My new summer accessories

So the morning started out normal enough. Rachel and Nathan had the last meeting of Youth Conference from 9-12 so the rest of us were doing regular home-management tasks, cleaning bathrooms, vacuuming, cleaning the pool, mowing, weed whipping, bush trimming, etc. You get the idea. About 11:30 we started working on a new project. We are making plywood coverings for each of our windows in preparation of hurricane season. We started with our largest, most difficult window, the one at the back of the house in the middle of the living room.

We cut the plywood to the square part first. We put together one 4'by 8' with one section 23" wide and eight feet long, held together with a 2" *4". Jason and I were moving it from the garage to the house to see how well it fit in the opening. As we were carrying this board Jason let me lead the way, so I was walking forward carrying this large board, setting the pace, because he has learned to be patient with my lack of strength. As I moved to the left to avoid a pillar I managed to run the edge of the plywood directly into the bone of my left ankle that protrudes out. (This is called the maleolus but Jae (lovingly) says I'm showing off when I use medical terms.)

It HURT SO BADLY!!! I immediately dropped the board and hopped, crying, into the house to collapse. I got ice on it, elevated it, and took ibuprofen. After I stopped crying and calmed down I tried walking and it was painful. Rachel and Nathan returned home about 12:30 and continued helping Jason while I tried to recover. So I hobbled back outside to offer verbal support with my foot in a bucket of ice water. When my foot kept hurting I hobbled back inside to elevate it again.

By 3 the pain in the front of my foot was excruciating and I could bear absolutely no weight at all on it. It was definitely getting worse, not better. But the ankle didn't swell and there was no visible bruising, at least not enough to commiserate with the amount of pain I was feeling. I finally asked Jae to take me to urgent care. It was x-rayed and it appears there is no fracture but I was diagnosed with a bone bruise. The splint is to protect it from further damage and bumping. The crutches are so that I can stay off it, completely. I did manage to score some Vicodin for the pain but the bottom line is that this is NO fun!

I have a lot of things planned for the summer and hanging out in a splint with crutches while a bone bruise heals is not on my list. I've checked it twice and can assure you it's not there. Oh well, I guess I'll just use this as yet another opportunity to learn patience and humility and all those other wonderful character-building qualities. I am grateful it isn't broken, splints can be removed for sleeping and bathing, casts cannot, so I won't complain too loudly, at least not until the drugs run out. =)