Survivor 2020 - Third Challenge

[murielle]

Survivor 2020 Challenge 3

Smash and Grab

Okay, here’s what happened.

October 16th I awoke early. It was going to be a busy day for me. I had the critters to feed, do a Weekly Home Blessing, prep for Sabbath and grocery delivery, and take a three-hour online course then a follow-up review with my specialist for the following hour. Then of course Sabbath which comes earlier every week.

First things first, I put out the birdseed for the birds, and peanuts for the squirrels, magpies, and blue jays (and the mice—shush!) and water for all. As I was pouring the water into one of the dishes I noticed what looked like wear on one of the tarps. I thought I’d better check on it, though I was quite confident whatever was contained there-under would be fine as I had put some stuff into two large plastic totes. I lifted the tarp and there were no lids on the totes. They were full of water. The books I’d placed in them were among my favorites and they were ruined. The water was black with ink and mold.

I grabbed my rubber gloves and started hauling the books out of the nearest tote. Ruined! Just piles of sodden paper and they stank.

I had some garbage bags. I piled the books and magazines into the bags and moved them out of the way. As I did so I realized they were way too heavy for me to take to the dumpster, so I divided them into other bags so they would weigh less and I hoped would be manageable.

I went inside for more bags and called my pastor’s wife, hoping she’d be in, as she always knows what to do in most situations. We talked for a few minutes and I headed out again to pour bleach into the totes to mitigate the stench, as she had suggested. I heard the phone ringing. It was L, the man who drives me to and from church when I can go. He’d had a call from the pastor’s wife asking him to come over and help me. He said he’d be over shortly.

Now, I hadn’t showered or eaten. I did rush and put on a proper bra because when at home, alone, I wear bras that support my girls in name only. Oh, and I brushed my teeth. I did nothing else. It was actually about an hour before L arrived. He dealt with the water and he deposited the ruined books in the dumpster, helped me replace the tarps, and left ten minutes before my online class was to begin.

I raced around trying to set-up for the class and get myself something to eat.

In the kitchen, I bent to get--something! Anything!--out of the fridge and because I was racing the clock I stood up with speed and force…

I should explain that I have one of those fridges with the fridge on the bottom and the freezer on the top. Each section having its own door.

I stood up and smashed my head on the freezer door. I smashed it so hard, without thinking about what I was holding I grabbed my head, and tears poured down my face. I may have cussed. I don’t often cuss, but somethings just deserve to be cussed at, and smashing one’s skull against a big hard immovable object like a freezer door, deserves at least a cuss. I also prayed, why? Why? Why? This now? Why? But that was it, that was all the time I had for tears or prayers or cussing.

I assembled myself and whatnot in front of the computer and discovered the class was delayed. Fine, I used that time to enjoy my meal, whatever it was, and to thank L and my pastor’s wife, via email, for all their help, and wait for the class to start.

I don’t remember that much about the rest of the day, except there were a few mistakes with my grocery order and things had to go back or be replaced or had been left out altogether. It was just that kind of day.

My plans for Saturday the 17th were simple, get up, shower, dress for church, and go to church. Didn’t happen.

I got up and couldn’t move. My hamstrings and glutes were screaming at me and refusing to function. I couldn’t walk. I waddled. Like a stiff-legged duck. Called L, told him I was in too much pain to go to church, and I went back to bed.

For several days the pain and inability to use my limbs continued, but I have at my fingertips Dr. Google and with his assistance I found some gentle stretches to help the wounded parts of my body heal. By Monday my butt and thighs felt pretty good. Then my back decided to act up.

Okay, that makes sense. Probably I injured my back when I hefted the heavy garbage bags of wet books, etc., and the pain was merely being expressed in the butt, etc. Then I noticed not only was I having pain in my back I was having terrible headaches. Anytime I ate, or spoke, or lay down my head would start to throb, right where I’d smashed it on the top of my stupid skull.


So, here I sit, a few days shy of a full month later, head throbbing (concussion, my doctor says,) and my back aching and going into spasms. The plan? I take codeine for the pain and Robaxacet for the muscle stuff and ride it out. And in the future, I'm going to try to avoid heavy lifting and smashing my brains against hard objects, at least objects harder than my head.

Comments

[adoptedwriter]

Head injuries are brutal. Glad you are OK.

[murielle]

I am getting better every day. Thank you so much! :-)

[bleodswean]

*gentle, gentle hugs* This is a difficult read, M, because the story is so well told but the story is so not good!!!

I wonder what happened to the tubs?!

And your poor head. I've done that exact same maneuver and maybe some of your back pain is from neck pain! Please take care of yourself. Glad you feed the critters, including the mouses.

[murielle]

I was able to edit the change you suggested. Thank you!

I forgot to put the lids on the tubs. (Stupid head!) They work much better with the lids on. ;-)

I've hit my head so many times, it doesn't usually hurt this much, and certainly not for this long. Ah well, maybe it's not as thick as it used to be. ;-)

[bsgsix]

YIKES!

I mean, you told a solid story here, but as a person who has had 2 dozen concussions as well as a traumatic brain injury - this is visceral, and I am just flinching for you. That pain, from your head that spreads down through the body... ugh. This is a tough read, but still told very well. I'm just so sorry it happened. How are you feeling now?

