broken

I broke my arm! yes, it's the arm I write (and type) with. no, I'm not suing the shopping place I was at....yet. Yes, I had lots of fun pain meds. LOL
Short story: I slipped and fell while at a home improvement store, and caught myself with my right arm. Snap. Pain became unbearable, and I asked them to call an ambulance.
BUT I know you want all the details! So here it is, the illustrious story of how I broke my arm!

NOT for the faint at heart!
David and Emily were coming for a few days, since they are moving to North Dakota (from Florida). We just moved here (Kentucky) a few months ago, and I still haven't organized my craft room....there are boxes upon storage buckets of scrapbook stuff and sewing stuff. You know those 18-gallon storage buckets? There are about 25 of them...yeah! anyway, I wanted to organize them, so we went to Lowe's to buy shelves. We had one of those flat carts, and all the items on it. One of the wall braces was falling off, and I went to kick it back on. And while my right leg was off the floor, my left foot lost its footing, and I fell. I landed on my right arm, and it really really hurt. I thought it was just going to feel better, so when the employee came over, I told him I was okay. P-chan helped me sit up, and the pain in my arm just kept getting worse. I pulled back my sleeve and realized it was swollen, so I told P-chan to tell them to call an ambulance. At this point, I was in so much pain I couldn't stop crying. They got a wheelchair for me, and somehow got me into it. P-chan and the manager filled out some paperwork while I bawled. I can only imagine what other people were thinking as they passed me...I'm in a wheelchair, bawling, with nobody really paying attention to me, and P-chan is trying to distract the boys.
So the ambulance got there, and as they walk in, P-chan asked me, "So, do you want me to buy this stuff?" I asked him, "Are you going to install them?" "uh...no." "Then no!"
So the paramedics got to the wheelchair and asked where I was injured. I pointed to my right wrist. The girl asked if I could take off my jacket, and I just laughed hysterically and said no. "Then we'll have to cut it off." Now, this is my leather jacket that I got a freakin' awesome deal on. "Then yes, I can take it off." So we got that off without hurting my wrist too much, and they moved me to the stretcher. Then, this trained paramedic-chick decided to take my pulse on the injured wrist!!!! I screamed and yelled at the top of my lungs, "What is wrong with you??!!" She apologized, but the pain was too much for me. "I'm going to pass out." So then she said, "Try to wait until we get to the truck." I don't know if she was trying to be funny, but I mentally named her Stupid Girl. The other paramedic got me an oxygen mask, and I was able to stay conscious. At this point we are ready to go to the truck, and P-chan asked me whether to follow with the boys, or to find a baby-sitter, and I requested the sitter. I was sure this wouldn't be pretty. But it was after 9:30 at night, so I wasn't sure who he would call. Then they told us that because we were at the southern end of the county, we would be going north for a hospital -- even though the actual closest hospital was only 3 miles to the south!! ugh!
In the ambulance, it was very bumpy. And they couldn't give me any pain meds. And my oxygen mask kept falling off, until they fixed it. AND they kept asking me questions!! Like where I live, my insurance, etc. AND they couldn't hear me well because of the mask, so they kept asking me to repeat myself. aaaaagggghhh! I finally shoved my wallet at them and said, "This is what you need. Now let me breathe." Stupid Girl didn't know how to splint my arm (she tried to take off the orange wrapping, DUH), so it took longer than it should have. We finally got to the hospital, and by this time I was much calmed down, but still in pain. The paramedics turned me over to the hospital staff, reporting an "obvious disfiguration to the right wrist." gee, really??
I guess it was around 11:00pm by this time. They got me to a room, and I finally got a demerol shot about half-hour later. Then they took x-rays. Boy, THAT was fun. not! They had to remove my splint, and then twist my arm into odd positions. Well, they seemed odd and painful because my arm/wrist was broken. Then I got to watch TV for a bit. It was after midnight, and I called a nurse in. "Two things. I have to use the bathroom, and can you find out where my husband is?" It was a male nurse, so he said he'd get someone else to help me with the bathroom, but he'd call P-chan for me. On the phone, P-chan assured me that the boys were fine with friends from church, but he had had trouble getting directions to the hospital.
