Injured wrist won’t force me to pack it in

I was up just after dawn Friday. We were closing on our old lake house the next day, and although most of the furniture had been moved, it was up to me to pack what was left in the house.

I felt up to the task. As a matter of fact, it was one of those rare days when I had extra energy.

My husband and I were to meet with the electrician at the new lake house at 7 a.m. We drove in separate cars, and when I arrived, my husband was down on the dock. I started down the dirt and gravel path when all of a sudden I slipped. Instead of sitting down, which might have bruised my behind, I shot out my right arm to break the fall. I felt an electric shock travel from my palm to my shoulder. The next thing I knew, I was skidding down the hill. I stopped about 5 feet down and tried to stand up. But once I put weight on my hand I almost cried out because the pain was so intense.

I somehow got to the dock holding the injured arm. I mumbled something to my husband about falling but because he didn’t see blood he just dusted off the back of my “white” pants and said I needed to be more careful.

Back at the house, I kept thinking the pain would subside any minute. Having been in the medical field, I knew the first thing I should do is ice the area, but I didn’t have time to worry about my hand. It took awhile for the swelling to commence, but when it did, it went to town. By 8:30 a.m. I was toting a small football. I drove to the nearest store and bought tape and an immobilizer. I taped my wrist (I must say I’m a good taper), stuffed my hand into the wrist gadget and swallowed several milligrams of pain medication. Then I tried to focus on the task at hand, which seemed daunting.

By 10 a.m., I hadn’t finished packing one box, and although the medicine had numbed the pain, my right hand was useless, and it was tough going with one working arm.

It finally dawned on me that the darn thing might be broken. So I called my husband.

“What are the chances of a 57-year-old woman who has been diagnosed with osteoporosis falling and placing all of her 150-plus pounds (you didn’t think I was going to tell you my real weight) on one tiny little wrist and just spraining it?”

My husband saw my point. But when I refused to go to the emergency room, he said he would ask the chiropractor who has an office down the hall to take an X-ray.

By the time I arrived at the chiropractor’s office, my fingers were turning purple and swelling was seeping out around the wrist restraint. He took three X-rays and five minutes later the two of us were staring at the films.

“The problem is I don’t know how to read a wrist X-ray,” the nice man said. “But I figure if it’s broken there’d be a crack somewhere and I don’t see one. So I guess you just sprained it.”

After thanking him, I took the X-rays to my husband’s office. My husband looks at X-rays every day, but if there are no teeth involved he can’t read the film either. I left the office not knowing any more than when I arrived. My hand was throbbing, a third of the day was gone and I had no idea how I was going to finish the packing. I leafed through my kid Rolodex in my head and realized that ALL of them were either out of town or had previous plans that couldn’t be changed. I spent the rest of the day as a one-armed packer. By 5 p.m. I was pooped; getting everything moved the next day seemed hopeless. I couldn’t lift a teacup with my injured wing. How was I going to help move a 27-inch television?

I believe in miracles, and it just so happened that my nephew had returned home for the summer and home was fewer than 20 miles away. All it took was one quick phone call and with the help of my sister-in-law and her strapping son, we cleared the house by late Saturday afternoon.

It has been five days since my little fall, and although I hurt my nonwriting hand, I have been amazed that most mindless tasks, such as pulling on underwear or fastening a bra, require both hands. It has been a long time since my children have shown so much concern. Everyone wants to help me. It may take ALL summer before my limb is mended.

If you have a comment or know how to read an X-ray of a wrist, please e-mail me at jdh@socket.net