storytime!

So, everybody who reads this is already aware of what happened...but I'll just put this down for the sake of the record, so when I look back on posts I'll be able to say "Oh God, I remember that!".

Short version:
I broke my leg/ankle yesterday by slipping on ice outside the apartment complex.

Long version:
I went out to my car yesterday morning and found a really thin layer of ice on the windsheild. I went ahead and got in, starting the car and turning on the windsheild wipers to see if they'd possibly get the ice of. They didn't, so I grabbed the ice scraper and got out..and accidentally shut the door. All of the doors besides the driver's door were locked, and the door handle on that door doesn't work. So my car is running and the keys and my purse are locked inside.

I ended up going to the office to get a spare set of keys to my apartment so I could call somebody to help me get into my car. The office didn't open until nine, but luckily some of the maintenence guys were hanging around in the lobby. One of them got me the keys and I headed back to my building. I ended up slipping on a big patch of ice and experiencing a pretty epic fall. I heard a crack (never good) and I landed halfway in mud (also never good).

I started to freak a little because I couldn't get up, I didn't have a cell phone to call anybody, I was in pain and it was cold, and there was literally nobody around. After about five minutes of that, it seemed like ten people showed up at the same time...Luckily somebody called 911 and a few minutes later an ambulance and a fire truck arrived. The paramedics and firemen were having difficulty gaining traction as well. All this time my car's still been running with my purse locked inside...so the firemen go to take care of that while the paramedics get me into the ambulance for the two second drive across the street to the St. Vincent ER.

After that, it was basically a lot of waiting. Waiting to get x-rays, waiting to be transferred upstairs to a room, waiting for the surgeon to come and tell us something. Luckily, no surgery was necessary...what the doctors told him earlier in the day was a lot more serious than what he saw on my x-rays. So I can't put weight on it for six weeks (no driving for me), I won't be able to walk around comfortably for about three months, and the surgeon said it'd "make noise" for about a year.

I honestly thought it wouldn't be as serious as it was at first....Then after the word "surgery" was mentioned several times and they actually admitted me to the hospital with the assumption that I would be staying there for several days, it kind of hit me. I guess I thought something requiring that much fuss would hurt a lot more. In reality, this hasn't hurt quite as much as my surgery did a year and a half ago. But the pain is going to last a lot longer, which is something I haven't decided is better or worse. Not that it matters in the long run, things will get better one way or another. This is just a temporary inconvenience. Maybe just a little less temporary than other things...haha.

Luckily I have so many people who are so awesomely supportive and helpful. I had five people visiting at once yesterday! I got two things of cookies, one from Jon (those yogurt chocolate chip ones are amazing, by the way!)...and one from Allison and the kids. Brenna helped cut them out and she chose Halloween sprinkles for them. Laura's been a huge help, bringing me stuff and hanging out despite having a crapload of stuff to do before leaving for Colorado. My dad left work and drove down from Chicago to spend a few hours hanging out with me.

All in all, despite the crappy timing of this accident, I'm really happy to have the friends and family that I do, and I still plan on having a great Christmas and New Year's!