Sunset, Kailua-Kona, The Big Island, Hawaii, March 11, 2024

Sunset, Kailua-Kona, The Big Island, Hawaii, March 11, 2024
Sunset, Kailua-Kona, The Big Island, Hawaii, March 11, 2024

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Return to the Scene of the... -- Mon., Oct. 1

Crime? Accident? Misstep? ...Injury. Yes, Ill go with injury. 

We went to Corpus Christi today to follow-up with my maxillofacial surgeon. Before we went to his office, though, I told Bob I wanted to go back and see where I fell to figure out what on earth happened. All I know from my memory of the event is that I tripped on a curb I had no idea was there.

Let me preface this by saying a few things:
  1. It was dark.
  2. We were in a totally new city we had never visited before.
  3. Where I come from on the West Coast, wheelchair ramps/curb cuts are the whole corner of the intersection with no obstructions from sidewalk to street.
  4. As we got to the corner, since the light was red, we turned to look for a Veterans War Memorial mentioned in our walk directions. We spotted it and then turned to cross the street. The green light for our direction came on.
  5. Apparently my mind made an assumption as we waited for the light to change that this was a typical wheelchair/disabled ramp to the street with no obstructions.
Here are photos of where I fell (only this is in daylight).

We had just come down the hill from the cathedral.
 The steps coming down the hill are just off to the right of the photo above.


Came down this sidewalk in the dark. See the curb? I didn't.
I did not see the curb in the dark and I guess I didn't expect it. I feel justified in saying, "This really sucks!" OK I said it, now I feel better.

I got a bunch of angles of this place and took a photo of where they apparently moved the crosswalk about 10' to the left, which was around the corner to the left. We were looking back and to the right for the Veterans Memorial, which we saw, by the way. We were at a complete standstill at the red light. Our feet were behind the curb at that point.

The unexpected offensive tripper curb.
Another view of where I thought the crosswalk was.
Some of my dried blood (the dark color) is still on the street even after rains this week.
Where the crosswalk was moved (left of fire hydrant.) Dark color in street to right of stop light is my blood stain.
Here you can see the relocated crosswalk, also surrounded by curbs!
Restaurant where Good Samaritan lady worked. She brought ice over.
OK, enough about that. On to better stories.

At the maxillofacial surgeon's office, they took a new x-ray of my face. When the doctor took a look at me, he was stunned. He really couldn't believe how much I've healed in a week. Almost all the bruising is gone. My lizard lip scab fell off the night before, so that looked better. My x-ray looked very good and the bones are healing nicely. He said my nose is nice and straight.

Speaking of my nose, I don't know if I mentioned, but I have stents in my nose. With a broken nose, if you don't put in stents to keep the airway open, then your nose collapses in and you can't breathe through it. Stents are soft rubber, shaped like a half of a small tube. They are held in with stitches in the nose cavity. Am I grossing you out yet?

Anyway, my stents are holding my nose open and will be removed next week. This week they took out the stitches over my left eyebrow (actually there were more than six stitches, don't know exactly how many) and a few stitches on my nose.

I asked the doctor my whole page full of questions. Here's what he told me:
  • The liquid diet I'm eating is fine. Add Boost or Ensure. He thinks there's a non-dairy version.
  • Constant drainage out of the nose is normal in facial fractures.
  • There are all kinds of different side effects with head trauma.
  • Concussions and brain jarring take six months to heal. 
  • My jaw will most likely be unwired in three more weeks. 
  • No oral surgery on my teeth can be started until after my jaw is unwired. 
  • I will most likely need at least two root canals on front teeth. 
  • I have to keep sleeping in the recliner until my nose stents are out. 
  • No exercise until after the nose stents are removed next week, then only light exercise like walking...no lifting weights. Hah! 
The big deal today was they removed the heavy-duty bands from my wired jaw and replaced them with lighter weight bands that do not make me feel like I have lockjaw. Yay! He said in a couple of days, I can eat scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes and oatmeal!!! We'll see because right now I can't figure out how to get those foods in the small opening between the new lightweight bands, although they may stretch out a little.

