Yikes!! Elf Mommy!!

[Pipp]

I'm slowly wending my way through the posts I've missed the last month or two and just saw this one, yikes! I think it was posted the daybefore all the server problems started, what AWFUL timing! No posts since.

Any updates? :? Elf Mommy are you out there?

sas ink iris:



Elf Mommy wrote:

Well, I'm going to be online a lot over the next couple of weeks, so I thought I would check in and see how everyone is doing.

On Friday, I wiped out on the stairs of the county courthouse. I shattered my tibia and broke a few other ankle bones in the process. They had to put in a 4 1/2 inch plate and 12 screws along the length of that shattered bone. Then they had to put a screw in from the front to back, as well and then staple up the length of my leg. There go my pretty calves, I guess...sigh...

I'm laid up until I'm healed, and will be grouchy if I'm inactive, so you may see me around a bit.

 

[Bo B Bunny]

That is one of the things I was trying to reply to when I lost gravity here.... I floated into cyberspace for days....

 

[Elf Mommy]

Thanks for asking! I have been working on recovering. Here are some photos of the shattered bone:

To fix it, they needed to put in a 4 1/2 inch titanium plate, 9 screws to hold it in, 2 more screws holding in other bone fragments and a screw from the front of my ankle to the back:

I had a soft cast for 2 weeks, then I had a hard cast put on. After 4 more weeks, they took that one off (that was last Friday). When the doctor did x-rays, they found that 3 of the breaks had not knitted together. So, they put me right back into a hard cast. I'm not allowed to put any weight on it, so I've taught 3rd grade for the past 5 weeks in a wheelchair. I get the cast off again on June 3. We'll see if the x-rays show any improvement. It was very frustrating to go right back into a cast again this last time.

I hope everyone is doing well. Elf is doing fine. I've been keeping her cage door open, so that every time I roll past her, I can pet her. I've been able to hold her, but I'm afraid to let her run around, because I'm the only one who can pick her up to put her back in. She doesn't jump out when her cage door is open, though. Go figure. I know she can jump back in if she does, though. I still want to invest in some of those pet stairs they advertise on television for dogs to get up on beds and such. I think they would be the perfect height for her cage. Money is tight, though. This whole surgery thing is still going to cost us quite a bit, even with insurance.

I'll try to catch up on my bunny reading soon!

 

[Pet_Bunny]

Hi Elf Mommy!

Seeing the Xrays makes me shiver. :nerves1

For the stairs, why don't you try stacking some bricks up to her cage.

 

[Elf Mommy]

Well, there are no bricks handy, either, but if I see any that don't belong to someone else I'll send the kids to pick them up. LOL

 

[LuvaBun]

Oh wow! Those breaks are horrendous. How are you coping with the pain? Was it the courthouse's fault, so you could claim compensation to help with the hospital bills?

Any chance that while you're incapacitated, you could get us some Elf pics (JK)

Take care

Jan

 

[Bo B Bunny]

You poor thing!

 

[Elf Mommy]

Unfortunately, the stairs are up to code. We had an architect go check it out. My lawyer won't take the case, because it's likely that we will lose. Even if we win, it's not worth his time because there's a cap on how much he can earn from it.

We're still considering going to an ambulance chaser, but I'm not sure if we will.

I will try to get some photos of Elf tomorrow to share.

 

[Pipp]

What a pain! Literally! Must be tough getting to school and back. And I hope the little... angels... in your class aren't taking unfair advantage -- not that you usually chase them and beat them or anything.

So sorry this is all happening just when so many members can't get on the forum. We're still not sure who's all missing -- a lot of peopleseem to have rotating problems while some members like Pam Nock and Soooska can't get on at all. (It's been weeks and weeks!)

We are changing to a new server probably in the next day or two.

Radar and Darry hang out on top of a metal cabinet in their little room (an enclosed porch) and it's a constant hassle getting them the right platforms to jump from. The steps I've seen are a little too narrow and not quite high enough. Even with their small size (5 lbs or so), they need a bit of area to catch their momentum because it's a good three feet or more off the ground. Right now I have a small kennel (covered with a towel for traction) with a smallerfootstool (covered with masking tape) next to it. I really should find (or build) a couple ofplywood boxes. If I had one that was 1 ft cubed and another 1 ft sq x 2 feet high, it would be perfect.

