Broken ankles, then and now

This photo was taken one year ago today. 

On that fateful day, I was riding Scout with a different bridle (curb bit) than usual (snaffle bit with side-pull noseband) and a bareback pad without stirrups. We were doing fine until we came upon a couple of neighbors out walking their several large dogs. The dogs surrounded us and Scout panicked. He reared up and, because we were standing on the edge of the road, he lost his footing and we went over backwards down the embankment. Fortunately, I was wearing a helmet so, when I hit my head, that didn't get hurt. I did bend my glasses and cut my face. I bent a finger and the joint hurt for months. I landed on my tailbone and that hurt for weeks. I broke my ankle on the inside and had to have surgery to put in a plate and screws.

See here for more details. 

I spent several weeks in a wheelchair and had a few sessions of physical therapy. Even now, I have constant discomfort in my ankle and I cannot flex it fully. The best PT I had was walking in the snow this winter going to the barn to feed the horses. Without those long, difficult walks in the deep, uneven, crusty snow, I probably would have less flexibility in my ankle than I do have. 

Today, I was hoping to ride Scout to the place where we had our accident, but, alas, I got home too late and it got dark too quickly. I did however, ride Scout around the arena, in the dark, with my daughter on Nadia. We had fun, even if we did just walk and jog a few times. But the night air was chilly and we made it a short, uneventful ride.

It was a very different story this morning. . .

I woke up at my usual time, around 6:30, and took all the dogs out for a walk. Usually, Yalla! will be at the end of the arena by the gate waiting for me to come over and pet her or give her animal crackers, which I always have in my pocket. Annie sometimes comes down for a visit too, and when Nadia and Scout are in the arena they come too. I always enjoy visiting with my equine herd even though they are like little kids, vying for my attention. But this morning, Yalla! didn't come down to see me. Annie came part way and then went back to the barn. I figured that maybe I had caught her off guard, she was still asleep, or it was just too cold and she didn't want to leave her stall. It was 29 degrees and Annie was wearing a blanket. I thought nothing more about it and took the dogs inside.

Soon, I went out back to feed the horses and alpacas and for some crazy reason, I brought along the camera. Yalla! was still nowhere to be seen. Nadia and Scout were in their stalls and Annie came up to the fence as I approached. Then I could see Yalla! standing in her stall in the distance. 'Strange,' I thought to myself. 'That's just not like her. Why isn't she coming over? I wonder what's wrong?' 

I hurried into her stall and immediately saw the problem. Her right leg was stretched forward and her hoof was up on the pipe rail, or rather, through the pipe rail and caught against the portable panel that we had added to the alpacas' pen. 

She couldn't free it. I wondered how long she had been standing like that,  hours probably, all night possibly. Otherwise, she looked to be all right. I ran (I'm still kind of stiff-legged from my broken ankle so it must have been quite a sight!) back towards the house to wake my son and then, midway, I decided that I could do this by myself. After all, what would I do if I lived alone? I hurried back to the alpaca pen and pulled the latch pins out of the panels nearest her hoof. I worried that the panel would fall against the pipe rails and pin her foot further but, fortunately, they stayed upright. I pulled at the portable panels to move them away from Yalla! hoping that she would pull her foot out. She didn't move. I let go of the panels and they stayed upright so I ran back around to Yalla! I lifted her hoof and put it on the ground. She suddenly realized that she was free and took off away from me at a run, defiantly kicking out at me as she ran away with her neck stretched and her head snaked out. What a little beastie; she looked like she was saying, 'what took you so long to rescue me?' Sigh! I AM glad that she wasn't hurt though. 

Here's where she caught her hoof, just above the lower rail.

What a day!

year 2011 in review

2011
January-
After wrecking my 2003 Infiniti FX45 in December, I bought my 2002 Subaru Impreza wagon,

My mom and I visited the Bosque Del Apache wildlife and bird refuge at sunrise, one Saturday. Visit here to see a Sandhill Crane dance video.

February-
Alas, I missed the Scottsdale Arabian Show for the first time in years. February was a busy month for me with both my boys' birthdays to celebrate.

My son,  daughter, and I took a quick road trip to Holbrook and saw the Hashknife Pony Express set off. Read all about it here.

I also attended a Dennis Reis clinic and invited my neighbor and her daughter. She got lucky and won a DVD set from him during the give-a-ways.

