Dreaming Paris

I slipped on a slick, mildewed patch of water that dripped out of our air conditioner and onto the driveway next to the house in which we then lived. One leg went one way, the other a different way, and I was on crutches for nearly a week due to a twisted knee.

In yesterday’s fall I didn’t twist anything bad enough that I needed crutches, but I feel it in more places. It jarred my entire right side and part of my left.

I don’t have steps in front of the door of my studio. It’s a big step up and down. But yesterday, as I stepped down with my right foot, my ankle twisted and down came the rest of me, face forward. I held my hands out, of course. My right hand landed on one of the concrete flat, square blocks that create a path to my studio, scraping the palm. My left elbow and left thigh, somehow scraped on the block next to it. It felt like they hit on the edges, but who knows? They’re scraped and they feel bruised, though I see no bruising. The thigh is swollen at the scrape, though.

My right thumb, index finger, and little finger feel slightly out of place, but I can type. Pushing with them, like one does when using and squeezing a sponge, though, is somewhat uncomfortable. And the soreness goes up my thumb to my wrist, rather like carpal tunnel.

The worst, though, is my upper right arm and shoulder. They took most of my weight when I stopped my fall, because though I also used my left hand to stop my face from smashing into the concrete, I guess it was positioned wrong and kind of collapsed down so that my entire forearm hit the ground, spreading the weight over a greater surface area on that side. I wish that had happened on my right side, too.

The upshot is that I’m limping with a sore ankle and hip, and my right shoulder, arm, and hand prefer not to move much.

So if things tend to come in threes, does that mean I can look forward to another fall ten years from now, just before my 60th birthday? I don’t think I’ll be able to handle it then. I’m not doing so well with it, right now. I went to bed early, had horrible dreams all night long, and wasn’t able to wake up as early as I wanted to (this is supposed to be my first day at my new job). Even when I finally made myself get out of bed at nearly 11:00, it was very, very difficult.

Keep on dreaming,