the revenue cycle job. I'm even further behind on the library; I've done a few interlibrary loans and troubleshot the copiers or helped others with the computers, but otherwise, no, I haven't been doing much to keep the library going. I have a large stack of books that are stacked up about four feet tall behind my desk. I need to put out new journals, and have two large stacks of them. There are some donated books I was going to put out but haven't. The clinical early literacy programme cart hasn't been filled--that sort of thing. And I told him all this.

On Tuesday, I went in early and was finally able to, between the hour and a half I had in the quiet of the morning and then being able to work between phone calls in scheduling, I was able to get through Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday's charges, then picked up Monday's and did them. I also worked on the monthly audit, various reports, and caught up on the OR charge reconciliation. My temporary boss came by and we talked for awhile. Instead of working three days and 12-15 hours a week over in scheduling, we decided I wouldn't come in on Wednesday, and then each Friday for the next three weeks we'd decide on one day for me to come by and help depending on my schedule and workload and their clinic numbers and staffing. In about three weeks, they'll have more information about when or if the person I'm sitting in for will return, so there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I felt a lot better after I talked to her.

Today I went in and really hit the referral queue, and got some of it down. I'll do more tomorrow. I did the normal OR reconciliation (I do it every day, normally). I did the rest of the sheets from yesterday and the ones they had for today by about 2 pm. Then at 3:30 I needed to leave for a doctor's appointment. I went to it, got some refill prescriptions for my psych meds, and then went to the pharmacy and picked up a friend's medication. I went over there briefly, at which point the neck injury happened, and I came on home. Which bring us back around to the present. Tomorrow I hope to really bring the referral queue down, especially by Friday, as a report is run Monday. If I can do that, I'll be in better shape. The plan is to totally catch up and then be in good shape for when I go to Chicago later in the month, as I'll miss two days.

Did I mention my itinerary for the Chicago trip? I think I may have. Anyway, I fly out of Lexington at 6 am on a Thursday to Atlanta, with an hour and a half to navigate through that nightmare of an airport, and then into Chicago O'Hare, travel by train to the Medical District, check into the hotel, and go to the meeting. The next day I leave the hotel, go by train to Midway, and then fly to Detroit, where I have an hour and a half layover, before getting into Lexington about 3 pm. So I'll be doing a lot of travelling, and I'll travel four states, five airports, that sort of thing, all for a four-hour meeting. :) Ah, well. I saw the forecast for Chicago that went right up to my trip, and it looks like it'll be in the upper 40s, low 50s while I'm there, although I don't know the rain chance yet--the day before is 20%. I did e-mail them today about the hotel--I hadn't heard anything yet, but they've reserved the block of rooms but are waiting for the confirmations from the hotel, so all is well. Tomorrow I need to e-mail the Kentucky Medical Library Association to get their input before the trip (they have a meeting on the 10th, and while I can't make it to Louisville, will attempt to join the meeting remotely), and also I need to ask them if they want me to continue being the state representative to this committee now that the University of Chicago at Illinois is in its last year of a five-year contract, or if they'd like to appoint someone else in the upcoming cycle. I've really enjoyed being able to participate and the travel has been wonderful, as I never have had a travel budget at work, have never gone to a major conference, that sort of thing. I did miss one year, the 2012 meeting, when I got hit by the car and broke my ankle, but I've been to Chicago now three times, and I'm about to go again. Last time I was able to stay an extra day at my own expense and experience a little more of the town, including going to the Field Museum. I can't do that this time, but still, I'm looking forward to it (although maybe not that many airports!) And this time I can mark Michigan off of the number of states I've been to. :) I think that makes just over half. Anyway, I'm grateful for the opportunity, but someone else might want a chance to do it, and it would be a good time to change, since either UIC or someone else will start the new contract cycle next year.

Okay, I think I'm going to go on back to bed. It's been an hour of sitting and I'm hurting a little. Good night!