I lost my 16 year old cat, Simba, to kidney failure. I picked him from the litter of six kittens our Pearlie had. (We lost her the next year to coyotes.) Then Terra was the last kitten still to be given away and my husband convinced me to keep her too. As it turned out, Terra claimed me and I was never able to spend much time with Simba. He was beloved by all the family and used to head-butt on command. He was half Siamese and would wander around the house in the wee hours of the morning, crying out loudly, as only Siamese cats can. I miss him terribly but the yowling and prowling, I do not miss.

April-

I did not fall off of my horse but maybe I should have jumped. I was riding Scout at the back of my neighborhood when he got spooked from a pack of loose, running dogs, reared up, and fell over backwards on me, breaking my ankle, which required surgery.

I now have a plate and several pins on the inside of my ankle. I learned what it was like to be disabled, since I was off my foot and in a wheelchair for two months during rehab. I still have a very stiff joint and continual discomfort in my ankle.

I was fortunate enough to attend two fantastic concerts- both were opening nights of those tours and both required road trips to the Denver area:

In April, my daughter and I saw Arcade Fire in Broomfield (above Denver).


During our road trip, we visited Manitou Springs, Colorado Springs and the site of the Ludlow Massacre. Read more about that trip here and here.

In May, I added two aliens, erm, alpacas to my animal family: Thelma (red) and Louise (bay/black). Louise was supposed to be pregnant.

I saw U2 in May with my Sister-in-Law and a friend of hers. I bought the tickets for this concert over a year ago, on ebay, and then Bono hurt his back and the tour was postponed. After driving up to Denver, over 450 miles, I found out the tickets were fraudulent, on the morning of the concert. The girl who sold them to me, Natacha Gillis, had received a refund from Ticketmaster, right after I had purchased them from her! Fortunately, we were able to purchase three seats in the handicapped area (I was still in a wheelchair because of my broken ankle), and had a fantastic weekend together. We visited the Denver area, Central City, and the  Red Rocks Arena where U2 performed their landmark song, Sunday, Bloody, Sunday in the 80s.


While in Denver for the U2 concert, my SIL and I went to the National Alpaca Show to experience lots of close encounters with the "alien" alpacas. See here and here for more.

June just seemed to come and go. I had three physical therapy sessions and rode again for the first time since my accident. We had the alpacas sheared and I took a lesson on wet felting alpaca fiber. I made a hat which I will post about some day.

July-
It was a time of snakes and swallows.

My mother, daughter, and I flew to Oregon for my nephew's wedding. It was a mini reunion for my family- my mother, sister, brother and I were together for the first time in years.

Also, the family took a scuba diving lesson. How do I look?

I also went to the Arabian Youth Nationals. click on previous link for more.

And, very sadly, I lost my Little Buddha (Japanese Chin) to the coyotes one morning. Tragically, I heard him yelp but could not rescue him. He was only seven years old and I miss him every day.

August

My son, daughter, and I celebrated with my Mom for her 84th birthday at Pietown with lunch and a freshly baked green chili, pinon nut, and apple pie.

It's a long drive there and back but we all enjoyed the road trip. We even stopped along the way back to see the VLA visitor's center.

September

We celebrated more birthdays- my daughter's and mine. My sons took me for a nice little hike in the Sandia Mountains, my first and only this year.

I made bones for the One Million Bones project.

Meet Skyy, a part Australian Shepherd and part Blue Heeler puppy that my daughter acquired.

October-

Yalla! came down with a case of Pigeon Breast, (pigeon fever, dryland strangles, etc.) and it was weeks before it was advanced enough to be lanced. Nasty stuff, the infection usually settles in the chest, causing a huge swelling like that of a pigeon's breast, thus the name. Annie has had it two different times in years past. It is caused by flies and nearly impossible to prevent although it is not too common, fortunately. Annie had to have multiple lancings. Yalla! had one vet visit and drained thoroughly, although she is still scarred from it.

I decided to remodel my house. For years, I debated on bamboo, tile, carpet, or cork. I finally settled on Pergo laminate. I refinanced the house,  purchased the flooring and began the project. My son ripped out the old carpet and baseboards, I repaired the concrete floor, and everybody painted.

November-

The best thing to happen this month was the birth of little Sophie Rose Iman, Louise's cria on November 3rd. When I went out to feed in the morning, I was surprised to find a miniature alpaca with the two big girls. The birth went well and, because the alpacas and the horses had their fall shots in August and the little cria looked extremely healthy, in spite of being all legs and neck, I didn't even bother to call the vet. Besides, I was still paying off Yalla!s vet bills for the pigeon breast. Unfortunately, my camera was completely broken by now. It had been giving me problems for several months. These photos were taken courtesy of my cell phone.)

