Something to keep you ocupodo

The names of this story have been edited to protect the innocent.

This is about the first day of my broken ankles existence.

May 10, 2006

I’m usually a very cautious person, people will testify to this, I’ve learned from experience that doing stuff that I’ve never done before usually ends in embarrassment. Like at camp a couple years ago, they had a blob. Everyone said I should go on it, so I did… I believe I went on it 3 times, out of those 3 times I only successfully “blobbed” once. So if something involves me jumping off of a solid object onto an uncertain future I will most likely not do it.

Now on to the beginning, my Mommie Dearest and myself were visiting some friends at their house. I was outside with the people my age and we were doing things, I was sitting on this lovely swing just enjoying the peace and my friends had been (for days) telling me I really, really needed to go on the zip line. I was looking at the zip line for a long time, and then I said, “Alright, I’ll do it.” So everyone came out to watch. *laughs evilly* My friends told me I needed to sign the liability form before I went on it, and I believed them at first. I told my Mom my last request, to have them play Great Is Thy Faithfulness at my memorial service. Then I went, well, I went about an inch in the right direction and 4 feet down. But see that really comes out to about 11 feet from my head to the ground.

Everyone came running over, my Mom and my friend’s Mom began taking off my shoe and doing all those other things. See, if I had landed in the sitting position I probably would’ve been fine, but all my weight landed on my right ankle. I think somehow the top of my ankle hit first, there was a beauty of a bruise right away. My friends had these reactions, staring at me worriedly and whimpering. I kept telling everyone it was alright, it wasn’t anyone’s fault. But that didn’t make them feel any better. I really wished I could make them feel better.

It was quite the ordeal getting me from the backyard up the stairs, into the house, through the house, out the door, down more stairs, and too the car.

I don’t think it would be right to forget about what the Petersons did to help me, they got me water and I think they brought me a pain pill. They helped me inside and sat me down to rest, with my leg propped up on a pillow. Mrs. Peterson really wanted Mom to use her jeep to take me to the E.R. They were really very nice, and well… Quite a bit guilt stricken.

Anyway, my Mom and I went home…. My Dad wasn’t happy, but we headed off to Silverdale to the E.R. So we waited for a long time and they finally let us in. At that point my ankle looked really bad, like I had a tumor on one side of my ankle. I got x-rays, the man that did them was very nice. But really people, pulling on my ankle REALLY didn’t feel good. I suppose he had to get it in the right position, but it wasn’t pleasant.

My Mom and I went into the “casting room” a very nice lady nurse helped me, she even got the best doctor for me. The doctor came in and said, “You’ve got two fractures on two bones.” She said something about 6-8 weeks in a cast, seeing an Orthopedic doctor, and perhaps surgery… “SURGERY?!” Methinks. That’s when I cried a little, I didn’t cry when I fell at that moment I was groaning in pain. But surgery? Argh!! I didn’t want this to be a huge ordeal, but it seemed that it was becoming that.

On to the more important things, the nurse brought in crutches she showed me how to use them. Then I was alone in the casting room with my crutches, and I named them. Yes, I named my crutches but just wait it gets better. Chuck and Bertha, I decided. Chuck was more stripy and Bertha was blotchy. The nurse put a splint on me, which wasn’t too painful. It looked really creepy though, this huge malformed splint on my leg. Didn’t look natural.

I told Kristy about my leg, she already knew because John told her. But she laughed so hard at me when I told her how, see it’s kind of a Snelson trait. We break bones doing seemingly simple things, like ramming a toe on a chair leg, or head banging/dancing around and breaking a toe (that was not me).

On the car ride home, well actually ever since I had gone on the zip line I had been speaking to God about it, asking for strength, wisdom, patience and peace. I was voicing my fears about the surgery, and how I really didn’t want to have that. I heard a song that really voiced my heart at the moment, the words spoke of how I cannot comprehend the plans God has made. Which is really big even now, 13 days later. I’ve been learning things that I wouldn’t have learned if I hadn’t been through this.

Whew, it was good to get home that night. I crawled up the stairs, really frustrated with my handicap. Dad documented that homecoming, thanks…. I was close to crying, but now we have some funny pictures.