I somehow

managed to open a small-yet-stubbornly-refusing-to-stop-bleeding gash on my leg by running into a plastic storage bin I'd taken down when looking for that MRI CD. Of course, it was not in those at all, but rather filed with my photographs (I guess it is a form of imaging, after all). It was too long for a Band-Aid so I cleaned it really well with alcohol and put some gauze over it, keeping that in place with an ACE bandage that was loosely wrapped. So I got up in bed, put my leg up, and waited for it to clot. Needless to say, in the meantime, I fell asleep. I still have a lot of my list to do, but I knew it wasn't going to get accomplished in one night. :) I think I'll give up and try to get something done in the morning.

Exactly one year ago today

at about 8:21 am, I was hit by a car while walking with the light in a crosswalk across Richmond Road at Eagle Creek on my way to catch the bus. The driver was a young Indian man who lived in my apartment complex. He was turning left on a yellow flashing arrow and his front left tyre ran over my foot, breaking two metatarsals, and while my leg was trapped, the side of the car hit me, causing my ankle to break and knocking me down. I was lucky it wasn't more serious (my glasses didn't even come off of my head), but it sidelined me to my apartment using a walker for three months. At first I had a splint, then surgery, another splint, eventually a boot. I didn't put any pressure on that foot until December 13th. Coincidentally, that was when I was finally allowed to bathe, although I had to use a shower chair. I finally returned to work on January 2nd, using a cane. The case was settled in late March, after my insurance company had eventually been billed and paid for my care (he had only minimum insurance, which was not enough for my medical expenses).

I'd like to thank some special people who really helped me out when I was down. First, my surgeon, Dr Bradford Fine of the Lexington Foot & Ankle Center, who did an excellent job of the open reduction and internal fixation surgery, where he put two screws in to fix my ankle. Secondly, I'd like to thank my lawyer, Julie Butcher, who brought me vegetarian chili, came to my house for consults and signing paperwork, etc. Without her help, I'd have so many medical bills that were still unpaid.

Brandon and Brenda took me to my appointments, on those rare times I went out, laboriously helping me climb the stairs outside my apartment on my hands and knees because I couldn't get up any other way, and they manhandled wheelchairs and kept me from falling. YKWIA and Brenda lifted me over the one step I couldn't get up into the apartment building on the day I was released after surgery. Brenda also bought me the best-tasting baked potato from Wendy's after 36 hours of nothing but ice chips. Bob McCray was my home health physical therapist, and he was excellent, although I still have his cane--we've never quite been able to meet up for me to return it. YKWIA called and played videos on YouTube that I would 'watch' along with him on my own computer. The folks at work were fabulous, showering me with food and cards and really making me feel cared about. My aunt Sharon sent me a care package of books, popcorn, nuts, and tea. There were so many people who helped me, and I'm sure I'm missing someone, but if I have, I'm sorry. When I was about to come back to work, I sat down and wrote out a ton of thank you cards, but let me just say, I still appreciate everything people did for me. And I'm glad that some of you kept up with my very boring life those three months. Granted, I don't live an exciting life at any time, but at times the time I was off would drag and become mind-boggingly tedious. I spent a lot of time with myself, thinking, and listening to music. I didn't manage to read much or watch videos on Netflix, etc. For those who made it through that period with me, thank you. May I never have to deal with anything like that again. :)

I felt guilty this morning for two things

1) I was running behind and didn't make the bed, and felt I was leaving the house somewhat 'imperfect' as a result. That's not bad, though, if I'm less likely to let things slide. I'll make the bed tomorrow. :) Also 2) I was running behind and didn't get a chance to water the plants outside, and I felt bad for it. They're doing well, and I'd thought about watering them last night, but it's really better to in the morning as there's less chance of fungous growing as it does on wet leaves overnight. Fortunately a cloudbusting rain storm came up just as I was leaving work, and I barely managed to get my foot into the car before the heavens opened. I went on to physical therapy, and the rain lessened, and so by the time I got home the windowboxes and pepper plant had had a good soaking, with some time to dry off before night falls. Yay!