Meanwhile, the flooring project was becoming a nightmare. I had Thanksgiving at my house for family and friends even though the only complete room was the kitchen and that was a mess. We had originally been hoping for the flooring to be installed BEFORE the holidays but, alas, this was not to be. The order came in short two boxes. I had to wait almost three weeks for those to come in and then two more weeks before the installers would begin their four to five day job. 

December-

We had snow and snow, and more snow!! At Christmas time, we still had almost two feet of snow everywhere from the build up of the recent storms. Here's a view of my backyard.

Here, at the homestead, we had no furniture in the house. Without wood, I couldn't make fires in the woodstove and my heater was not running properly. We slept on mattresses on the floor for six weeks and the house got down to 56 degrees most nights. Needless to say, it's been rather miserable for the last couple of months. 

I splurged and bought myself an early Christmas present, a Canon Powershot SX 230, 12 megapixels and 14X zoom.

Finally, last week, the installers came and did a fantastic job in just three days (1500 square feet- living room, dining room, den, hallways, and four bedrooms). And guess what? There are at least four unopened boxes of flooring! We could have been finished a month ago!!! Didn't need to wait for the missing boxes after all, did we? Really?? My whole family has been sick for the last two months, living in a shell of a house, for no reason!

That was my year, more or less.

Happy New Year!!

Just an hour or so to be safe from fear

I had my third physical therapy session today for my broken ankle. I actually got to pedal a bike and it didn't hurt! I have been doing the prescribed exercises, like stretching, writing the alphabet with my toes, and scrunching my toes, and I think it's working. In the last few weeks, I have gone from using a wheelchair to two crutches to one crutch to none. I've gone from a surgical splint to a walking boot to a reinforced ankle brace and now I prefer going bare. I push my ankle in all directions just to the point of hurting and try to maintain it for several seconds. Then I release and try again. I still have heel pain and my ankle is still extremely swollen and tight most of the time, probably from me always working at it. The only shoes I can wear are crocs, because they have cushy heels, or snow boots around the barn because the swelling and metal(?) in my ankle extends down almost to the sole of my foot. I hope that I can wear regular shoes soon.
I can touch my ankle all over but when I lean against things with my ankle, like laying against the bedsheets, it hurts terribly.

I made a personal goal of riding my horses as soon as I could and I did ride last week for a short time. It was hard to climb on board and even harder climbing off, but every day, I get stronger. The other day, I couldn't stop singing an old Chumbawumba song, " I get knocked down, I get up again, no one's ever gonna keep me down." I intend to get this experience behind me as quickly as possible.

More and more, I am taking back my life. Every day, it's getting easier to walk out to the barn and feed the horses. This evening, I brushed them all down. Then I decided to ride Nadia. I put the bareback pad on her and used Annie's thin halter, snapping on a set of nylon reins to the side rings of the halter. I put on my helmet and climbed up on the rails in her stall and scooted onto her back. We rode all over the neighborhood but I was reluctant to ride out back where the accident with Scout took place. It was a very pleasant evening and I wouldn't have been surprised if they were out walking their dogs. Instead, I rode along the gravel roadways in my little neighborhood and to the highway and back. We watched a fire truck go by and it never even phased Nadia. The next time I rode out towards the highway, there hadn't been any traffic for some time, so I decided to cross the road to a little grassy area and then come right back. However, Murphy's Law happened and as soon as we crossed, there was suddenly a car coming at us from each direction. I couldn't cross back before they arrived so we stopped and stood, waiting, with our butts to the traffic. I had wild thoughts that Nadia was going to freak out and run across the road in front of the cars. I could see myself falling off and hurting my ankle again. Where did that fear come from? Nadia has always been good along roadsides. Once, I had to ride her along a very  busy highway during a terrible thunderstorm for several miles. Now, she gave no indication of being stressed. Still, I was terrified for a few seconds. On another horse, I might have caused a negative reaction. They just might have gotten panicked from my thoughts. Why would I get so unreasonably afraid and how do I control my thoughts?

