I Broke My Elbow.

Do you know what a roof rake is?  It’s basically a gigantic contraption designed to scrape ice off of roofs.  Also apparently designed to break elbows when tripped over.

The fall itself on the concrete floor was dramatic.  Everything hurt at the same time.  Scraped elbows, scraped knees, top teeth clamped against bottom teeth causing jaw pain, sore ribs, and sore back.

It was Christmas Day.  We had just returned from a fantastic getaway to The Great Wolf Lodge and were on our way to fulfill our Jewish responsibilities of eating Chinese food for dinner 🙂 My husband and children were in the car waiting for me.  As soon as I fell in the garage, my husband immediately came running.

It was so bad. Jon asked if I wanted to stay home but I really thought I was ok! It would take more than a fall to keep this Jewish girl away from her Christmas Chinese food.

I truly thought it was just bruised but somewhere between the crab rangoon and the pan fried noodles, the pain started to intensify. We came home.

I iced it.  I elevated it.  I was up all night in pain.

By morning, it was apparent that this was so much more than just a bruised elbow.  Jon called my parents and for about the millionth time since we bought our house almost 9 years ago, I thanked God that we bought a house only 1 mile away from theirs.  Exactly 7 minutes later, my father was hugging me in my kitchen and feeding my children breakfast so Jon could take me to the emergency room.

The emergency room staff were lovely to me as I sobbed.  A nurse hugged me.  The X ray technician was wonderful to me as I tried not to scream out in pain while she twisted and contorted my elbow in unnatural ways to get the pictures.  They offered me pain meds but I declined…I’m always very much against taking any kind of medication. I agreed to Advil but refused anything stronger. My poor elbow was so swollen and filled with fluid that they couldn’t even read the X rays but sent me home in a cast and a sling until I could see an orthopedic surgeon.

I was a mess.

We came home and I spent the entire day in bed.

I watched Fuller House with my daughter, laid next to my napping son, and ate the lox on a bagel which my girl had so beautifully presented to me all from our bed.  I lit my favorite Bath and Body Works candle on the nightstand next to me…and I cried.  A lot.  From the pain. From the frustration of how hard everything had suddenly become. From the fact that I had so been looking forward to having this glorious time with my husband home from work and my kids home from school and I was spending it like this. So many tears.

Thank goodness my very favorite hobby involves just sitting still 🙂 Recovering with a good book is exactly my kind of medicine! And the act of holding up a book only requires 1 working arm so there’s that.

Jon surprised me with my all time favorite treat after dinner. It was so delicious. It helped.

By the next day, my cast had shifted and was digging into my wrist.  Back to the emergency room I went but this time, my daughter insisted that she be the one to come with me for moral support. They put us into a room and I asked if I should remove my shirt.  They told me yes and at this point, my little girl tugged on my (good) arm and whispered, “Mom!  Are you wearing anything under your shirt?!?”  I explained that after you’ve given birth, a nurse seeing you in your bra is absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about. 🙂

The nurse loosened the cast and my poor wrist got some relief.

Another night of sleeping with my arm straight up. Awful.

As it turns out, my husband’s old fraternity brother is a wonderful orthopedic surgeon and I was given an immediate appointment the following day. He was kind, knowledgeable, and wonderful. More X rays and then he concluded that my poor elbow was indeed broken. The best news of the day (silver lining) was that he removed my cast! Now I just need to wear a sling. This alone makes everything better. I was honestly going crazy with that cast! I couldn’t do anything. Although I’m now still much more limited in what I can do, I already feel so much more like myself. My next appointment for more X rays is in 2 weeks. Until then, I need to wear the sling, ice it twice a day, and continue to remind my son that he needs to be careful around my entire left arm 🙂

Last night I changed his diaper for the first time since all of this happened and it made me cry because it hurt so much. How on earth does one change a diaper completely one handed?!? Just one of the many things I will need to figure out when Jon goes back to work in a few days…

Speaking of, here I need to give a major shout out to Jon. He has literally done EVERYTHING around here and I couldn’t be more thankful. “In sickness and in health” has definitely been the theme in our house this week and I’m incredibly fortunate to have him by my side. I would be so lost without him.

My best friends were (are) so worried about me! They bought me lunch, took me shopping, and made me smile. As usual, laughter really is the best medicine. We missed you, Beth!

Happy New Year 🙂 My plans tonight have definitely changed but still spending them with the same people is truly all that matters. It’s my dear friend Bari’s birthday today! We were supposed to go to a nice restaurant for dinner, ice skating, and then a super fun dessert all in a crowded and awesome area with our families tonight. Now our plans have shifted to something much more low key but still super fun…a Japanese steakhouse. Perfect and safer for one armed me!

2018 was an absolutely fantastic year in so many ways. I had planned on doing a yearly blog recap post today but I had also planned on having 2 working arms today so there you go 🙂

As we are heading into the new year, I am definitely taking time to reflect on all of the positive things and people in my life. Although clearly this is not how I was planning on ending the year, I do truly realize how much worse this could be. I’m thankful for so many things in my life…this will hopefully just be a minor setback and I’ll be able to move on from all of this soon.

Bring it on, 2019! I’m ready for you. Sling and all.

Xo,

Jenny