He got to the hospital around 12:30, and they STILL had not splinted my arm. and I STILL had to pee!!! The nurse finally came in and gave me a shot of morphine, and then splinted my arm and they discharged me, with a prescription for Vicadin. I was surprised, because I expected a cast, and they explained that the cast would have to be done by an orthopedic surgeon, due to the proximity to the wrist, and the swelling. So, the first thing I did (with P-chan's assistance) was shuffle down the hall (in my socks, LOL) and go to the bathroom. Then we walked to the car and tried to figure out where the nearest 24-hour pharmacy was. We finally found a Rite Aid. By this time, it's almost 2am. The pharmacist asked if I'd ever taken Vicadin, I said no, and he asked how I react to medicine, so I told him I get loopy on Robitussin. "Oh! You're a cheap drunk! ahahahahahahaha" yes, thanks, laugh at the lady in pain. {turns out I had taken Vicadin, when I got all my wisdom teeth removed 6 years ago, but I only knew it by the generic name, hydrocodone} So by the time we got home and got me settled on the couch, it was about 3am. This became a magical hour for me, because I got to take my pills at 3, 9, 3, and 9. LOL
The rest of the weekend is a haze. I know that the boys came home the next day, and the same family (that watched them) brought us pizza...I was thirsty all the time, and I was convinced that my right thumb had also sustained some damage, because I couldn't move it and whenever the boys bumped it, it was like I had broken my arm again. But I spent most of the time asleep. P-chan asked me to sit on the bed while he folded the laundry, and I had taken my pill about 10 minutes before. I remember talking with him, and the next thing I know, I can hear him, but my eyes are closed, and I was too tired to respond. I'm sure I was drooling, too. ROFL
On Monday morning, at about 8am, he called the surgeon that the hospital recommended. I was foggy, but I heard him say, "Yes, she needs to have her arm set....What?....What!?....No, I don't think you understand. She is in a LOT of pain, she can't wait until Friday, that would be a whole week....No, thank you. I'll find another doctor." So he called to doctors on Fort, and they said they could get me in at 10. That gave us enough time to get the boys ready, and leave. About halfway there (it's a 45-minute drive), I asked P-chan where my pills were, because it was after 9 and I was in a lot of pain. The color in his face drained and he said, "I forgot it." great. So we finally get in to the office, and I know it's partly because I was in a lot of pain and hadn't eaten much, but BOY the nurse and doctor seemed stupid. The nurse didn't recognize the name of the hospital we went to, and it was the doctor who "figured it out" that we didn't live ON FORT so of course we didn't go to that hospital. I asked when I could get some pain medicine, and he said I couldn't have any until AFTER they set the bone. Then he said they wouldn't be able to do it anyway, they were overbooked. I looked him in the eye and said, "It is now 8 hours since I had pain medication. I didn't get to eat breakfast, and I'm thirsty. My arm has been broken for over 2 days, and everyone is acting like THEY are inconvenienced. I won't be able to come back tomorrow, because my husband has to leave for 2 days, and I can't drive while I'm hopped up on pain meds. I have guests coming from out of town, and I'd really like to NOT cry the entire time they're here. I need my arm set RIGHT NOW." He just looked at me for a few seconds, then clicked a few things in the computer and told us to go upstairs, with the warning that I could not eat or drink anything because they may have to put me under for the setting, and they don't like unconscious people barfing on them. LOL So then I got more x-rays, and we waited for the Setting Room to have space, and there I waited for another half-hour (with no splint).
They FINALLY got someone to set it, but only 1 person, and it's a 2-person job. They asked P-chan to assist. He said okay, but after a few minutes of holding my arm up and watching me wince and cry silently, he looked like he was going to throw up (he's no good in a delivery room, either, let me tell ya!) so they dragged someone else in. The WORST part was when they had the bandage-stuff on, and had to SQUEEZE my wrist to make sure it was set properly, while the bandage hardened. I definitely felt the room spinning then.
So that's it! The cast was on, I could eat, drink, and take my drugs.
Of course, P-chan had to be out of town for the next 2 days, so it was truly a blessing when Emily and David were there. To be a good host (ie, awake!), I didn't take any meds during the day, but I sure did right before bed. They took care of me and my boys, when I should have been taking care of them. Emily even made me Spaetzle, my most favoritest of all her dishes. And when she wanted to hop down to Big Lots (the best offering in our wee town), she even did up my pants for me. 'nuff said.