While we were riding around, Yalla! and Scout were running up and down the arena calling to us. He has a loud trumpet-like call and Yalla! has a shrill baby-like neigh. Nadia just ignores them as she walks along with her ears pricked forward, sometimes speeding up, sometimes slowing down. I went into the round pen and let her graze some of the weeds. Then she did the strangest thing. She stopped eating and stood still for a few seconds. Then she laid down. I was so surprised; I climbed off unto my bad foot- OW!!- and then she rose up again. I worried that she was going into colic. I walked her back to the barn, watching her, and put her back into her stall. Good thing I can walk better now.

Nadia went straight to her hay and mash and began munching. I have seen her do this before while eating. She just walks away, lays down, gets up and starts eating again, like nothing happened. Does anyone have any ideas as to why she does this? I don't see any signs of discomfort. I think she's getting senile. I wanted to watch her some more so I decided to ride Scout. He was still calling to us (me?) and was standing by the gate watching me. I really think he was feeling anxious that I haven't ridden him yet since the accident. He readily came to me and I haltered him. Then I led him over to the railing and carefully climbed up. I carefully stepped across his back. I am so careful at this point because I know that all they have to do is move away while I'm throwing a leg over and I'll fall and probably get hurt. Anyway, as I settled onto his back I could almost feel him sigh (with relief?) and smile. We rode around the arena and he was the perfect gentleman. My ankle doesn't hurt when I ride except for the feeling of the boot against the skin. I am still wearing my snow boots and the fleece inside should help, but it really doesn't. I even jogged him.

My neighbor came up to the fence to chat with me and his large dog came bounding up to Scout and I. I panicked, thinking, "Oh no! dogs are what caused Scout to rear up!," but at the same time I was glad for the test. Scout stood his ground and didn't even flinch. Of course, there was a fence between us. But, I have often ridden Scout with Sandy running alongside and she goes into the arena and 'bothers' the horses more times than I would like. I still ponder over the events that caused Scout to rear that day. I think a lot of the problem was the strange bit he was wearing. I had him in a low port curb but I usually ride him in a simple ringed snaffle. This is why, tonight, I rode him in just a halter. Yes, Sydney, I am seriously ready to go bitless on all of my horses. I never use the reins very much anyway. The dogs riled him up, but I think the different bit, combined with the uneven ground, caused him to lose his balance and go over backwards on me. Even though I didn't pull on the bit, he was causing himself discomfort by raising his head causing the bit to shift in his mouth.

The neighbor and I had a little chat and Yalla! came over to join in on the conversation. She never showed any signs of agression towards Scout, of which I was glad, and I rubbed her head as she lay it on top of his back, in my lap. Yalla! has become a terrible two year old, terrorizing all the other horses. I've seen her double barrel Scout AND her mama just because she wanted to. She needs a good put down and unfortunately, her doting mama doesn't seem willing to chastise her, rather, she backs off from the little monster's threats. Yalla! therefore, thinks she is queen of the herd now. Unfortunately, she also thinks she is above us, humans. She has kicked out at my son, daughter, and myself, on numerous occasions. My son smacked her really good on the head when she kicked out at him. I told him that was okay because she is exhibiting very dangerous behavior, but to "rub" it out afterwards, by petting her so that she doesn't develop hatred and fear of him. Then she will REALLY become dangerous. Right now, she doesn't know any better. Any suggestions? I almost always carry a crop around with me when I am on the ground, working around her, or a bucket, or something that can shield me or smack her. However, timing is everything. When I am most vulnerable, directly behind her, I will not be able to smack her because I fear retaliation. Especially now, since I am not walking well, I am extra careful around her, usually avoiding to go around her at all.

Anyway, after my ride on Scout, I carefully climbed off, using the railing, and gave him several head hugs, as I released him from the halter. He seemed extra content and I think that our ride was just what we both needed.


Just an hour or so to be safe from fear - song: Black Tie, White Noise, artist: David Bowie, album: Black Tie, White Noise

The big Fall, Part 9

 Friday's Foto IS a picture of me... on Nadia. YAY!!!!

It has been exactly two months since I broke my ankle, or nine weeks, to be exact. I mozied out to the horses last night and couldn't resist the temptation any longer. I carefully climbed up on the pipe rails in the stall and, stradling the rails, talked to my four legged friends. Yalla! was so glad to see me. She kept wanting to get "head hugs".

Poor Scout! He gets bullied away by both Yalla! and Annie.

I have trained Anne to come up and stand at the rail until I climb on so I knew she would be the best one to ride first. I put on her halter and lead rope "reins" and very carefully climbed on.

