After the Fall

When I fell, it was in full sight of many people, some of whom came running. They were all very solicitous, wouldn't let me get up right away, and checked to see what might be injured. When they saw that my wrist and lower arm were already quite swollen and turning black and blue, it was immediately decided that I needed to go to the ER. They got some ice, propped up my arm, and sent me on my merry way, accompanied by Carrie and Sheri, the organizers of the workshop. They were a great support team, taking care of me and all the little details, like finding my ID and insurance cards, and getting me checked in, and out. All while sitting in the ER waiting room with no dinner but a couple of candy bars.

The outcome, after much probing around and a slew of Xrays, was that I had fractured 3 bones in my wrist. One of these was the scaphoid, at the base of the thumb, which is harder to heal than the others, and requires total immobilization. So they put me in a splint (I was still too swollen for a cast) from my upper arm all the way down and encasing the thumb completely. It wasn't very well done, IMHO, but it did the job; it kept my thumb immobile, as instructed.

The rest of the time in Taos was, shall I say, bittersweet. I felt like the 1-Armed Paperhanger, unable to do so many things for myself. Everyone was so helpful and solicitous; helping me at the buffet, carrying things, opening doors, etc. You get the picture. Jane and her wonderful husband, John, took me along on a couple of excursions and to dinner. But the fact remained that I couldn't knit; could only watch the others knitting, take notes when Jane was explaining her methods, and sit there arranging and rearranging my yarns, looking for just the right mix of colors and textures to use on MY Road to Taos Feather & Fan Wrap, whenever I could finally start working on it. Of course that mix changed daily, some times more than once, as I'd see other possibilities.



The other problem was: How would I get back home? Luckily, 4 of the women were driving to Albuquerque to fly home, and one of them offered to drive me (and my car) to my friend's house outside of Santa Fe, and then join her friends to go the rest of the way. And my daughter was flying into Albuquerque to join me at my friend's and drive us back home to Tucson.

Coming soon: the "Adventure" continues