Girl Clown Dancing
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact

Fall

10/31/2018

14 Comments

 
Picture
I took a fall.    
 
As the photo above shows, it was a gnarly plunge. 
 
Covered by the impressive bandage on my forehead are six stitches, sewn with thread that’s royal blue. The black eyes match nicely, and are hematomas, a collection of blood that pools outside broken blood vessels, and which often appear after this kind of injury.  
 
I’d like to say the accident happened while diving off the spectacular cliffs of Acapulco.  Or, I’d like to say it
took place while perfecting my curtsy for an upcoming visit with Queen Elizabeth II.  I’d be happy to recite either
of these scenarios.
 
But the fact is, where and how the fall happened was ho-hum.
 
I was walking on an uneven, black gravel road near the house where my daughter lives.  Then I lost my balance. 
That’s all. 
 
But like every accident I’ve had, time slowed down during the descent. 
 
My right foot caught first.  Unable to catch myself, the other foot followed.  Next my knees buckled, and finally, my forehead hit the ground with a loud thwack, taking the brunt of the fall.  Thanks to that impact, I started to bleed, a lot.  (Since there are a number of superficial blood vessels on our heads, even a minor cut can bleed profusely here.)  
 
The wind was knocked out of me.  But after a few minutes, or maybe more, I stood up and ever so slowly, returned to the house where I’d started the walk.  
 
Then I looked into a mirror, which was a mistake.  
 
This is because I saw that a chunk of my forehead had literally detached from my face.  Thankfully, a washcloth placed over the mess calmed me down a bit because then I didn’t have to look at it.
 
Luckily, my daughter was less than five minutes away, and talking incessantly, she drove over and rushed me to the nearest urgent care clinic.  On the way there, I called the Hubster and told him where to meet us.
 
As soon as the front office receptionist saw me, she immediately ushered us into an examination room. 
 
Here, I was told I was going to need stitches.  This did not sit well, because all I could picture was what I had seen in old movies: screaming children being held down by their parents while scowling doctors sewed them up.  But I didn’t tell anyone because I was trying to hold it together for my child’s sake (and my own).  
 
Forty-five minutes later, the physician came in. The Hubster had arrived by then, too, and held my hand while the doctor did what needed to be done.
 
This man was funny and kind, a retired surgical oncologist who was 73 years old and had spent most of his career putting soldiers back together at VA hospitals around the country.  But, he said, he liked to stay in practice, so he drove about five hours a couple of times a week from his home in Northern California to work at this clinic. 
 
What I appreciated most of all from him is that after I asked, he told me exactly what he was doing, step by step, no matter how mundane.   
 
So, I remained quiet while he explained how he was cleaning the wound, and what was in the cluster of numbing shots he was administering below my scalp line.  When the time came, the act of stitching me up felt only like prongs from a tiny fork, barely touching my head.  
 
After a tetanus shot and some basic instructions—change the band aid at least once a day; use Neosporin, and keep the wound clean—I got home.  I was also more than a little shook up when I realized how an ordinary walk could instantly become something way scarier.   
 
And yet, I’m blessed.
 
I didn’t black out.  I didn’t have a concussion.  I didn’t break any bones.  (After the accident, a friend told me about a friend of hers, who broke an arm and hand in 43 places after he fell.) 
 
Also, we knew that we’d need to pay whatever the cost was. 
 
But when the doctor saw I had no health insurance, he charged me the lowest tier the clinic offered—an
astounding $149. 
 
Then, upon hearing that the Hubster had once had to give his oldest daughter emergency stitches, this man gifted my spouse with a little kit—complete with metal clamp and scissors—to remove the stitches.  (“If you put them in, you can take them out,” he said cheerily.  Eight days later, while I sat perfectly still on a tall stool in our green and white kitchen, my husband did so.) 
 
I also decided that I wasn’t going to let a jumbo bandage and black eyes stop me from going on a vacation that had been in the works for months. 
​
So three days later, I hoped two planes to Chicago to meet a colleague.  We had a great time—even though I got more than a few stares.    
 
Since then, I’ve been applying Emu oil on my forehead to lessen the scarring.  It looks pretty good.  Arnica took care of the black eyes; those bruises are now nearly gone.   
 
As John Lennon once said, “Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.”  
 
In this case, I accidentally took a small detour.   
14 Comments
Ron Jarvis
10/31/2018 06:45:36 pm

Your red badge of courage.
It will give you character!

Reply
Hilary A Grant
10/31/2018 07:13:46 pm

But thanks to Emu oil, barely a scar :)

Reply
Rebecca R Galloway
10/31/2018 09:04:06 pm

Good job soldiering on!

Reply
Hilary A Grant
11/1/2018 11:42:31 am

Well, it's how the Roberts' Girls do it, right? :)

Reply
kimberly fonturbel
10/31/2018 09:24:21 pm

Oh...My....Word.......Hilary......Unbelievable journey...I am so sorry you went thru this, I can't imagine how brave you had to be to go through the fall and after process. Holy Smokes. Now i want a snail decal-slow and steady as a reminder for myself. I wish I could rewind time and undo this fall you! I'm so glad you found oils and a great doc and have a great daughter and husband that helped you through it. <3

Reply
Hilary A Grant
11/1/2018 11:41:43 am

I am back to taking daily walks, but yes, slow and steady. I'm not running any races anytime soon!

Reply
Larry Grant
11/1/2018 01:10:36 pm

Quite the Saturday! The "Hubster" aka. The Stitch Remover. You are healing up really well.

Reply
Hilary A Grant
11/1/2018 03:55:27 pm

It was a Saturday to remember, that's for sure.

Reply
Jackie Cape
11/1/2018 04:23:13 pm

Ouch! Good thing everything worked out in the end. Feel better soon!

Reply
Hilary A Grant
11/1/2018 09:15:03 pm

Thank you. Every day is getting a teeny bit better... there is some PTSD involved.

Reply
Susan Jordan
11/18/2018 08:47:33 pm

I still get a little woozy looking at your hematomas! Did you have bad headaches for a while afterward?

Reply
Hilary A Grant
11/19/2018 10:31:13 am

Yes, more than a few, especially after the stitches came out. I couldn't do any yoga poses w/ my forehead on my mat, because THAT resulted in an immediate, splitting headache. Even some poses where my forehead was close to the ground, such as child's pose, were impossible. It's better now, although not 100 percent, and the scar is fading a bit every day. :)

Reply
Kerri Ann Fisher
12/27/2018 05:05:00 pm

Yikes, you poor thing!

Reply
Hilary A Grant
12/27/2018 09:50:52 pm

It was pretty scary at the time!

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Hilary Roberts Grant

    Journalist, editor, filmmaker, foodie--and a clown! 
    ​

    Categories

    All
    Activism
    Blogaversaries
    Doing It Right
    Food
    Holidays
    Living Life
    Miscellany
    My Girl
    People
    Reading
    Remembering
    Taking Care
    Traveling

    Archives

    December 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.