The doctor explained to me why my original wired bands had to be so strong and so tight. Because my upper jaw and cheekbones were so badly broken and my lower jaw was healthy, he wired my mouth tightly shut so my lower jaw helped form a "cast" for my upper jaw. He did not want my jaw to move. Well let me tell you, it didn't. It definitely felt like lockjaw.  

Today was good from the perspective of losing the stitches in my face and the heavy-duty bands wiring my jaw together, plus the doctor is really happy with my healing so far.

Here is what I'm most thankful for:  
  • There was a crack in my skull above my left eye and a bone fragment could have entered my brain, but didn't. 
  • I could have broken my neck, but didn't. 
  • I could have been paralyzed, but wasn't.
Welcome to our newest subscribers CJ and Jerry of It's a Cozy Life. More new faces with new stories to tell. Thanks for dropping in.

And Doylene from A Gracious Home has joined us as well. Welcome. 

Sunnie pics:

Bob thought this was too much of a "butt shot," so he took the next photo.
Awwww.
Driving back to San Antonio from Corpus Christi, we saw a rainbow with suns rays going through it. Something is lost in translation, but you get the idea.

Rainbow with sun's rays plying it.
And a gorgeous sunset!
 Travel Bug out.

17 comments:

  1. Good News. Glad to hear you are progressing well. We continue praying for complete healing.

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  2. I'm glad to hear you will be able to eat some soft foods and got some looser bands. That should go a long way in helping you feel better. When we were hiking the other day on a pretty difficult and rocky trail in the mountains I kept thinking of you and how easy it was to fall on a flat street. It reminded me to be extra careful. Hang in there, every day should be a little better. Cute kitty pictures!

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    Replies
    1. Glad you're keeping yourself upright and cognizant while hiking.

      Every day is a little better, maybe not progressing as fast as I'd like (I'm pretty impatient), but definitely progressing.

      Right now Sunnie is draped over the back of my chair, making a nice, soft kitty pillow. He is such a sweet cat.

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  3. We're so glad to hear you are healing so well! Bless you...What an ordeal!

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  4. I'm so glad to hear you're healing is progressing so well. Keep up the good work!

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    Replies
    1. I'm trying. As usual, some days are better than others.

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  5. You have such a good attitude about all of this. Positive thinking does help healing. Your posts are very well done. Makes me feel like I'm there.

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    Replies
    1. Awww, shucks, Merikay, those words are music to my ears.

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  6. I agree . Your positive outlook helps with the healing. You've made me think about my steps in the woods. Take care. Joan

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    Replies
    1. Joan,
      Yes, do watch out for those steps in the woods. Sometimes gremlins and leprechauns reach out and snag your foot. LOL.

      Always be aware and not just for bears! (I'm sorry we spent a lot of time hiking in Yellowstone looking at "Be Bear Aware" signs.)


      Susan

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  7. Looks like you have a good case for a lawsuit. Who in their right mind would design a crosswalk like that? Scheee!! Glad you're feeling better. I enjoy reading your blog very much!

    Gene

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  8. We are all thinking of you and wishing you well. This could have happened to anyone but we are sorry it happened to you. Be well and safe travels, Ann and Jerry

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  9. You may not feel comfortable doing this but I had a root canal done in Progreso, Mexico in February for $180. I had a toothache recently in CO and when I went to the dentist and had xrays, I asked him how that tooth looked. He said it looked great. Just a thought for saving a bunch of money on dental work. Crowns cost around $200.
    Glad you are doing better.

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    Replies
    1. Actually that sounds like a good idea, especially since we don't have insurance. Where is Progreso? Did you feel safe there? Could you recommend a doctor? If you put it in another comment, I can get the info but don't need to publish it. Is there a way to contact them by email? Do they have a website?

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  10. Glad to hear you are progressing well through the healing process. I was out RVing and have been trying to play catch-up on my blog and reading all the other blogs so it was good to hear your news.

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