From Bad To Worse

Harry had a busy day today, leaving before 10 and due home around 4. I “worked” as much as I could, then ran some errands, including stopping at the vet for a concern about Stockings, the big problem of the day, I thought.

Jane came over to help me move a crate for Stockings, who was going to get some attention requiring drugs.

Then, Tracy, the electrician, arrived around 3:45 to fix Bart’s waterer. It was a pretty ordinary day and I was looking forward to Harry’s return, and dinner.

And that’s it for pictures today. The rest of the story is up to your imagination and my nightmares.

I didn’t hear Harry arrive, but I heard him call from the house, and ran over to welcome him home. Life went from ordinary to awful in a blink.

Harry had picked up a sculpture to put in an upcoming art show. It’s a sculpture of a Hussar on a galloping horse and weighs about 70 pounds. Carrying it into the house, his right foot slipped on the ice and he sort of sat down (I don’t quite understand it, but that’s how he described it). The sculpture crashed into his leg. He said it felt like getting shot, and he was pretty sure his leg was broken. From his gesture to where it hurt, it seemed like the distal part of the femur. I have never seen Harry in so much pain (and I have been with him for many broken bones).

I called Jane, and she and Tracy came over from the barn. I wanted to call 911 and get an ambulance, but Harry insisted that he should go in the car to the walk in orthopedic clinic on Hwy K for an x ray. Getting him into the car was horrifying and could not have been done without Tracy and Jane’s help. If Tracy ever gives up being an electrician, he could be an EMT.

Once we were in the car, I called the ortho place and told them we thought he had a broken femur. They said to go to an emergency room. Of course, they suggested one in St. Charles county, but we pushed on to St. Luke’s. We like what we know, as Patrick O’Brian said about sailors.

If getting him into the car was painful (and it was), getting him out was excruciating. They could not believe we had not called an ambulance. As usual, I was chastised. Then, I was kicked out of the exam room for being too intense! This is not the first time that has happened, and it was probably for the best.

Soon, I was reunited with Harry and he was given a dose of morphine for the pain that was a 10, (it needed a higher score, but 10 was the top). Harry says it’s the first time he has ever rated pain a 10. It was distressing to see.

They took him off for x rays and came back with confirmation of a broken femur. But of as much concern, was a nasty puncture wound on the inside of his thigh where the tail of the sculpture’s horse had impaled him. And since he’s on blood thinners, it was bleeding a lot. Imagine being stabbed with a ragged and dull knife with 70 pounds of force behind it!

Well, maybe I’ve been going into too much detail, but we were in the emergency room for a long time, through the most frightening crisis I have experienced, maybe ever, when his blood pressure dropped precipitously after a second dose of morphine. I did point out that he had already had morphine, but he was in a LOT of pain and I think they really were trying to help. When he suddenly went pale and confused, I got pretty intense, but this time I was not kicked out. They were too busy starting fluids and giving him an antidote! Yikes! He rallied round in a few minutes, but I may never recover from that fright!

Eventually, we were brought upstairs to a private room with a couch that I can sleep on – luxury! Tomorrow we will see the orthopedic surgeon and will know more. They haven’t shown us the x rays, but have told us the femur is broken.

Moving from gurney to bed was no fun for Harry (I stayed out in the hall). But everyone here has been very nice and it’s good to be settled in.

Of course, one of the huge disappointments (besides missing out on a birthday dinner with a dear friend at our favorite restaurant tomorrow) is that Harry will not be able to perform in The Philadelphia Story next month. Harry is very sad indeed. No jokes about breaking a leg!

Jane and Marianne are caring for the animals, so that worry is quelled. And Harry has had some more drugs that have finally given him relief (praise alprazolam). He’s sleeping now, which is the only escape from the pain for a while.

We are deep in the woods now, and it’s going to be a long trip out, but we are already feeling very fortunate in our friends, and the outpouring of love and support we have already had. Now if the weather would just help us out a bit instead of magnifying the difficulties!

. More tomorrow…