Connected

Truly Connected

I thank all of you for your prayers, over the past few days; I have needed them.  This past week, while trimming an oak branch, I feel around twenty feet, slamming my right foot into a rock.  I had cut the branch, with a chain saw, when the branch suddenly spun around, jolting the extension ladder, leaving me hanging in a very precarious place.  Within seconds, Jill realized that I was about to fall.  I tried to hang on to the tree, but there was simply not enough time.

It was quite shocking to fall from the extension ladder.  I knew immediately that I did major damage to my ankle, as I saw my foot dangling from my leg.  I also saw the immediate swelling and was not sure how to proceed.  However, Jill kicked in right away, and the first thing she did was bring me a blanket.  She wanted to call 911, but I did not want her to, because I thought; “What a baby to call 911 for an ankle”.   She called both of her sisters and I spoke to Juan, and they all said, “Why are you not calling 911”.  I finally said to Jill, as the pain increased, to go ahead and call the ambulance.  Thankfully, a tree branch and ladder blocked any easy access for me to get up and hop to the car.  As I was waiting for the ambulance to come, I asked Jill to take off my shoe, and she said no, she did not want to hurt me any more than I was already hurt.  When the paramedics and a police officer arrived, the Paramedic, Brian, removed my shoe properly and then cut the sock and jeans that covered my foot and leg.  He stated that not only was my situation a great reason to call the paramedics, but it was also important that I was not moved nor my shoe removed, because each action would be critical to the healing of my ankle.  So, thank you Jill!  As I was sitting waiting for them to move me, I started to shake due to my body temperature dropping so low, the paramedics told Jill; “good job on the blanket”.  Jill did all the right moves, after the accident.

After they put me on the stretcher, Brian introduced himself and the other paramedic.  Brian also introduced Phil, the police office, but Brian then corrected himself and called Phil, Office Phil, and then Phil said, just call me Phil.  And it was funny, because Brian then said welcome to South Berwick!

Such a little branch to cause so much trouble

As we were driving to the hospital, I heard all the pieces of advice over the past few months.  The first thought that went through my head was what Joy, Jill’s sister who said; “I should hire someone to cut the trees”.  As many of you know, I do many of my own projects.  But I thought to what Joy said, what can a tree branch actually do?  The second thought that came through my head, were of my dear friends Nour and Marcial whom both have told me that I need to help the economy by hiring people.  The third thing that went through my mind was my brother A.D., who went through many surgeries after an accident with a serious leg injury.  I thought how difficult it must have been for my other brother, Aaron, who tried to help A.D., and all the decisions that have to be made quickly.

By the time we arrived at the hospital, I was emotionally feeling better.  Jill followed the ambulance, and was quickly standing beside me, and saying it was time to pray.  Brian was so nice in the ambulance and his voice was reassuring.  He was funny, because he told me it was okay if I wanted to cry, that about a year ago he broke four ribs and cried like a baby.  Brian was very tender hearted, yet extremely strong.

The three of them checked me into the hospital room, were the nurses took over.  They all said bye to me before they left, and wished me well, another sweet gesture.

The nurses and the doctor came right in and started to give me medicine for the pain.  I had X-Rays and CT Scans.  Usually, technicians and staff say that they cannot tell you what they see.  In this hospital, everyone told me that I have some bad breaks.  The ER doctor came in and said I have broken my ankle and he has already contacted the orthopedic surgeon.  The orthopedic surgeon came within thirty minutes, and said he had already seen my pictures from home.   During this time, Joy and Juan walked in and as soon as I saw Joy, I said I heard your words Joy: “hire someone”.  We both laughed.  Of course my pain medication had started to kick in 🙂

I needed to have my ankle set, so the emergency staff sedated me, set my ankle and then put a soft cast on until morning, when I would have surgery, for an external cage with screws that go into my legs and feet.  The cage would prepare my leg for the next round of surgeries, which at first included fusion with limited walking capabilities.   And yet, it has been a great week!

Why has it been a great week, you may wonder?  What I actually experienced, were family and friends stopping by to pray, family coming to stay with us, in the hospital, and then with Jill at the house.  One of my nieces dropped by to say hello, when I first came home; and far away friends saying hello and calling for updates, with more family helping bring in the huge piles of wood, and stacking it in the garage.  The healing process, for my foot, is only at the beginning.  On Monday, I will undergo another surgical procedure, and it will be months before I can put weight on my foot; but I am hopeful!  I believe your prayers are working and I appreciate your love and support; with so much love I feel connected to all that matters.

This entry was posted on October 25, 2013 at 9:36 pm and is filed under Connected. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.