I'll tell you later how it happened, but I've just dismantled a wheelchair. Wanted to share.
So this morning I was walking to the local library at my folks' to do volunteer work. The plan was to leave for Milan in the afternoon; I'd miss my abs class but I really wanted to work at the library.
I had my new camera with me (long story) and I was taking pics of the place, which btw is lovely, a steep country road with ancient courtyards all around and pebbles on the asphalt that make it very easy to slip... Which I did. And in falling I protected the camera with both hands, didn't grab the rail and my ankle twisted 90 degrees under me.
(btw, I'm a code green. Deferrable urgency. Go me.)
My aunt exclaimed "The camera!" You see, she has my same priorities! Calmly I replied "No, the ankle." There wasn't much pain and I could walk on it (you should never do that...) but my blood pressure sank suddenly to Australia.
I sat on a low wall and got my breath back. As soon as I felt stronger I got up and hobbled to the library. I happily spent the morning moving boxes of books, with just a little soreness. I flatly refused the idea of the hospital. Strangely, I mostly felt tired and detached.
I knew at once the rational thing was to get checked. I'm not afraid of hospitals. Radiations don't bother me, I very rarely get x-rays. I can't get bored in the waiting room; teh internetz and my own mind are entertaining enough. And yet I was reluctant to go.
I guess I was afraid of what did indeed happen. At home my parents took charge in their own belligerent, passive-aggressive way. I can remember one exchange as example: Me: "OK, I'll go to the f*ing hospital!" Mom: "Do what you want, you're not doing us any favours!" And then the usual infighting between them. I so wanted my aunt to drive me instead of them. But they wanted to be there. Hey, thanks, do all you can for an ankle, but spend my youth accusing me of rudeness when I had my undiagnosed panic attacks. Ok, I'll stop with this now.
Then we ate and I just needed a beer to calm down. I hopped to the garage, took a pack and it fell from my hands. HORROR. Luckily the only damage was that one cap got dislodged and foam started to come out. I should just have poured it into my mouth, instead I tried to reach the kitchen, spraying beer everywhere. It was comic but, given my mood, my muthaf*ing language worsened dramatically from that point.
During lunch, usual neurotic conversation with Dad wanting to know all, not only about my fall, but about the loss of my old camera. I hate convos that sound like cross-examinations, questioning everything I say. "But why did you do that? How, where, when? Couldn't you... Remember the time when you lost the bag at..." I know he was trying to cheer me up but I had to stop him please, I could not stand to remember all the times I forgot something somewhere.
(I'm here in the anteroom with the gurney door open and my right leg naked to mid-calf. In a while they'll have to amputate for frostbite.)
Then followed the usual anxiety trip with Dad pretending he was Vettel and Mom being bitter. They were so serious and snapped if I tried to joke. I'm surely exaggerating, remembering only the bad things while they were awesome, but there has to be a reason for it.
The guardian directed us to the entrance and Mom insisted that I sit on a wheelchair. The right leg support, the one I needed, did not work. As I tried to fix it, it came out in my hands.
So here I am, on a wheelchair, with gurneys coming and going inches from my outstretched, frozen foot, and injured people all around. This is the part that's beginning to affect me.
Better pull out my Beatles book. I'll keep you posted.
Had the x-rays. While I had to keep my right ankle still, my left thigh cramped.
Now waiting in corridor and writing sex scenes for a RP (told you I'm rarely bored), when in comes Dad. Back to the Beatles while I wait for the results.
As I'm waiting I remember another couple of things. One of the things that made me anxious was my mother saying "Let's agree on a version of the facts." The hell? She wanted me to say that I
NOTHING BROKEN YAY