Easter with my troops. The top picture was a good couple years ago. Rob wasn't working full time then and was able to go to church with us. Now that he is full time at the restaurant his skills are needed for Easter brunch which runs from 9-3. So he was not able to be with us except for a short bit this morning before he headed to work and we got in the car to head out to church. (our church is a goodly drive from our house.) He wasn't wanting to be in the picture initially. Not duded up, in his work clothes, I said I'd stick him in the back if he wanted but that him being in the shot was way more important than what he was wearing. And he is wearing his beautiful smile which is all I need to see anyway.
It was a wonderful weekend. Fiona has not been home for an overnight in a long time. Not from my choosing but because she said it made her feel too sad when she went back to her group home. But she was eager to spend the night when I talked to her and I arranged to pick her up Saturday. She and Lissa wanted to see the movie A Wrinkle in Time so we planned to do that Saturday afternoon, and color our eggs after supper on Saturday.
The "wrinkle" in our time together was that on Friday night while roller skating I fell and did something to my right wrist and arm. I actually did not know that i did anything at the time. It hurt but not excessively. (in fairness, I do have a really high pain level and once performed a gymnastics floor routine with a broken finger) I kept skating, Lissa and I had fun (it was a birthday party for a friend.)
I didn't know anything was amiss till Saturday morning when I went to go grocery shopping and could not press down to shift my car into reverse. (I still drive standard). However I have an abhorrance of hospitals, and the one in our city in particular. On a number of occasions I have had less than stellar care for myself or my family. Also I am a bit parsimonious and my insurance has a $200 co-pay for an ER visit. I decided I would wait till Monday and call my dr then and our weekend would proceed as planned.
This actually worked pretty well. I am able to do a ton of things left handed--the benefits of having my eldest be a lefty is that I learned how to do things that way too. Our weekend was filled with fun and laughter and lots of love. I wrapped my arm so I would not have to look at it but when my fingers started getting discolored my wife had me take the bandage off. LOL
Monday the doctors office was closed so I actually did not see anyone till Tuesday. By that time I had developed a truly technicolor lower arm, wrist and thumb. It remains purple green and blue. So very attractive. However an x ray said no break. Which may or may not be true. An x ray said that when my daughter broke her hip so my faith in traditional medical things is somewhat weak.
It is improving, though more slowly than I would like. I can drive stick again, after almost a full week of having to use the van which is an automatic. I went to yoga Saturday and had to be careful but there were lots of things I could do. I can open doors again, but not first thing in the morning. And I can't twist jar lids or swing anything heavy around. But mostly, I can function well and I am grateful for that. My most helpful thing was purchasing arnica gel and using that pretty regularly. It helps with the discomfort and some of the swelling and bruising. The poor nurse practitioner just didn't know quite what to do with me.
"Are you icing it?" she asked. Nope. I have reynauds and my hands are cold all the time. Icing is super painful to me. "Are you taking ibuprofin for pain and swelling?" Nope. It hurts but less than a migraine so I didn't bother. "Are you wrapping it?" Only tried once. I whipped out my arnica gel and she stared at me like I had three heads. I tried to explain the benefits of arnica (I have used it before; this is not the first time.) But it is such an alien concept to western medical providers I might as well have said something in another language. Thank goodness I didn't tell her that I just breathe through the pain when it wakes me up at night. (apparently I have an annoying habit of rolling over on it while I am sleeping.) I think for regular doctors I am a horrible patient. I think mostly my body will heal itself, I do just want to hurry it up so I can open a spaghetti sauce jar with my right hand!
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