Sunday, January 18, 2009

I need new boots...


So I was out hiking with a friend yesterday. Note to self: steel-toed boots get caught in crevices in the rocks REALLY EASILY. My toe got caught; my body kept going; the whole system bent at the ankle & I was screaming in pain before I hit the ground. It took me several tries to get up w/out passing out. Yikes! Fortunately, I had ibuprofin, and an awesome walking stick, and a cell phone so I could let my family know what was going on. I finally managed to get to my feet and discovered a way of limping along that did not bend the ankle. Unfortunately, I was 3 miles from the trailhead. So I kept limping. Part of the way along, we returned to the area managed by the visitor's center. They run tours on these little paved roads. My wife, who had raced across town to the visitor's center as soon as she heard I was injured, tried to convince a ranger to go up the little paved road and meet me and drive me back, thus saving me 2 miles. But that was a no go. They "don't do" that kind of thing. If I wanted a ride, I'd have to call 911. Well, I figured, if I'm walking all right (albeit very slowly & painfully), that hardly counts as an emergency. Besides, ambulances are expensive and I really don't think my insurance covers emergency calls. (And yes, although they can't exactly charge you for the call itself, they sure as heck can charge for the 2-mile ride in the ambulance from the trailhead to the visitor's center.) So I kept limping. It took me 2 hours. I am exhausted. We then went to urgent care, because by now the ankle was swollen & kind of numb, and I still couldn't bend it. They x-rayed it & determined there was no break, but it was a nasty sprain. Joy!

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