Crushed Heels

August 9, 2008


..and here is how this crazy story begins...

It was Saturday morning and I was working hard to get our house ready for a Birthday Celebration for Robbie. It was going to be a BIG night! New grill, new deck, new deck furniture and great food! The only thing misssing was great music to eat and celebrate by. It was then that I remembered the BOSE speakers I had purchased. A HA! I will go up into the attic and install the cables. Working in the attic is really no big deal...I had done it many times and I was very familar with the layout of our attic. I had cleared a path to where I needed to be...all rafters where I needed to step were easy to see and convenient to get to.
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Holding on for dear life, I proceeded to trek across the attic rafters until I hit a loose board. My foot twisted and headed down-ward towards to the sheetrock. At this point, I knew I was headed down through the ceiling. I frantically started reaching for anything I could get my hands on to keep me from falling. I remember thinking, I am about to fall to my death!
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As my body began to fall through the ceiling, I was seeing each layer of the attic blurr past my eyes...insulation, rafters & sheetrock....and I remember thinking this must be what people see who are in a clasping building. I was jarred out of this daze as my body hit the hard-wood dinning room floor. I asked God if I was dead! "Am I dead, God?" I was in shock!
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Robbie came running into the room and I know based on her reaction that she thought I was dead. It was frightening! All I could say was, "Oh My God!" Again, shock! I was lying on my side and began to push myself up to determine what was broken. I belived my arms, head, shoulders and back were ok. I was not sure about my legs, but my heels were completely numb! Based on a previous bruised heel expierience, I knew something was wrong with my heels.
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Robbie was scrambling to assess the situation. She was talking; maybe asking me questions, but in my mind, all her words were mumbled...I was still dealing with the fact that I had fallen 14 feet and I was not dead. So now some of the shock was wearing off and reality was setting in. I was not hearing Robbie's words and realized that she was in the middle of getting ready for the day when I fell. She was asking me what was hurting and if we need to go to the ER. I told her my heels were damaged and yes, we need to get to the ER. She ran to our room to get some clothes....I laid back down on the floor, continuing to suck loose insulation down my throat! I began to cry, really sab like a baby. I was overcome with the sadness of ruining Robbie's party plans. Robbie returned to the room to see this sabbing mess and asked me to talk to her...tell her what was wrong, what I was crying about. I kept asking her forgiveness for ruining her party!
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Now, how to get to the car to get to the ER. Why we never thought to call for an ambulance...I will never know, but I told Robbie I could crawl. So, I began to slowly crawl to the garage. Stopping to deal with pain, I finally made it to the car. Now, how to get up into the car without the use of my feet? At this point, I accidentally twisted my ankle and screamed out in pain. Robbie is begging me to stop and asking how she can help. I asked her to go check on Collier. She was confused by my request, but I needed her to go check on Collier and allow me to painfully get myself into the car. I did it...I dont remember doing it, but I got myself in the car seat and seatbelt buckled.
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Robbie comes out into the garage with Collier. She tells me that our friends are coming over to watch Collier so that we can get to the ER. Our friends came and we left for the ER. On the way to the ER, we are praying and thanking God for sparing my life.
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We got to the ER and they brought out a big male nurse and a wheelchair. Both were very helpful in getting me into the hospital. I got checked in and was immediately put into a room. The pain was really setting in and I knew my feet were in bad shape. The doctors and staff put in IVs and bring in portable x-ray equipment. Taking the x-rays was a very painful event. The x-rays revealed severe damage in both heels with the right on getting the most damage. This lead to a CT scan. The CT results revealed that I would not be able to walk again without extensive surgery to repair or attempt to repair the damage.

I am checked into the hospital and the pain is increasing!

We spent the rest of the night trying to keep swelling to a minimum and managing pain.

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What Is That?
The Food Test

My first dinner was a mix of yesterday's chicken, last week's corn bread and a salad. It gets a 2 out of 5 on the Russ' Food Critique scoring system (RFCS)

Do You Hear What I Hear?
Boogie Man under my bed test

During this night, I constantly heard what I thought was thunder. I woke up the next day thinking it has rained all night long...big thunderstorms. I later learned it was the elevator.