Scout's not sulking in the next photo,btw. He just moved away from us because we were walking all around the pen and Annie was pinning her ears at him every time we went past. I wasn't quite ready to go into the arena yet. And that black swish in the photo? It must be Yalla!s tail. lol. Sorry about the bleached out photo, it was sunset and the lighting was terrible.

I think Scout has kind of a pouty, or bewildered look in the next photo, like, 'Why aren't you riding me?' I intended to ride him too but I wasn't sure if he'd come up to the railing or not and frankly, for my first ride, I guess I chose NOT to ride him. Oh, I know it wasn't his fault and he'd most likely be very good but I just don't want to do anything that might set things back, for him or me.

I only walked Annie around for about ten minutes but it sure felt good to sit on her back! Getting off was harder than getting on and climbing down from the rails was even harder, but I managed, with lots of careful stepping.

It was so nice riding again that I wanted more! I decided to take Nadia out for a quick trip. I carefully climbed up the stall railing again and swung my leg across Nadia's back this time. All the stable gates were already open and, since she is alone in her stall, I just opened her stall door and we were off. I rode Nadia out of the barn and towards the house. The round pen gate was slightly open so we scooted in. I walked and trotted her around for a few minutes. I always love to see her perky little ears when I ride her.

Nadia is not in great shape and neither am I, so I kept the workout short and decided to graze her before taking her back to the barn. I was unsure how to get off of her so I just unclipped one half of the "reins"and stayed on so she could graze on our meager grasses. I thought about calling my son out of the house and letting him help me off and put Nadia away but I decided I'd be better off using the railing to get off the same way I used it to get on.

Here's my bad foot. I was trying to get a picture of Nadia's four inch long eyelashes but I don't think you can see them too well.

Surprisingly, my ankle didn't hurt too much while riding although I'm not sure if I can bend it into a stirrup yet. I guess all those flexing exercises are helping. However, I can't get cowboy boots on over my still swollen, stiff ankle, so I settled on a pair of moon boots with fleece lining. You'd think it would be awful hot in the summer, wearing snow boots and sweat pants,but our nights do cool down and I was actually comfortable. Not very good support for my ankle but better than wearing crocs while riding, I guess. My physical therapist doesn't like me wearing crocs; he suggests support shoes, but my heel still hurts a lot and the crocs have cushy heels. Unfortunately, there's no ankle support to them and he worries that I'll re-twist my ankle. He told me today that I need to keep the walking to a minimum and continue to work on flexing the joint. I didn't tell him I went riding but I'm thinking that it should be okay because hey, I can be doing my physical therapy exercises while riding, like writing out the alphabet with my toes, and as long as I am very careful.

Apemen with metal parts

Yesterday, I went to the doctor. He said everything looked really good. I even got to see the X-ray this time. Look at all that metal! The little circular bit is right at the top of the break and then it goes down towards the middle where the screw points upwards. I was surprised to see how long the screws are- they go all the way through the bone. Now I know why I have such strange sensations down at the bottom of my ankle bone. It's the screws and metal plate. He said that I can get the screws and plate out next year, if I want. I asked him how my bones looked overall because my mother has osteoporosis, bad, and I'm a likely candidate. He said the bone density looked good, that there wasn't as much "gray area" as is often the case with bone injuries. Good news! But this reminds me to start taking more calcium now before it gets too late. Also, I see some redness along the incision and occasional drainage of fluids. He said that was normal and that it was my body expelling some of the internal sutures.

He said that now that the bone is healing/healed, I should start walking. I tried, but my heel is so sore!! But, I can put weight on my toes. He said that the boot is probably hurting my heel. He said I am ready to start physical therapy. However, he said that because it looked like my sole has dropped, I should wear a special ankle support. Then, he said he'd see me back in five weeks and he hoped I'd be walking on my own by then. I'm down for that.

Today, I had my first physical therapy session. Boy, they don't waste time! I was more nervous about going to PT than I even was for the surgery. Everyone has told me how they make you do things until it hurts really bad. Everyone! Frankly, I was terrified. Looking into the room and seeig all the equipment just scared the bejesus out of me. I've never been one to enjoy working out in a gym anyway.

But, J, my PT, was really nice, after all. He explained that because I broke the bone down at the joint, I sprained the one side when I broke the other side. Now that the bone is healing, the sprain needs to be addressed because, basically, my ankle has frozen up. J showed me an actual plate and screws and said that was like what was in my leg. He also told me that I could get the hardware out in 10 months to a year but not if I wait any longer than that because the bone grows around the screws. He said that it would mean surgery and six weeks of being very careful while the holes in the bone healed up because of the high risk of rebreaking the temporarily fragile bone.

