I opened the boxes of Christmas decorations last week and saw these boxes of Christmas cards I don't remember purchasing. I don't remember much of anything about December 2010 after falling on my head. I tripped, probably because it was a dark and stormy night after the Port Orchard Christmas tree lighting. I also was recovering from a second cataract surgery and still had another surgery awaiting me at a later date. The last thing I remember was listening to student choirs from a few South Kitsap schools singing in front of City Hall, then losing my footing hurrying to the car in the old church parking lot on Cline.
My daughter, Teri, with help from a Port Orchard medic, got me into an ambulance and we headed for Harrison emergency where they called a helicopter to transport me to Harborview Hospital in Seattle. I was in and out of consciousness (sp?) and remember only snatches of the airlift and of lying on a gurney in a curtained space at the hospital. I could hear shouting and caught glimpses of nurses running about. When I had to use the bathroom I saw cops in uniform and guys in orange suits with cuffs on their ankles and chains so figured out where the shouts were coming from. One of the nurses, in response to one of my girls asking if she liked her job, said, "Where else could I get this kind of crazy drama and get paid for it. This is the best job ever!" I had the feeling she really meant it. It was a little scary to me and that's all I remember until I woke up with a headache some time later.
A doctor was by the bed (I think he was a doctor. For all I knew he could have been an orderly. Or a nurse. Or a janitor from City Hall.) But I figured out he really was a doctor because he was using a lot of big words and talking to my girls about the surgery I just had and something called a shunt. I later learned that the little pipe they put in my head was permanent and I would be reminded of what had happened that night every time I brushed or shampooed my hair.
They had trouble getting me to eat anything. Sweet foods tasted salty. Nothing tasted very good. It would be some time before I felt like eating. I had some weird roommates during my time at Harborview. I looked forward to getting back to Port Orchard.
From Harborview I was transported by ambulance on the ferry back to Bremerton and a very bumpy ride through Gorst to Ridgemont Terrace Nursing facility. The new rehab unit at Ridgemont was still under construction and I began my recovery in the "little gym" with some of the most wonderful therapists I had ever seen. I still can't remember all their names (I fell on my head yanno) but Sandy and Mike stand out as most tolerant of my cranky attitude. I'm sure I was the most disagreeable of residents in their care and probably their most impatient patient. (...yanno) .
Time has been dragging this past year and thanks to my wonderful kids, fantastic staff and fellow residents at Ridgemont Senior Apartments and good friends who surrounded me with love and caring, I made it through one of the most difficult years I can remember. Most of all, thanks to Charlie Rook who cheered me with his phone calls, some at 5 a.m! Kids and grandkids brought me back from the edge several times.
I think this will be a very Merry Christmas. I hope it will be as well for all who venture into blogs. And I hope this blog is readable. IFOMH yanno…
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