blt

I’ve been counting down the days and hours until I would get x-rays on my right hand to see if my 5th metacarpal is healed enough to stay out of a cast and have 2 pins pulled, which pins were put in during surgery on September 7 to repair the open fracture I sustained in a slow fall. So after I locked the door to the house this morning but before I got in the car, I got a call that the doctor is out sick and I have to wait another 49 hours. ARRRRGGHH! I want the cast off. I REALLY want the pins out. I never realized this, but I assume the word disappointment comes from how you feel when an appointment is postponed. Instead of pulling what's left of my hair out, I’m venting by posting here.

Since I’m already bothering to type with one hand (the good news is I’m left handed, and I've had 5 1/2 weeks of practice typing one handed), I’ll ask a question that probably has no good answer. What’s the best way for us old, fragile 50+ people to deal with a slow fall? I took a u-turn a little tight on my road bike. Would have been fine except the intersection was kind of gravelly. Realized I was going down to the left, tried to unclip, but realized it wasn’t happening fast enough. Thought, ok, just take it, don’t stick out that left hand and break a collar bone or anything. So I tried to hold on and just take it.

Somehow, however, after first hitting the fleshy side of my left shoulder as I was hoping, enough to cause a little redness but nothing worse, my upper body pivoted and my left knee, my left hand, my chin, and my right hand all hit pavement kind of hard. Left knee, a little road rash and a bruised kneecap, nothing I can’t deal with. Left hand, hit the palm, completely protected by the glove, very slightly sore, nothing else. Chin, no blood, no damage beyond mild soreness/bruise that was gone within a few days.

I didn’t even realize at first that there was damage to the right hand. Got on the bike, then noticed I couldn’t straighten the right pinky, and then noticed there was throbbing on the side of the hand. Couldn’t get the glove off easily, so went home to do it VERY slowly or cut it off. Got it off slowly. Didn’t notice the little hole in the back of the glove where the bone had come through not only flesh but glove. Fortunately, the bone went back in, so I didn’t have that obvious sign of a problem, but the hand looked deformed enough I knew I was in for it. I must have karate chopped the pavement or something.

So, once I knew I was going down, could I have done anything differently to reduce the possibility of damage? Or did I just get unlucky?

And if any of you have pull with the powers that be, do what you can so my rescheduled Friday appointment does not get postponed. Thanks.