(I almost wrote about how I received my traumatic brain injury for this week, strangely. I took a different path - which you can listen to if you're not up for reading, because the strain on the eyes is real post-head injury! - but still. I know you said it's been almost a month, but I hope you're okay!) <3

[murielle]

Thank you so much!

I'm still in pain, but of course, it's not at bad as it was and I'm not taking as much medication for it anymore. Which is also good as I hate taking medication for anything and I have so much to take. I know you know what I mean.

Thank you so much for reading and commenting. I plan to do my reading/listening this evening after I clean up the mess in my kitchen. :-)

[gunwithoutmusic]

Oof! So many times I have had the experience of slamming my head into the freezer door, or an open cabinet door, or something similar. I actually took all of my cabinet doors off in my kitchen because neither my husband nor I can ever be bothered to actually close them, and I hit my head enough times to be wary of even stooping down in my kitchen. I felt that hit on your head through my whole body!

What a terrible day. :(

[murielle]

It was a terrible day! I think of it as one of those "perfect storm" days.

Thank you so much for reading, relating, and commenting. Sorry about your head. :-)

[ashgael]

Muscle strain from lifting (you use all the muscles you mentioned) and a concussion.
Ouch. At least you were smart enough to rest.
I had a concussion once in high school (tossed long met my head) and went to school the next day.
Not my best choice

[murielle]

Thank you! I'm so sorry it happened to you. It's been a long haul, but as long as I rest I can keep going. :-)

[halfshellvenus]

Oh, no!

And to all of it--I've been wondering how you were doing at going through those books that have been outside for so long, but this was not what I'd hoped to hear. How did the lids come off? And what a terrible fate for your favorites. :(

But this is definitely a case of injury to insult. All of the work to deal with the wreckage out there, and the hauling, and then brutalizing your head and body while rushing around to meet a tight schedule...Augh! Boy, that must have hurt, and I'm not surprised that you got a concussion from it. And then the aftermath, with all of those aches! I was thinking you might have re-triggered a phase of punishing fatigue, but I hadn't thought about overuse pain. :(

The headaches concern me, unless they're being caused as a side-effect of the back spasms. Is there any chance you might have fractured something, and should go in for treatment?

[murielle]

Aww! Thank you! ((Hugs))

Most of the books were okay, except for the ones in the boxes on the bottom, and the ones in the tubs I'd forgotten to put lids on. (I'd hit my stupid head, but I need the few brain cells I have left.) I grieved over my Moosewood Cookbook and books on herbs and such. But, I was so lucky, K. It could have been so much worse. L wouldn't let me throw some of the moldy mousey-munched books out, so I'll have to sneak out there and toss them at a later date. ;-)

I have been sleeping a lot. And since L left I've been taking the pain-killers and muscle relaxants and sleeping even more, but it's good. It could be so much worse.

I asked my doctor if she wanted to x-ray my head and she said no. We do phone-appointments since she put me on lockdown. I think all the rest is helping as the headaches have been less frequent and severe.

Thank you so much, K. :-) <3

[halfshellvenus]

Oh, I'm glad to hear that. So, you're still getting them, but overall things are improving. That's good.

I wonder what L thought you were going to do with the moldy mouse-eaten books, if not throw them away. I mean, I could deal with mouse-munched, possibly. But moldy? That smell never goes away! :O

[murielle]

LOL! I have no idea what he thinks I'll do with moldy old books. What I will do, if I really want them, is take a photo of them and try to replace them. I have discovered I'm not as traumatized as I imagined I'd be. :-)

[halfshellvenus]

Ooh, now, that's an excellent idea!

Also, some of them you can borrow from the library (including the e-library for your Kindle) if you want to re-read them from time-to-time. Doesn't work as well for things like cookbooks, but for novels and such, it's great!

Library "place book on hold" systems have revolutionized my book-acquisition habits. ;)

[murielle]

I haven't been able to use my library, I actually have two close by, because of MCS. But, the electronic library could work! Thank you!

[flipflop_diva]

Ahhh, this was a very painful smash and grab. And what a horrible day. Those are the days you just wish you could have stayed in bed the whole time and skipped over the entire 24 hours.

Your poor books. Your poor head. Poor you. *HUGS*

[murielle]

Aww! Thank you!

I'm mending. :-)

[alycewilson]

Rereading this, I'm still commiserating with you for this injury. You tell it in such a detailed, tangible way.

[murielle]

Thank you so very much. It has stayed very clear in memory. I approach the fridge with caution, no longer taking it for granted.

Do you remember in 1999, when there was all the hoopla about Y2K and the ancient Mayan prophecy that our tools would rise up against us? Maybe we were a tad premature. Maybe it's happening now! (I've probably mangled the prophecy. Let's blame my concussion.) ;-)

[megatronix]

Oh my gosh, Murielle, I'm so sorry you had such a terrrible experience! That is so scary! You poor thing. Take good care and I hope you're doing better!

[murielle]

Thank you! I'm taking it as easy as I can and I think I'm doing better, at least my back is much better. Thanks, again!