On Wednesday afternoon my older brother D picked me up. He was generous enough to make the drive 1 hour south to get me and then reverse the ride 30 minutes later.
He arrived on time and we gathered my gear, double checking I had everything I needed for the 3 night stay away. I was a little nervous I would forget something, pain meds, walker, wheel chair, clothes, phone. But realizing my husband would be up the following day kept this worry to a minimum.
The next step, (no pun intended) would be to get down the front stairs. Besides have a halo brace on my head I have a broken right ankle and right lower leg. I've been able to do the stairs a few times with W and each time it gets easier. I should mention this isn't just a few stairs, this is a steep cement climb with wood railings on partial with about 17 steps and a landing between the 2 sets. My front door sites up from the street with the garage at street level. oh joy!
Once down the stairs, away we go. Sitting in the car with a halo brace isn't the most comfortable or safe feeling. First being the obvious, I can't turn my head to see what's going on out the window. Second is the seat position and 3rd is my leg. I suppose just sit in a chair with an upright, hard back and you can imagine sitting in a car seat. With my halo I don't like sitting in chairs, the hard vest on my back against the seat back isn't comfortable. Also, my leg straight down or extended a little encourages it to swell and throb. The pain meds are working extra hard and fall apart in many areas.
About an hour into the car ride we are stuck in bad bumper to bumper traffic in SF city and I begin to feel ill. In 30 minutes we had moved 3 blocks. I realize I haven't been this long in a car in 6 weeks and fear I will have to pee soon. People in other cars are staring at me and I try not to notice. I get feverish and open the window to get some air. It is an uncanny 68 degrees in SF in late November. I had eaten very little that morning and wished I had something to snack on. D is getting antsy as well. He's not a city guy and appears to feel apprehensive about the traffic. He turns on the radio and finds an AM station that reports the GG Bridge had to shut down to clear an accident and had just reopened a few lanes.
Then finally we made it through and clear sailing. Hwy 101 was traffic free and my anxiety lessened. We arrived at D's house 1 hour later and I made it into the house as fast as I could to pee ignoring the stares from the neighborhood kids that had formed in front of the house as if waiting for something. I'm guessing that something may have been me...
He arrived on time and we gathered my gear, double checking I had everything I needed for the 3 night stay away. I was a little nervous I would forget something, pain meds, walker, wheel chair, clothes, phone. But realizing my husband would be up the following day kept this worry to a minimum.
The next step, (no pun intended) would be to get down the front stairs. Besides have a halo brace on my head I have a broken right ankle and right lower leg. I've been able to do the stairs a few times with W and each time it gets easier. I should mention this isn't just a few stairs, this is a steep cement climb with wood railings on partial with about 17 steps and a landing between the 2 sets. My front door sites up from the street with the garage at street level. oh joy!
Once down the stairs, away we go. Sitting in the car with a halo brace isn't the most comfortable or safe feeling. First being the obvious, I can't turn my head to see what's going on out the window. Second is the seat position and 3rd is my leg. I suppose just sit in a chair with an upright, hard back and you can imagine sitting in a car seat. With my halo I don't like sitting in chairs, the hard vest on my back against the seat back isn't comfortable. Also, my leg straight down or extended a little encourages it to swell and throb. The pain meds are working extra hard and fall apart in many areas.
About an hour into the car ride we are stuck in bad bumper to bumper traffic in SF city and I begin to feel ill. In 30 minutes we had moved 3 blocks. I realize I haven't been this long in a car in 6 weeks and fear I will have to pee soon. People in other cars are staring at me and I try not to notice. I get feverish and open the window to get some air. It is an uncanny 68 degrees in SF in late November. I had eaten very little that morning and wished I had something to snack on. D is getting antsy as well. He's not a city guy and appears to feel apprehensive about the traffic. He turns on the radio and finds an AM station that reports the GG Bridge had to shut down to clear an accident and had just reopened a few lanes.
Then finally we made it through and clear sailing. Hwy 101 was traffic free and my anxiety lessened. We arrived at D's house 1 hour later and I made it into the house as fast as I could to pee ignoring the stares from the neighborhood kids that had formed in front of the house as if waiting for something. I'm guessing that something may have been me...
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