Bumbles Bounce

I was heading out the door with my two dogs for our daily walk. It was a chilly March day so I decided to layer two fleece coats. I put a head band around my neck area and one around my ears. I walked out the front door with my dogs in tow. The deck was a little slippery with a slushy type of snow. As I neared the end of the deck, I slid on the slush and lost my balance.. It was one of those moments where time stood still. While I was flying through the air, I thought, "don't break your neck or smash your melon." I pulled my head forward and used my right arm and shoulder to break the fall. I landed in front of our garage, which is concrete. Thankfully, there was a thin coating of slushy snow where I fell. I'm not what you'd call a 'small woman'-and you know the saying, "the bigger they are, the harder they fall." I managed to get myself up and limped into the house.

Once in the house, I headed straight to the medicine cabinet and downed a couple Advil's. I sat on my recliner and did some self-assessment. After ruminating about all the terrible things that could come with a hard fall, I decided to call the nurse line and see if they thought I should get checked out. The nurse listened to my story and told me to go straight to E.R.

I felt bad having to call my twin sister at work, but the nurse advised me not to drive. I guess it made a lot of sense. At this point I could barely turn my neck left or right, and there was a chance I may have suffered a concussion. I was grateful to reach my sister right away. I told her what happened and asked if she could bring me to the emergency room. I was really lucky she was able to juggle her schedule around to help me out.

The new ER clinic in town is state of the art. I was greeted by a woman holding a notebook computer. She took down all the needed information and I was immediately brought back to a room. The doctor listened to my story and then did a bunch of muscle tests. The prognosis: "a sprained spine." In layman's terms, it basically means I had a bad fall. She suggested I make an appointment for a massage and sent me home with a prescription for a muscle relaxer.

My sister eagerly greeted me as I made my way into the lobby. "are you gonna be alright?" she asked. "No worries" I said. "I'll be a little sore for awhile, but thank Goodness Bumbles Bounce"