WHERE HAVE I BEEN?????

I Took A Trip!

And not the good kind. Not the kind where you take pictures and relax and enjoy yourself.

On May 12th, the wife of my boss/friend passed away unexpectedly. It was a crazy time. I spent the week trying to help him and his sister get everything in order and plan the funeral, all while taking care of business at the office while at his house.

On May 16th, doing my "helping" stuff, I took a trip...down the stairs...well, actually one stair...and totally broke my femur.  Talk about pain!!  I think if I would have screamed a tiny bit louder and higher, I would have shattered the windows like a full-blown opera singer.  It was AWFUL!

Femur Fracture....also see the spiral fracture on the bottom half!

I sat on the stairs for half an hour trying to get myself under control. The teeniest movement sent me into more screaming. Not sure where those screams were coming from, but I think the devil may have had a hand in it.  All the while, my poor already-distraught boss who had to deal with ambulances at his house and the loss of his wife only a few days before was pacing back and forth asking if he could help me or what I wanted to do.

I'm not one who goes to the doctor for much of anything (since I work for one and am not a fan of doctors in general). So when I saw the curve in my upper thigh and felt the nausea and shock building, I said "call the ambulance". They got there quickly and spent a great amount of time trying to get the pain enough under control that they could splint my leg and bring me down (of course I was on the top of the stairs, not the bottom). After much screaming and crying (mine, not theirs), they got me to the ambulance and drove me very gently to the hospital where I had a rod inserted and screwed in and the top part of my total knee replacement replaced.

And now....

I wasn't even able to go to the funeral, which really angered me.

As a matter of fact, I've been angry since. Here I was, trying to be helpful and supportive, and this is what I get. At the beginning of Summer. With new golf grips, my pool just opened and our seasonal campsite awaiting. NOT FAIR!

I had to resign from all my design teams since my craft room is designed to be utilized while standing. I couldn't even get in there, let alone make something. That totally depressed me. And made me angrier.

I spent about a month in a wheelchair and have been on crutches a few weeks. I have about another three weeks or so on crutches before I get re-evaluated by my orthopod.

It's been a very rough couple of months. I finally was able to get some things organized a little bit in my craft room and hope to be able to get back in there and start crafting again soon.

My anger is finally starting to abate, but my frustration level is still pretty high. I'm used to doing things for myself and the need to depend on others for simple things I'm used to doing is difficult for me.

But I'm improving. Day by day. I went back to work after a week and am still on short hours, although they are gradually increasing toward a full day. I'm up to about 6-7 hours a day. Pretty pooped by the time I get home, but at least I'm getting on.

So, hopefully, and with the grace of God, I will be back cluttering up your inbox soon with some great new creations. I'll be scoping the net for some great new Design Teams for which I can apply (if you know of any, let me know!). And life will be back to normal, whatever normal is.

Thanks for letting me share a piece of my life with you.

Til next time, trying to keep it crafty!