Now I'm drinking some water and relaxing after a bite to eat. I'm in my comfy sleep shirt and thinking about taking a short nap and then watching some 'Doctor Who'. I also need to go through some bills tonight. So, a quiet night at home. I'm thinking Thursday may be my last physical therapy visit, as I'm doing quite a bit better. I also see my ankle surgeon Thursday for a follow-up. It seems strange that it's been over six months since I was hurt. I still have some ankle swelling, and some pain, but I'm much better, and I don't take my mobility for granted anymore. :)

Oh, thank goodness it was a short week

So I survived my first three days at work, albeit with some exhaustion and pain. This evening I got home about 8 pm and by nine was in bed, ostensibly just to elevate my leg for awhile rather than actually sleep. I'd set an alarm for an hour or so later just in case. I never heard it, even though it sounds like a rooster. What woke me up just now is pain in my knees. I've really tried not to overdo it, but I guess some pain is to be expected.

On Wednesday I did push too hard in that I didn't wear the boot at work but rather stayed in my shoe. My ankle was red and so swollen it didn't really resemble an ankle any more. So Thursday and Friday I used the boot at work, then changed back to a shoe for driving, and that went much better.

Work has been great. I've been busy (the first of the year is always especially busy; now it's even more so). I went through 2,200 e-mails on Wednesday and had to learn a new way of doing my data entry, did all my educational modules for 2012 on Thursday, and today really for the first time got into the swing of things. My wonderful co-workers have been really welcoming. A few never got the memo, apparently, and seeing me in the boot with the cane, asked and were shocked when I told them I got hit by a car. Everyone, including me, is particularly glad it wasn't worse. It certainly was bad enough.

Having the car has been a godsend but has added to the busy aspect. Yesterday I stopped by Rite Aid for some Claritin and a few other things, then went by the library and paid the fines that accrued while I was off. I had planned to get my hair cut, but I was just too tired. I went home, texted and talked with friends on the phone, and was in bed by 10-something. Tonight a friend called to check on me and it turned out we were getting off work very close to one another, so I went and picked him up, went to Staples for some sticky notes, and then we grabbed something to eat at McDonald's and brought something home for my other friend. I visited very briefly, as I petered out somewhere about 8 pm. I came home, texted a bit with Brandon about my day, and then by 9 pm was in bed with my feet up.

So it's been a busy few days. I have to admit, I feel a little overwhelmed by the sheer number of people I am encountering in a day compared to being homebound in my little apartment. That feeling should pass soon, I hope. And I think Brandon is missing being of such assistance in terms of doing my errands or taking me places.

Tomorrow I plan to get my hair cut first thing, then grab A to help me get my laundry into the car, take him to the grocery, do my laundry, and then help YKWIA with some tasks that should be very time consuming but at least fairly sedentary and I can do it while my laundry is going. Sunday is hopefully the game. I keep forgetting I already have the notes finished and on my tablet. :)

Things to do in the coming week or so:

• I need to call about getting into physical therapy and go to my first appointment
• I need to go to the doctor on Thursday
• I need to shop around for car insurance (got some good advice on where to go/levels to get today)
• I need to get with my mom and put the title of the car officially into my name
• I need to get a car charger for my tablet and determine if I can use it in the car (there are very few minor issues with the car; one is that the cigarette lighter doesn't work, but the receptacle itself is supposed to charge. That's no biggie for me if true, as I do not smoke, I just need to run the chargers. The car came with a tyre inflater that runs out of the lighter; I'll get that out and test with it before trying to get a charger. I'm thinking of upgrading my little low-end Android phone next month, so I'll wait on getting a charger for it.

