Life

A rough night

Grateful Kae

Last night was a long, stressful night!

My parents came to town yesterday afternoon so my dad could work on the bathroom remodel. Well, everything was going fine, and we were watching a little TV with the boys before bed.

Charlie, who has actually been much better lately in his Witching Hour, decided to put on a little show for our guests and be a bit obnoxious. He wouldn’t settle down, so my mom scooped him up to take him to the other room for a “time out”.

With him in her arms, she proceeded to (try to) step over the dog gate. (Which in fairness, is something she has done many times before, but probably not with the dog in her arms.)

As she stepped over, she caught her foot and completely fell onto the kitchen floor. HARD. Like a, boom. Just totally down type of fall.

The whole gate fell with her (and Charlie!) and she screamed and landed on her right side with a very, very loud thud. She immediately cried out, “I broke my arm!” My dad and I raced over there and she was writhing in pain on the floor. (Charlie seemed fine. I think he essentially jumped from her arms as she went down.)

She could really not move her arm at all and was in excruciating pain. Also keep in mind, my mom is 73! A healthy 73, but, still.

Long story short, we took her to the ER at about 10:30 p.m. We were there until ~2:30 a.m., where she got x-rays and mostly waited around a very long time.

It seemed the x-rays were a little unclear- at first they said no fracture, possible dislocation. Then they had another radiologist read it and said, actually, possibly a small crack in the humerus bone. And maybe a small clavicle fracture, though that was unclear.

Regardless, due to the location apparently the treatment is just a sling and rest- NO SURGERY (which was my biggest fear) or huge cast or anything.

She is in a LOT of pain and can still barely move her arm. But hopefully in a week or two it will start feeling better. My mom is one tough cookie and handles pain very well, but still. OUCH this seems terribly painful.

I feel awful that it happened at all…. (especially at my house, and in part due to my dog being a little brat). But I guess that’s just life. Things happen.

The gate at fault:

NOT me drinking coffee out of a mug that conveniently matches my toddler’s sweater.

I am very tired today. OH- and on top of it, the previous night, I only slept from 11:15 p.m- 3:29 a.m. (woke up and never fell back to sleep…).

So this means by 3:00 a.m. when I finally went to bed last night, I had been awake for a full 24 hours. 😩

no fair

Daily Gratitude:

I am grateful for ERs!

24 thoughts on “A rough night”

  3. What an ordeal! I am so glad that your Mom is okay though! I hope in the end it is NOT a fracture! I fell of of my bike and had a bit of pain breathing for about two weeks afterward, but I actually did not go to the doctor (I know, I know) because I figured it was rib strain/strain/etc. and there would be nothing they can do.

    Your comment box looks different! Or maybe I accidentally pushed a button? Anyway, I hope your weekend is less eventful and you get some sleep!

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    1. It is true that certain injuries, even “fractures” or seemingly more serious one, sometimes still just basically need time to heal themselves! I hope that is the case here. I was just really hoping it wasn’t going to be anything that required surgery, since that seems to really open the door for complications, especially in older people.

      I never know what upgrades WordPress will do… things just seem to magically change with layout, formatting, etc from time to time. Grr. I hope the new comment box is not (more) difficult to use?

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    1. Thank you! She’s hanging in there and doing okay. And I crashed hard last night and slept like a baby, minus a weird dream at one point in which I apparently was serving life in prison for being falsely accused of murdering someone! (?!?!?! What the heck? Haha.)

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  5. Oh my goodness, that sounds awful! So glad that it wasn’t super severe and that it doesn’t require surgery. I hope your mom is feeling like herself in no time. And I hope you get some sleep!!!!

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  6. Kae, I’m so sorry this happened. Yes just one wrong step can land you in the ER. I hope your mom recovers quickly, and I’m wishing for you to have several nights of deep sleep in a row to make up for last night.

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    1. Thanks so much! It is shocking how quickly things go from normal to…. the ER. I often think about that when I see bad car accidents etc. One minute the person is driving along, thinking about what they’re going to order for dinner or whatever, and the next minute, bam. It’s freaky.

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  7. Oh no, I am so sorry this happened to your mom (in your house – without you drinking coffee out of a mug that matched your non-existent daugther’s sweater. Haha. That had me LOL).

    I am glad she doesn’t require surgery but every injury at this age takes time and patience to heal and it sucks. I am hoping for a speedy recovery.

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    1. Hahaha, I’m glad I’m not the only one who got a chuckle out of that ad!! lol! Staged photo, much?? 😆

      And thank you for your kind words. It is true that the older people get, the harder it seems to recover. That’s why I’m so relieved it seems like hopefully this will be something she can recover fairly quickly from, thank goodness!!

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  8. I’m so sorry. I needed surgery for a shattered shoulder last year and yes, the pain is intense when it’s a humeral fracture. She should start to feel better soon, though, if it is truly hairline. (And she should – of course – use any and all pain meds provided.) I would have done the same thing, with the same outcome, I am sure. Sending healing thoughts her way, and caffeinated thoughts your way.

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    1. I remember your shoulder issues… ugh, that sounded so, so rough. I really hope she starts feeling better soon! She’s a real trooper and is hanging in there pretty well. She got an rx for some Oxy but has been hesitant to use it- she doesn’t want to feel loopy at all. We encouraged her to fill it to have it on hand at least in case god forbid she accidentally like, bumps her arm or does something to cause some really acute pain spike. So far extra strength tylenol has been helping at least. She’s been sleeping on our basement couch, which has a built in ottoman type thing where she can stretch her legs out. So she can sleep in a more upright position which seems to help a lot as well.

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      1. YES. Sleeping upright is key. I also found that it helped to make sure the sling was in as supportive a position as possible (usually, much “higher” than I thought it should be, if that makes sense). And I have no idea why, but Tylenol was the absolute best for my pain, even after surgery. (I, too, hate opioids so I totally get where your mom is coming from…) It baffled me – really, Tylenol? But oh, it worked, and it ostensibly doesn’t slow bone healing. Fingers crossed that those osteoblasts are doing their thing and she starts to feel better very, very soon.

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  9. Oh Kae. I’m so sorry this happened. The shock and adrenaline from an accident like this is exhausting to begin with – I hope your mom recovers even faster than anticipated and that you get a good night sleep tonight. Not what you wanted or needed in your life right now, but so glad it doesn’t require surgery. Sending love ❤

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    1. Thank you so much! It was rather shocking and scary, of course anticipating the worst! But thankfully she seems to be doing pretty well, all things considered. I’m hopeful that in a few weeks she will be feeling much better.

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  10. Omg, this is awful. Every part of it- the fall, the trip to the ER, and THE LACK OF SLEEP. I feel bad for you, and your mom. I love how you ended the post with a photo of Charlie sleeping though : )

    I’m praying to the sleep gods that you get some sleep tonight!!!

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  11. I’m so sorry to hear that. that must be so stressful for the entire family. I really hope your mom recovers quickly and no major side effect. People 70+ recovers slower than teens, so it’s great that she’s okay being couch potato for a while.

    and not sleeping? that’s another layer of stress. I don’t function well without sleep and you’ve had to deal a lot. hopefully you get some rest this weekend.

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  12. Thanks Coco. 🙂 That was my exact concern- just that she is getting older and I was worried that maybe as a result would have more serious injury or difficulty recovery. Fortunately she is in generally good shape and is a tough lady, so, she’s doing pretty well, all things considered.

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