There is still a LOT of swelling on the outside of my foot. If it had happened higher up on my leg, I'd be walking right now with no problem, he told me. He said that, although I need to walk, that's not necessarily the best way to return to normal. He told me not to wear the boot, if possible, but to actually place as much weight as I can on my foot, using only the ankle support and crutches, if I must. Pedaling a bicycle or doing low impact exercises to strengthen the muscles is better than actually doing a lot of walking. Thus, the need for physical therapy which he said can take weeks to months. I made a vow to myself right then that it was going to happen sooner than later, for me.

He gave me a long elastic strap tied into a loop at one end. He showed me how to put my bad foot in the loop and pull tension and then do exercises to flex the joint and build up the muscle tissue in all four directions. I have very limited range but at least it's on the plus side already. Two weeks ago when I got put in the boot, I began trying to stretch my foot forwards and backwards. Although I didn't get far, at least it was a beginning. I have a red elastic strap and then a firmer green one to work with.

After each session, preferably twice a day, he told me to elevate my leg very high and ice the joint for 15 minutes. This will help get the blood flowing and heal the sprained joint. He said there will be swelling and pain if I try to do too much, otherwise, it should just be uncomfortable, not unbearable. I felt much better about this whole PT thing afterwards but still, I want to get better!

I asked about riding my horses and he told me it would be okay- when I could walk again. Cripes! That could be the whole summer!! Please drop a prayer or two my way for my continued speedy recovery, okay?

Apemen with metal parts - song: Ramona A. Stone, artist: David Bowie, album: Outside

The Big Fall, Part 8

It's been almost seven weeks since I broke my ankle when my horse, Scout, spooked at the neighbors' pack of dogs, while we were out riding, and reared over backwards on me. Last week, I was able to trade in my wheelchair for a boot because now, although I still can't put weight on my foot, I can use it for balance. This coming Thursday, I go back to the doctor who will (hopefully) tell me that my leg is healing and I can begin walking. The underside of my foot is still all black and blue bruises and very uncomfortable. Every day, when I get home from work, I take off the boot, and surgical (support) stocking and massage my leg and foot. I peel off dead skin and rub in lotion. I am amazed at how much my skin is peeling away! I've been trying to bend my ankle back and forth in preparation for the physical therapy that is supposed to begin on Friday but my ankle is still extremely swollen and won't hardly bend.

Here are some photos of my sic looking foot. Notice how skinny my calf is now? The outside of my ankle is at least as big.

I have learned to go around without crutches for short distances by hopping on one foot. It's amazing how necessity really is the mother of invention. I use a small backpack as a purse and I've learned how to balance a 32 ounce soda cup in my hand holding the crutch below the hand grips although I can't manage a full cup of coffee too well. I don't trust myself to carry cups too far, either. Sometimes, I can even move my crutches with no hands just by balancing with them under my arms. This only works for a step or two but it sure helps when I'm working in the kitchen and I've got hands that need to be washed. It's amazing to me how tired I am all the time though. Just going from my car to my desk at work wears me out. Trying to manuever doors that don't automatically open is a master feat to me nowadays. 

Also, I hobbled out to see the alpacas this past weekend. My son set up a chair in their pen for me to sit on. He then put out some hay for them, at my feet. I sat and hand fed them for some time. I was able to touch Thelma's topknot a few times but they are both very, very timid. I can see it's going to take some time to halter train them but I am very hopeful. They stay within ten feet of me even without food bribes and they do come over to see if I have any food. They are curious about my crutches too. I really, really need to get them sheared. I've been calling a guy who shears, if only he would call me back...

Then, I made the additional journey over to the horses. Yalla! and Annie stood with me and nuzzled. Scout would have come over to me too except that Annie gave him a full on kick to his flanks. Bad Annie! Nadia is not in with the other three very often anymore so that she doesn't get bullied like poor Scout. I visited her for a while too. I can't wait to get out there and really begin working with them and feeding them properly again. My son, Trevor, is the primary feeder and chore doer around the house and gets lazy about feeding mashes and extra grain to the horses. Plus, the grass hay is not such good quality right now. There are a lot of weeds mixed in. And, although it is recommended to feed grass hay to horses, my horses seem to do better on alfalfa or alfalfa/grass.

