What a Week This Has Been

[jkerouac]

RWG members on occasion share the pleasant and less pleasant moments of their lives, including photos of incredible places, ailments and hope for better times. This week I have experienced both of these extremes, and I'd like to share them with you.

First some background: In late June I took a "wrong turn" off of a 5-ft retaining wall onto my cement driveway. I was wearing thin sandals and all of my weight landed squarely on my right foot. After that initial landing, I stumbled forward and severely scraped my right elbow and right knee. I lay there on the driveway stunned for about five minutes. If anyone had walked by, I am certain they would have called an ambulance.

Although my elbow and knee experienced severe cases of road rash, and my ankle quickly became swollen, after the initial impact wore off I was able to hobble back into the house and clean myself up. Above all, I considered myself very lucky that I didn't break any bones.

The arm and knee healed quickly, but the swelling on the ankle took a long time to recede. I went to the doctor one day after the incident, and after examining me and ascertaining that there were no areas of severe pain, the doctor assured me that my ankle and ligaments were fine, but that it would take time for the swelling to go down and at that time I would need to do light stretches to rehab the stressed ligaments.

Four to six weeks later the swelling had receded, but I was still limping, and still couldn't walk more than a mile without getting sore and tired. I also still couldn't get the slightest amount of lift on the injured foot, so I was sent to get an MRI and see an orthopedist. The verdict: I needed surgery to repair a ruptured the Achilles tendon.

Some months earlier my wife and I had made plans to vacation in Oregon from Thursday, Aug. 23 through Monday, Aug. 27, and we would have cancelled these plans, but it turned out that the surgeon wasn't available to operate that week anyway, so we decided to go ahead with our trip.

I was very happy, because it turned out to be a great trip. Neither I nor my wife had taken much time off this summer, and I really wanted her to have a vacation as well before she was put in the position of playing nurse to me. So here are a few pictures from one of the highlights of our trip, namely Crater Lake National Park in southern Oregon.

(The following information is from Wikipedia)

Crater Lake is a caldera lake that is famous for its deep blue color and water clarity. The lake partly fills a nearly 4,000 feet (1,220 m) deep caldera that was formed around 5,677 (

[FxrAndy]

Nice lake shots, put you feet up and let it heal!

[Victoria]

I realize that this shot doesn't quite equal some of the board's finest photos. I have neither a sexy girlfriend's legs, nor am I about to put my foot in a light box. What you see is what you get, guys. In any case, thanks for letting me share this small slice of my memorable week.

This is me reading your post:

"Ouch!

OUCH!

Ooh...poor thing.

Yipes!

Aww (Wife/Oregon).

Isn't Oregon the most naturally beautiful State in America? Other than Hawaii, California, Florida, Washington, Vermont etc. etc. etc....

Mille Miglia & long shorts, just no!

Ouch!

Awww. Hehe. What a great guy."

Feel better. Great story, darling!

[robertk]

Too bad about your situation........but it does make for an entertaining story!

Heal quickly.

[KB]

Very sorry to hear of your accident and hope that your recovery is quick and relatively painless.

And those shots of the lake are absolutely stunning, thanks for sharing with us.

Ken

[jkerouac]

Thanks all for your kind wishes.

I forgot to mention that the anesthesiologist opted not to give me a general anesthetic, which would have knocked me out cold for the duration of the operation. Instead I had a spinal anesthetic, which "merely" desensitized me from the waist down for a few hours. So I was awake and alert throughout the operation. The downside was that although I came out of the operating room cheerful and alert, post-op actually took longer because I wasn't allowed to leave until my good leg could once again support my weight.

Alas, I didn't get to watch the operation itself since I was face down and behind a screen. But I did get to hear everything that was said during the operation. I was pleased that there was not a single "Oops" or "Oh my God!" during the operation.

Today I did get to see what the nurse referred to as my "Franken-leg" when they removed the bandages for the first time. It's a lovely 8- to 10-in. incision held together by stitches. I was disappointed that I didn't bring my camera, but then I remembered the camera in my cell phone so first the nurse took a few shots, then I took a few more. I know my wife will freak out a bit when she sees them in an hour or two. However, I will spare you all and call those pics "too much information."

After the doctor verified that everything is healing nicely, I got to pick the color of my cast -- pink , baby blue red, black, traditional white, yellow ... (apparently no butterscotch, charcoal, titanium, etc.) At first I was going to go for royal blue, but then I saw a box of purple. Purple it had to be. Much more stylish than the boring white bandages in my photo -- and that much more reason to continue wearing shorts. After they inspect the wound next week, perhaps I'll go with yellow.....