Yours Truly, the "Screwed"-up Really Old Professor
On Friday morning, June 20, 2008, I got up and went in the bathroom to perform my morning ablutions. I never got them accomplished. I stepped off the rug onto the ceramic tile which unbeknownst to me was covered with an oily substance that my wife had sprayed on her skin. She didn't realize it was there, and neither did I. My foot went up in the air, and I landed on my back, hitting my head against a wooden cabinet, and kicking my left foot against the bathtub.
Fortunately, my head is hard and I did not receive a head injury. My back landed on a soft rug which prevented me from hurting my back. But, I heard this horrible crack like a twig snapping and I knew immediately that I broke my left leg. Thank God it was my left leg. That is the one that was effected by Polio in 1940. I would not have been able to stand on that leg with the good one broken. Thank God for small victories.
Well, Mary helped me to my foot (not feet), and I hopped to the toilet to complete that phase of my morning chores. Then she got me a walker and I hopped to the edge of the bed. Every step made the pain in the broken tibia excruciating. I sat on the edge of the bed and cried. Mary helped me get some clothes on and I hopped to the kitchen. Sitting on the kitchen stool, I contemplated driving myself to the ER. Then I thought to myself, "That's really dumb," and I called 911.
I was examined by a house doctor, and he ordered xrays and they found the broken tibia. They called someone from my orthopedic group and he told me I had an option of conservative treatment or surgery. They would place a rod down through the tibia to stabilize the leg and I should be able to walk on it with partial weight. I opted for the surgery, but something else intervened. The routine EKG showed an irregular heartbeat. They postponed the Saturday morning surgery and put me in the cardiac unit and hooked me up to a heart monitor. Later in the day a heart doctor stopped in my room and told me that there was no problem with my heart, it was a bad EKG. Despite waiting an extra day for the surgery, I was glad for that news.
On Sunday morning, an othopedic surgeon operated on my leg and put the rod down through the tibia. However, further xrays showed a crack in the ankle. Hence, they also put screws in the ankle, and now I am not permitted to put any weight on my left leg for at least 4 weeks.
I was discharged from the hospital on June 24, and am now under Home Health Care until I am permitted to drive. A nurse came to draw blood for my Coumadin and an Occupational Therapist visited me and said that I am doing fine and I will not be needing her services anymore. So, that's where things stand right now. The picture above is of me sitting in my wheelchair in my office. God bless! - The Old Professor