I'm wondering if Yalla! is wormy because she looks pot bellied and ribby to me. Her birthday is coming up and she still looks little and gangly, not like a two year old. The horses are overdue for their vet visit because I've been waiting until I can tend them. However, fortunately, I'm not taking them anywhere to be exposed to other horses.

Soon, soon, I'll be walking on my own two feet and everything will be back to normal for me, I hope!

The Big Fall, part 7

It's been almost five weeks since Scout spooked at the neighbors' pack of dogs while we were out riding and reared over backwards on me. Today was my very much anticipated doctor's appointment, four weeks post surgery (a plate and five or six screws to support my broken tibia, later).

I finally learned how to get to the orthopedics department easily. We parked in the parking garage in a handicap space, then Trevor grabbed one of the wheelchairs next to the elevator. I sat down and he wheeled me over to the elevator and up to the sixth floor and right out, a left turn, and then we entered the open double doors of the orthopedics branch of the hospital. That sure beats going all the way through the entire hospital from the front entrance! I just knew there had to be an easier way.

The nurse undid my surgical splint bandages and then took out the staples, all ten. OWWW!!!!! Gosh, my leg looked so gross with all the shedding skin and strange swellings everywhere. My poor toes are swollen into a spread open position. Here's some photos to disgust you with.

I got a little butterfly bandage for each of the staples. Isn't that cute?

They took X rays and the doctor said it was healing up nicely. I was put in a boot and told to start working my heel downwards. Gosh, it hurts!! I can use my foot for balance but not weight, yet. However, that's enough for me. I'm on crutches now. Two more weeks and then I have another doctor's appointment. He told me I'd get to start physical therapy if all is well at that time. Now, I just need to avoid getting an infection.

When I got home tonight, I made a trek, you guessed it, to see my new hoofstock! Trevor and my neighbor, Lisa, of Laughing Orca Ranch, came along for support.

At first Thema and Louise walked away from us.

Thenm my son brought food and I found out that they are VERY GREEDY!

 Lisa discovered that they are especially fond of carrots.
 I was able to feed them for the first time.

And I got to sneak a pet on the chin of Thelma.

After visiting the alpacas, we made the trip to the barn. Of course!

The horses were neighing at us, even though they'd already had dinner. I'd like to think they were missing me and calling hello. (They probably just wanted the carrots I was holding.)

I did pet Scout too, but, alas, no pictures.

Oh, joyous day! Thanks to Lisa and Trevor for being so supportive and taking pictures.

And, to top it off- I get to take a bath tonight! I just have to be careful not to soak my foot.

Hallelujah~!!

The big fall, part 3

It has been one week since my accident with Scout and the first day that I didn't take morphine. The first day after surgery, my leg was swollen to the max and every where hurt. I haven't noticed any effects of the morphine but without it, I am trembling and have severe headache and pain. Since I have to go back to work tomorrow, I need to be less drugged. I did take a half of an oxycodone, however. I find that if I take half as much, twice as often, I don't get as sick to my stomach.

 I have taken up residence in the recliner chair. It's so hard to get my bottom comfortable.

Terra is my constant companion. Poor Buddha, she gives him the evil eye and won't let him near me.

This is my view nowadays. I've watched lots and lots of movies and worked out lots of Sudoku puzzles. I doze a little but unfortunately, I've never been a good sleeper.

 Lisa stopped by the other day with a DQ chiller, yummy! (( thanks!)).

 My mom came down last weekend and ended up staying through the week to help me out.

Sorry for the blur, Sandy turned to look just as I clicked.

I have yet to visit the horses. It's a loooong walk with no place to stop and sit. I'm afraid I will lose my balance and fall down and not be able to get back up. I fell once when I was letting the dogs out the front door but I was able to use the door frame to pick myself back up. It's hard to get help when it's 4:30 in the morning and the dogs are crying to go outside. Fortunately, I can just let them out by themselves to do their business.

I never realized how handicapped a broken ankle makes you. I can't carry anything, do anything, etc. etc.

I go back to the doctor on Thursday.

I am praying for a miraculous complete recovery by then.

The big fall

By now, many of you have read about my mishap at Laughing Orca Ranch's blog. Thanks Lisa, for being such a  good friend and coming for me. Ortherwise, I might still be walking home. lol.