Once the title's in my name, I need to get the oil changed (it's been six months and 1,000 miles ago) :) While I'm there I'll have them do a safety inspection on brakes, tyres, etc. to make sure nothing has to be replaced. The car has less than 35,000 miles on it, but is 11 years old, and so might need some tweaking. The tyres, for example, are original. I definitely need to replace the windshield wiper blades. I'll try to do that tomorrow.

Despite it's age it's in very good physical shape. There are a couple of small dings on the driver's side, and my mom has a kit that can take those out. So you can imagine my dismay this morning when I came out and the garbage truck that takes the recyclables was trying to turn our corner and was inches from my car easing around, trying not to hit it. I thought I was going to have to move the car, but they managed to get around. I wasn't badly parked or anything, I think they just did too wide of a turn when they swung around the corner. But all I could think of was oh, no, please don't crush the car on the first week. Because of the age, I didn't think I would put collision/comprehensive on the car despite its condition, but the advice was to do so, especially as it shouldn't cost that much. My goal is to be as well-insured as a little old lady.

It's amazing how things have progressed. I couldn't put any weight at all on my foot until mid-December. Even then I was still in a wheelchair until I returned it on the 27th. Up to last week I was still using the walker, which I returned this week. It's amazing. For so many weeks I was trying to be patient, but once I got up on my feet, things went pretty quickly. It is so good to be back to work and to be able to visit with my friends. And it's nice to be mobile in terms of the car as well. There is so much more freedom when you realise that you can go somewhere in the middle of the night if you want to, or change you mind about your itinerary without adding another hour to your trip. I love it.

Okay, I've taken some Tylenol for my knees and am considering returning to bed. Hope you had a great week and have an even better weekend.

Oh, I'm tired--but I've got good news!

It is harder to walk on one and a half feet than you might imagine. And it's something you do at a snail's pace (or, at least I do for now). Yes, I'm finally up to partial weight-bearing, using the walker, and while I've done fairly well, it does hurt and if I push it I can go about one way and back across the length of my apartment before I need to really sit down. I can also finally take a shower, although we didn't have room in the car for a shower chair, so I'm stuck until I can get that. I'm dreaming of warm water and a loofah.

I do, however, still have a great deal of therapy to do before I'm ready to go to work, according to the doctor, which was a bit of a disappointment, because of course I want to go back as soon as I possibly can. But the bones are still healing, I realise. So I'll just have to be patient.

Once I got home, I ate, spent some time on the phone informing various people of the results, worked on the bathroom a little (I think we can finally move the bedside commode off the toilet and use it normally. I needed the height before). Then I went back to the bedroom and slept for about an hour, and although I'm up and awake now, I'm still very tired. I don't think I'll have trouble sleeping tonight. But I didn't want to sleep the evening away, either, so here I am, posting.

It was nice to be out today. It was a little cool but nothing too bad, and it was sunny. I keep being surprised by Christmas decorations--really the holidays are passing me by. I have a few holiday cards on my door next to the get well ones, but that's it, and of course a few presents for various people close to me.

Alright, I'm going to go check the news. Hope your day brought good cheer like mine did.

A quiet Sunday

No game, of course, we're still waiting for me to get the go ahead to partially weight-bear, which I hope will come this week, along with the go ahead to take real showers rather than sponge and baby wipe baths. It's been so long--I am up to 58 days since the accident.

Today I actually watched TV. I'd hoped Brave was on Netflix but it wasn't, and I didn't feel like paying $5 to watch it on the cable's On Demand. So I watched figure skating instead. Javier Fernandez, although placing fourth at the Grand Prix finals, landed three quads, which hadn't been done since 2006, I think. He skated a beautiful programme. Later, I watched the nightly news and then of all things 'Dexter's Lab'. I always loved that cartoon.

I paid a couple of bills, but that was the only really 'important' thing I did. Tomorrow I am going to send out more holiday cards, pay more bills, check on one, and study a little ancient Greek and review some Latin. I feel like I've been letting my brain atrophy for awhile now since I've been out of school, and I am losing my languages.

