Jose and I went to breakfast, then spent the morning thrifting. I was super excited because I got a bunch of new-to-me books that will be useful personally and for counseling. Then, we picked up Teo and went to get a cheap and quick lunch. After lunch, we stopped at home. Jose and Teo had a "man date" to go see Captain America and I had a client. I was going down the stairs to change out of jeans and into professional attire, when I slipped on the second stair from the top. I righted myself and then started spouting off to myself. "Didja see that? I almost busted my face and fell down the stairs. Good thing I didn't."
Then, I hit the landing and something happened. I am not sure if I slipped, if I tripped over something, or if my ankle rolled, but I found myself with my butt on the bottom step and my legs awkwardly underneath of me, with part of the Shop-Vac painfully under my thigh. As I fell, some yelling and bad words came out of my mouth and quickly, Jose and Teo were on the stairs behind me as I took a moment to regain my breath, stop the burst of tears that automatically came out, and focus on the fact that I was on the ground.
Jose asked if I was okay, and I said I was fine. I remembered that I was about to be late for session, and stated that I needed to change. He helped me to my feet and stayed nearby as I dressed, making sure I was truly okay. I was surprised that my ankle didn't hurt (as spraining my ankle is an unwelcome hobby of mine) and that there was a pain in my foot, but it was tolerable, so I continued to get ready, climbing the stairs and driving to the church where I intern.
When I went to get out of the car, my foot was more painful, but I was able to manage and hobbled into see my client at a slow but steady pace. I sat through session with her, keeping my foot propped up on the table in front of me, watching as a lump grew larger and larger. After session, I was able to walk to make copies before the next session, but the pain was intense. The next two clients were asked to let themselves in and out of the room as the burning sensation in my foot grew more severe. When I had a break, I assessed the damage, quickly noticing that the side of my foot was swollen and awkward.
I cancelled the rest of my appointments for the evening and mentally prepared myself for the pain that was going to happen as I walked to my car and drove home. When I made it to my house, I sat in the car for awhile, then forced myself to go inside (my full bladder offered its own version of encouragement as well). The neighbor girl came over to chat and I asked her if she wanted to babysit, which she agreed to. A few moments later, Jose arrived home from picking Isa up at school and I asked to go to the ER.
It took a lot longer than I hoped, as Jose fiddle farted and I wanted to change into something more comfortable. I also had a moment of tear-filled overwhelming pain, but we went to the hospital. Got there around 5:45 PM. It wasn't long before they called us back to do intake and take us to a room.
They offered me a wheelchair, which I gladly accepted, then took us to a room. However, upon entering the room, I was slightly frustrated. It was a small, closet-like room full of cabinets and storage containers, with a eye exam machine-thing and a upright chair, like the eye doctor has. That was where I was directed to sit, then Jose had a plastic chair facing me. No further information was given, except to wait for the doctor. So, we waited.
After about 45 minutes of mind-numbing boredom as there was no television or magazines in the room and my phone was dying, the doctor came in. She introduced herself, asked what I was in for, touched my foot with one finger for a second, then said, "I'll order an x-ray." Then, she left. There was no asking of symptoms, as I would have explained that I was in so much pain that I felt sick to my stomach and light-headed. I would have also mentioned that my foot was numb and that I couldn't feel my toes, as well as that there was an ache that was moving up my leg towards my knee. The doctor was in the room for 2 minutes, maximum.
So, we waited. After about 15 minutes, a nurse came in to get supplies out of the cabinets next to me, then another nurse came in. She asked if I had gotten x-rays yet. I said "no" and she left, saying she was going to call radiology and tell them to get me in. Again, less than two minutes in the room. By this point, Jose was dozing off and I was struggling to stay awake because of the pain.
Then, about 15 minutes later, a man walked in, but only wanted to take on of the machines to another room. Only then did I notice that there was a call-button in the room as it was hanging on the machine.
About a half hour later, a nurse came to take me to x-ray. She wheeled me down a couple halls, then left me in the middle of the walkway to wait for a tech. When he came, he took me to a room, did a few x-rays, then took me back to the closet where Jose was waiting. After getting back into the chair, I began to cry because I hurt so bad. Jose moved his chair close to me so that I could use his lap as a foot stool.
We did not see another person for 45 minutes, which was when the doctor burst into the room, said, "Good news, no broken bones. It's just a sprain. You can go home" and walked out. A nurse gave us papers and crutches and that was all. I felt defeated and exhausted and hungry and I was overwhelmed by pain, so I just wanted to get home. Jose drove me to drop of my prescription, then we got some food while we waited, picked up the pain meds and returned home.
In total, we were at the hospital for three hours to have maybe 15 minutes of attention given to my foot, most of which was the actual x-ray. I am disappointed by the service and the care given and I was willing to volunteer my thoughts when the hospital called today to ask how my visit went. I am not entirely sure that it is "just a sprain" as no one actually asked me what I was feeling or examined my foot.
Nevertheless, I am home now. Thankfully, today was a day of laziness and I didn't need to go anywhere that required me to drive. I am adjusting to crutches, although I'm finding that many parts of my body are not happy with the change. My pain medication is not helping much, but at least it takes the edge off. For now, I'm okay. I don't know what next week will be like though, when I need to see clients and drive to classes and whatnot. I guess we will just figure it out then.
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