Is there a 'shop' class at your school? There's a project for them.

Feel better soon! And give it a rest!



sas :big kiss:

 

[Elf Mommy]

Pipp wrote:

What a pain! Literally! Must be tough getting to school and back. And I hope the little... angels... in your class aren't taking unfair advantage -- not that you usually chase them and beat them or anything.

They were absolutely HORRID while I was out for 2 weeks. It has taken just this long to get them back under control, and even now when I turn my back, they act up. They are rotten for all of their resource teachers (art, music, etc.). I have a full time co-teacher (substitute) in the classroom. He is former military, worked with troubled boys, etc....they are terrible for him, too. It's like they made a decision at the beginning of the year to only behave for me.


Is there a 'shop' class at your school? There's a project for them.

Unfortunately, it's an elementary school, so no shop class I'll have to see if there is one at my best friend's high school next year and commission them.

Feel better soon! And give it a rest!


ThankYou!

 

[BlueGiants]

OMG! Those xrays made me cringe! I'm so sorry! Feel better!

 

[Bassetluv]

:shock:!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I didn't know about this either! (Well, I tend to miss a lot of things on the forum...I don't read enough of the threads) Good gosh Elf Mommy, that must have been incredibly painful! The most I ever broke was a toe, and the pain from that made me nauseous, so I can only imagine the intensity of what you must have endured. You must be one tough person!

The x-rays make me cringe too...you look like the Bionic Woman inside! I hope your leg heals very quickly for you. Isn't it amazing how our bodies can take so much abuse, yet one little misstep and wham! :?

Take care of yourself, and feel better asap!

:hug:

 

[Elf Mommy]

Thank you! I'm being as careful as I can be. I am in a wheelchair at school and I keep banging it, much to my chagrin. It's the last days of school and there will be a summer camp in my classroom this summer. So...I have a LOT of cleaning and packing to do. I will have to put my students to work! Of course, there are things that they cannot do, like move the computers and television. Everything has to be packed up as much as possible before next week ends. Then I might just have to take a week off to do absolutely NOTHING!

I get the cast off again on Tuesday. Hubby doesn't hold much hope for it. He's thinking with the breaks they way they looked last time, that they still won't be healed enough. It hurt bad, but not the way I thought it would, from all the stories people told me about bones breaking. I think I must have a high pain tolerance. I'm glad I didn't try to stand up on it, though. That would have been realllllllllllly bad!

Thank you for all the well wishes! I'm enjoying being back on the boards. Now that summer is coming, I'm hoping to be much more present.

 

[Bassetluv]

It hurt bad, but not the way I thought it would, from all the stories people told me about bones breaking. I think I must have a high pain tolerance. I'm glad I didn't try to stand up on it, though. That would have been realllllllllllly bad!

Yes, I can just imagine if you'd stood up...YIKES!!!! I do sometimes wonder though, if our minds somehow protect us against severe pain - or at least some people, some of the time. A co-worker friend of mine broke her ankle a few winters ago when she was out in the woods walking her dog. She stepped on a patch of ice (dog was off running and exploring somewhere) and lost her footing, slid and wound up falling down an embankment and landed right on her foot. When she pulled herself up to a sitting position she looked and saw that her foot was actually backwards(!!). So she turned it around and then began the long process of crawling back to her neighborhood on her hands and knees. She said the actual pain didn't hit her for quite some time, though she knew she couldn't walk. She wound up having surgery, a plate inserted, and then physio followed for some time. But she recovered a lot faster than the doctors expected.

LOL...and when I broke my toe, it was in the silliest way. My son (who was 2 at the time) was napping so I was catching up on rest too, and whilst I was sleeping on the sofa, the phone rang. I jumped up to answer it and my foot caught under my dad's easy chair, and the toe broke. I didn't know it until I got to the phone and answered it though; I was fine for about a minute and then all of a sudden the pain was immense, and a wave of nausea hit me. (However, it was my ex on the other end...maybe that would explain the pain and nausea ) Other than not being able to wear my footwear for a while, the only other time it really hurt that badly was about 2 weeks later...my son got excited over something and jumped on that toe...:shock:

I hope you manage to get lots of help with packing things up in the classroom! You shouldn't have to do any of that while you're mending...that week off doing nothing sounds like it should be doctor's orders! (As is being on RO...that's good healing therapy too :biggrin2