I guess that's all for tonight. I just wanted to write a little before bed. Hope you had a good weekend.

I've been organising things on my tablet

Putting icons into folders, etc., and came across a widget I have that counts down the days until an event. So some might put it for Christmas or for December 21st, the supposed Mayan apocalypse date, but since that's hooey, I did something much more important. I don't have a return to work date, or even a firm on my feet date, but the next doctor's appointment I should have that information. So, it's twelve days until then. I am so looking forward to being on both feet, even if it's slow at first, and almost as importantly, being able to bathe. Today marks the 50th day since the accident. (No, I didn't use an application for that, I just counted.)

I'm up in the middle of the night but it's not really insomnia. I got about four hours of sleep and felt like getting up for awhile. I really need to start getting into a routine that closely approximates work, but hey, it's not a work night anyway.

It's hard to believe it's already December. Don't forget, it's World AIDS day as well. I guess I should change my calendars in the morning.

Still, I suppose I should try to get some more sleep in the meantime. Hope you have a good weekend.

Obviously I had too much

caffeine, as I've slept about two hours and I'm up again after mostly lying in bed with my brain racing. Ah, well. As a result, you get cat videos. :)

Agenda for the Day:

1. Wash hair.
2. Water plants.
3. Work on the game notes some more.
4. Arrange for a laundry pickup (maybe soon I'll be able to do it for myself again).
5. Do dishes.

Thanks, by the way, for sticking with me since the accident. For those just tuning in, I was hit by a car and broke my ankle and bones in my foot and have been non-weight-bearing on that foot ever since. I know my writing has been, well, probably less than riveting as my life is pretty much defined by this apartment and I haven't been at work, but I promise I'll try to look for interesting things to post and hopefully soon I'll be on both of my feet again. Also, I should be back to normal in terms of insomnia. While it's nice that I'm not sleeping too much, I really have overdone it. Part of it is the caffeine, part of it is simply not being comfortable. For one, I can't sleep on my left side at present, and that's how I normally sleep, sort of on my left side and stomach together. Once that changes, I expect to get better sleep. Also, once I can take a blessed shower again, I'll be much more myself. It's been 46 days since I was hit, and I am so ready to go back to doing the things that seemed so simple before then. It'll still be awhile before I'm back to normal, but at least things are progressing, even if it sometimes seems slowly.

I'm going to turn in

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I managed to do some more with the notes (although I'm stopping right at the climax, which is unfortunate, but I'm tired). The game is definitely unique. We're at the point that the two of us are having our organs telekinetically crushed by a comrade who has been taken over by an evil bug thing and who, as a necromancer, is killing an animating students at a frat house party. In desperation, the only thing I could do is set him on fire, which broke his concentration and saved us. Beware the pyrokinetic when push comes to shove and you're busy monologuing. I can't remember much of what happened after that. I think it involved the bug thing going out of him, using a magical netgun to trap it, and then blasting it with the Elder Sign. Then there was putting out the fire, putting the comrade, who was barely alive, in stasis, packing all of our friends (almost all of whom, at this point, were in stasis) into a van, and hightailing it out of there. Ah, scenic Kingsport. You have to love it. Welcome to our brand of Call of Cthulhu. That has to be the most stunning ending to an adventure in awhile. Most of the rest of the game was healing up those hurt.

Hey, some people garden. Some play paintpall. Some sit in front of a gaming console and call it roleplaying. We are old-school gamers and have been playing the same game for 21 years. It's our fun, our release, our social interaction. And I miss it terribly. It's been almost seven weeks we've missed because of my accident. Here's hoping to resuming it soon. But I have to get the notes finished by then. I have a little time, but I want to go ahead and get them done. Besides, it keeps me up during the day and active.

Have a good night. Don't go crazy on Black Friday. Remember, that mp3 player isn't worth getting hurt over.

