Saturday, March 10, 2018

I Could Have Died


I am back, sort of.  I got back home from my 25-day trip and found I had to turn around and head back to the city for a belated birthday dinner (my birthday) and to see a play. (Great play and may write about that later.) Then back down here to go through a box of mail, clean yard, do laundry, respond to answering machine messages, download 2,500 photos, grocery shop, and make a longer list of stuff still to do like get new passports and start on income taxes and clean up the yard after the storm!


Where did I go?  The Amazon River and a bunch of Caribbean Islands.  More on that later.

In response to the title of this post, on the second to the last day of my journey, I took a very nasty fall in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  I fell down two concrete steps with very sharp edges onto more concrete.  It was right behind the Capital building and since the Governor was giving a speech that very afternoon, dozens of police officers were everywhere.  



In no time I was spouting blood from my right shin, building fluids in my left knee and beginning the swelling of a nice left black eye where my face fell on my camera!  Guess what?  No broken bones, no stitches, and no concussion!  Had I not been going into shock, I would have taken more photos of the tragedy.


Three police officers (cuter than ever and very sweet) came by and called the ambulance and two medics checked me out asking lots of questions but allowed me to opt out of going to the ER---wonder if I would have gotten away with that State-side?  I had no later headache and the bleeding stopped on the leg almost immediately with pressure and elevation although the blood flow was nasty.  I spent the afternoon watching movies in the hotel and after taking Advil applied ice and gentle movement to various parts of my body.



The next day I was well enough to see parts of San Juan with a hired taxi before our later afternoon flight out.  That afternoon I had to make a fast walk from one end of the Charlotte airport to the other to catch our last flight and had no pain or problems.  Somebody up there is watching out for me...for some reason!
Now I will add reading your blogs for updates to my list of things to do!

21 comments:

  1. What an ending, but you are safe back ready to write about your adventures! Glad the tumble was not too serious but do take care from now on, hobbling around is a miserable inconvenience.

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  2. Sounds like an amazing trip to take. Guess it was a draw between Tabor and the concrete. So glad you were not more seriously injured. Now you will ave to put up with a few "why doesn't she just leave him" looks in the grocery store.

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  3. Wow! Someone watching over you indeed! I am glad your injury wasn’t worse, Tabor.

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  4. A bad trip (so to speak) after a good trip.

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  5. It sounds like you had an exciting trip in more ways than one.

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  6. It could have been so much worse. I'm glad you are okay. Is your camera okay too? Wow! Yes you could have died, but fortunately you didn't. :-)

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  7. This is a perfect warning for me not to travel. I can barely get around my own home without tripping or bumping into things. Glad you continued to enjoy your trip and look forward to hearing more about it and seeing pictures.

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  8. I went to the doctor for a checkup earlier this week, and the nurse asked me: Have you fallen in the last year? I guess that's an issue with older people, and she was checking on balance, dizziness, etc. I said I hadn't fallen, altho' I did trip last summer in a parking lot, which left me with a big scrape on my arm that took at least a month to completely heal. What's the difference between a trip and a fall, anyway? So we should all take a lesson from your experience: Be careful. Hold the handrail. Watch where you're going! And btw, glad you're okay, but you be careful too!

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  9. Anonymous10:42 AM

    Poor you! But things turned out better than they might have looked and you probably had a wonderful trip otherwise! The reality of going into shock was probably your greatest danger (and a real danger). I know about being careful...I am 60 and I do try to hold onto handrails! Happy belated birthday! Andrea

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  10. Welcome home. It's ok not to do it all right away. LOL I learned one really important thing when traveling. Tell the folks at the airport that you need a wheelchair. They will hold the airplane, and you won't be rushed.
    Boy, that's a beautiful black eye. Does your camera still work? Seriously, I'm glad you survived to write about it. Glad you are home to a birthday and a play. You were missed. Now we want to see all 2,500 photos.

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  11. Welcome home, may you have many happy returns of your birthday, and it may sound weird, but i was praying for you while you were gone.

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    1. It is not weird as I felt someone had my back!

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  12. So glad you are okay. No photos of the cute policemen I suppose. ;-)

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  13. Glad your injury wasn't serious. I am so much more cautious now about falls than i used to be. Definitely a way to ruin a good day or end a life :(

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  14. Wow! What a great trip you went on can't wait to see some photos. Bad luck about the accident but you were lucky that you mended fairly quickly.

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  15. I'm so glad that happened after you'd been to the Amazon. I'd hate anything to have ruined that for you. Glad you are OK and can't wait for the Amazonian photos.

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  16. That was quite a grand finale you landed to conclude your trip.
    I'm glad it wasn't so serious after all. I look forward to seeing photos.
    Your list reminded me of how one needs another vacation after returning home from a long trip and dealing with all of the catch up.

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  17. you were lucky. falling is no joke at our age especially on concrete. so glad you are none the worse for wear.

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  18. I forgot to add, I truly hope you are feeling better.

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  19. Prayers for your continued healing and good health

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  20. Oh my gosh! You were very lucky that it wasn't worse. I have three friends who suffered a lot more damage from falls while traveling. I'll be going on a cruise tour later this year. Yikes! It's making me nervous.

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Take your time...take a deep breath...then hit me with your best shot.