Saturday, July 21, 2018

Catholic Hermit: Flying from the Stairway to Heaven

I've not fallen off the face of this earth, although certainly could have quite easily or so a neurosurgeon commented.  Lucky I was not paralyzed, miraculous no broken bones, fortunate not dead--some of the comments.  One nurse said I must have a powerful guardian angel to have guided me out to road and up a ways, not conscious of any of it.

So I was removing some risers to the stairs I'd installed in this old farmhouse hermitage. I had made an error in their lengths, and Craig who coaches me from lumberyard admitted that it really would be best to re-do those.  Yes, he is so right.  I was using pry bar to get them off and amazed at how easily they were prying off!  Got to the top step on the stairway that I had named "Stairway to Heaven,", and that riser was slightly harder so had to give a more powerful pull with the pry bar.  The pry bar slipped out from the riser unexpectedly (accidents are unexpected), and the force propelled me backwards in the air.

I was able to somehow turn my body forward and look down, hoping and praying in split seconds that I could get my foot down on a tread to help slow the airborne momentum.  That is the last I remember of what my adult kids pieced together with the help of someone who found me up on the road a ways, covered in blood.  I was knocked unconscious for up to 40 minutes, but also was somehow wandering in the house due to trail of blood and pool of blood where I must have been on floor for awhile.  

Still not sure what I smacked, but the EMT folks thought bones broken, and forehead was opened up to the skull and down into the eye socket.  (Yes, was also told at trauma center that I was fortunate to still have my eye.)

Anyway, it will be two weeks this Tuesday.  I was taken to a major trauma center for five states, and have two brain bleeds.  But they stabilized so am back in hermitage.  Daughter and grandson drove, son flew in from NYC; they did a couple or so days of work team and also tending me, until they had to leave and my shock, adrenalin and euphoria at seeing them wore off.  I wiped out fully for next many days.  So much a blur.  Other daughter flew out a couple nights ago--very late, so drove over yesterday morning.  

In the meantime my shoulder flared up terribly.  Hope it is not my SLAP tear surgery messed up.  Strange.  Could not manage the excruciating pain; EMT came again early in morning the other day, but enough pain meds and muscle relaxants helped me get a grip, and they checked other vitals.  I said daughter would be there soon, and they also said they can come back.  Keeping arm immobile, but wow, what horrible pain in that shoulder.  I took more pain medication than ever in that time period, and I'm not prone to ever call 911 myself.  

Today daughter was going to drive me to ER, but I got rational and we talked it over.  My body with the head injury still not up for being driven anywhere, and the ER would take MRI and say to get appointment with a shoulder orthopedic specialist and take Tylenol.  So I went into post-shoulder surgery mode of six years ago and am not moving my arm.  Only problem is at night when I sleep.  Also, of course, am on pain meds for head injury still.

Other daughter and husband and grandson might return in a week.  I had to take a bit to realize and accept that God is not choosing that I be able to finish the place due to finances running out.  I could wait for body to heal, but now with the shoulder making a major fuss, and time of essence, gotta just relinquish that aspect and let go and be grateful for help of any kind.

Even getting a ride to get stitches out in a week or so more is not easy to come by.  Then there will be another brain scan and follow up with neurosurgeon to see if brain bleeds have been absorbed by body.  I'm not learning about TBI's--traumatic brain injury--as don't want to anticipate anything--but others are reading and can tell me if what some of the aspects I am experiencing are that.

I tell you, I think in some ways God allowed this so that I'd be able to deeply relate with head injury victims.  I had been praying a lot about a great-nephew--young lad--who was plowed into two years ago at age 11 by a big teen on skateboard.  He has suffered terribly from residual TBI problems including seizures.  I now know even a bit of what that child has endured.  And, I also grasp more what so many soldiers and other accident victims, head gunshot wounds and various head injury victims experience.  

Helps me pray and have greater empathy and understanding.

I am most fortunate, of course.  Memory coming back rather well, we all think, and speech and writing back--speech being less so but amazingly unscathed.

There are other lessons from the Lord, and He is definitely guiding my transition from this place and efforts to what is next.  Not totally sure what, but I know He is allowing this to help guide me in His own inimitable way.

God bless His Real Presence in us!

Appreciate any prayers you are willing to pray for all matters here to fall into place and to better endure the type of pain that is not anything I would grasp had I not experienced this.    

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