Yesterday was

the one-month anniversary of the accident that has left me stuck at home for the most part and often bored out of my skull. But at least I know that barring any complications I will be back at work soon, and the memory of the pain and boredom will eventually fade. I'm thankful for that.

Today I am going out; I have a doctor's appointment. I was very ambitious this morning and had a full-on sponge bath (no baby wipes this time!) Then I washed my hair. It's not something I think I could do every day easily, but I managed this morning. I got some of the old skin off, washed and rinsed everything I could get damp, put lotion on the dry skin, and got dressed. I may have gone 32 days without a proper shower, but at least I'm as clean as I can be. I've also taken my medicine. About the only thing I haven't done is eat. I'm just not hungry yet.

It would have been nice to sleep a little more as I had a period of two or three hours where I was wide-awake in bed last night, but I'd forgotten to turn the heat on, had run the fan, and woke up to a chilly apartment when the temperature outside was something like 25 degrees (and that's Fahrenheit). We would be going out on the coldest day in awhile. The entire rest of the week is warmer, at least somewhat, and we're just coming away from a weekend in the 70s.

Wish me luck--the stairs are always a challenge.

I had a reminder today that what I am going through

Is nothing compared to others' experiences, and with some luck and healing should be a temporary setback only. I ordered dinner from Papa John's and was obviously embarrassed by my mobility issues when I answered the door. The delivery driver was very nice and he said he understood, he had come home from combat in a wheelchair, and that the most important thing was to do everything the doctors and therapists told me to do, because he said that made all the difference in the guys he saw getting better or not. I promised I would, tipped him well, and ate a little and put the rest away for later, thinking of what he must have gone through. Again, I am getting a lot of perspective these days. Without my injury, I might never have thought twice about the delivery driver, and he would not have said anything beyond enjoy your meal. I mean, I try to tip well, and treat everyone nicely, but this is someone who was wounded in a war I didn't support but I still appreciate the service he and others have given, and the sacrifices made. And I am sure he has had a far more difficult road than I have. Yet he was upbeat and encouraging, and made me feel that there would be a point soon where I would feel better. And that was worth more to me than any tip could cover.

I'm in pain, but

I only have seven more pills, so I'm going to try to hold out for six hours between them rather than four for the rest id the prescription.

I sent my mom an email explaining what happened.

The walker is helping, although the hopping with the bad foot up only works for short distances, really, with my knee the way it is. I am beginning to get a grater appreciation of what our patients do everyday.

I think it would be best to go back to work after my doctor's appointment, when I'm out of the splint and into something better, and I have a better idea what's going on. Because I still do not have a backup person at work for part of my job, I've been thinking of ways to get it done, and I think I have a solution. As far as the library goes, I have email and can respond to article requests even on the tablet.  I'll have to set my Docline status as temporarily not receiving requests. The problem is the data entry. I have a backup on the referrals, at least. The other unfortunate thing is that while I have guides on how to do my data entry job, one of them becomes obsolete Monday, and it's something I only understood when we went over it as I was already familiar with the process. I am not sure I can explain it to someone who isn't over the phone. So that may have to wait for my attention Wednesday.

I haven't mentioned what this could mean for the Chicago trip. I won't know really until I see the doctor. It takes about 4-6 weeks for bones to heal without complications. The trip is in four. If I'm in a boot, there may be no problem. If I am in a cast, there may be, or, and please let us not have to consider this, if I have to have surgery, as that might mean having to cancel. So, I am not going to worry about it until I know more Tuesday.

PS I was looking at the police report, which includes a diagramme of the scene. I am a little figure on the ground, labeled Unit 2. Unit 1 is the driver, who happens to live in the same complex I do. It was apparently a Corolla that ran over my foot. Thank goodness it wasn't an Escalade our some other large SUV. The report is accurate. Yes, he should have yielded, but he apparently didn't see me at all. I am not sure why, as visibility was good. I won't speculate. I find myself oddly not upset at him. I just wish it had not happened, obviously.