So, to recap, I took Scout out for an afternoon ride. I let him much hay while I groomed him. He's shedding really bad so I decided to just put on a bareback pad and go for a quick trip or two around the 'back forty'.
I put on a curb bit instead of his usual snaffle-side pull bridle and threw a halter and lead rope on top because I knew he wouldn't be comfortable with the new bit. I grabbed my helmet because I had this little niggling feeling that something bad was going to happen. I kind of worried about using the bareback pad because I thought that I could easily fall off. But then I rationalized that I haven't fallen off in years and he's going to be good anyway, so why worry?

Scout did really well. Of course, he wanted to go back to the barn but he didn't fight me much when we'd turn the corner and the barn was in sight, and he NEVER neighed at the girls even though Yalla! was hollering and running, I imagine. Scout calmly walked around and trotted whenever I asked. If I gave any pressure to the bit he threw his head up so I kept that loose and used the halter rope instead. He is so light on the bit, I hardly even used the halter rope at all. About the third time around, I decided to go just one more time around, we saw the neighbor ladies in the distance with their pack of big dogs. I could feel Scout tensing and as the four or five BIG dogs circled around us, he freaked. We were on the gravel road and he reared slightly. Then he reared again, stepping back, I believe, which sent him off the road, onto the incline. He lost his balance and fell over backwards. The ladies thought he fell on me. I really don't know.

It was a terrible feeling when I realized we were going over and there was nothing I could do except hang on. He quickly got up and wandered about 60 feet away- out of range of the dogs. I just lay flat on my back assessing the damage. That's not like me. I'm usually so embarrased with something like this that I would get up, shake off, and go after Scout. Not this time. I also thought it was the ladies' fault for letting the dogs run loose and maybe they should worry a little about whether I was still alive.

Finally, I sat up a little and said loudly, "so much for keeping dogs on leashes!" The one lady responded with, "well, this is my land!". Well, maybe it was, however, I was on the roadway when it happened. She had given me permission to ride back there too. If only she could have collected the dogs up before they came running up to us.

 Two of the three ladies came over to see how I was. Yes, I was still alive. By this time I was sitting up and looking at my swelling ankle. The dogs were worrying all over me which made me even more resentful of them. The owners couldn't even them off. My glasses were bent terribly and I had a cut on my head where they hit, but thankfully, the glass wasn't broken. I bent them back as best as I could and felt lucky that I hadn't gone to the eye doctor for a new pair yet, as I have been intending to do. My ring finger hurt terribly, but I couldn't see any swelling or bruising, and I thought- "good thing I don't wear a wedding ring anymore".

The one lady offered to drive me back to my house but, toughie that I am, I refused. "I can walk", I said. I was two fields away from my barn and by now, Scout had wandered back to the barn. I wanted to go check on him on my way back to the house. She asked me if it was a new horse and I said "no, he's just afraid of dogs".

Soooo, I began my trek back. I couldn't put any pressure on my ankle so I was taking little baby steps. The ground was uneven and every step made me wince. I felt popping in the left side of my ankle and the right side was swollen too, weird. I finally got to some trees and found a couple of walking sticks to help me. It didn't work very well. Then I saw Lisa calling to my son and they both came out to meet me.

I had made it one short field and was at another roadway so my son brought the car. He also brought an ankle brace and a pair of crutches. When I got in the car, we took off my shoe and sock and put on the brace. He also made me take two extra strength tylenol right away. I agreed that I should go to the emergency room, which is very unusual for me, and we picked up my mom and went. Unfortunately, it was 7:30 by the time we got to the hospital, so urgent care was already closed and I had to go full emergency. Fortunately, there was a lull in the emergencies, so I got seen within an hour, which is great time for ER.

The doctor checked my spine up and down and said that there wasn't much that could be done for the seatbones. They hurt really bad whenever I try to sit down. The X ray on my ankle came back with a fracture on the talus bone. Interesting thing about Talus bone injuries- they are often caused in falls, especially snowboarding, car accidents, and lower back injuries. They put me in a huge temporary cast up over the knee, called a bulky Jones (there's a Bowie reference there- Jones is his real name) and said I need to call the orthopedics on Monday for an appointment. I am not allowed to put any weight on my foot at all. I'm wearing my coat because I couldn't quit shaking.

They never X rayed my finger and it still hurts terribly but I have figured out that it's actually my hand that got injured. The last two knuckle joints are now slightly swollen and I have a cute little triangle bruise on my palm spanning out towards my finger. Strange! I'll have to ask the Ortho doctor about it today.

Anyway, I need to go to work and the doctor's (fingers crossed that I get an appointment) so more to follow.