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bluescribbler

(2,484 posts)
Wed Feb 25, 2026, 10:47 PM 5 hrs ago

I am not home yet.

We had another snowstorm on Sunday into Monday. Snow policy in the condo association is that when the contractor plows a "breakthrough pass", we then go out, clean the cars and move them out to the street so he can then finish plowing. I cleaned off Susan's car, moved it and began walking back to do the same for my car, when my feet suddenly slid out from under me and I went ass over teakettle into the air, coming down HARD on my left hip. OMFG the pain!!! It hurt like Oedipus, (IYKYK). I managed to roll over and tried to get up, but my screaming hip said, "no fucking way, dude".
Fortunately, two of my neighbor ladies had just come out, saw my predicament and came to my aid. Marianne asked, "Should I call 911?" "Yes, please", I replied. Jenny went in to tell Susan, who had been taking a nap. Meanwhile other neighbors had come out to help. They had to spread sand around me so that the EMT's had enough traction to lift me onto the stretcher and into the bus. Eventually I was loaded into the bus and one of the EMT's put in an IV line and gave me an immediate dose of morphine. I had another dose on the way to the hospital. I was sent to X-ray the hip and my left wrist
The result is that the wrist is sprained and the femur is fractured just below the ball that goes into the socket of the pelvis. ER doc said, "You need surgery. The bad news is that we can't do it here, we don't have an orthopedic surgeon on staff. We have to send you to Springfield. The good news is that this is a fairly routine surgery, in fact, just the other day I sent a 100-year-old woman for the exact treatment." Unfortunately, there were no beds available, so I had to spend the night at BMC Franklin. The next day there were no beds until 8PM. I got into the room at 9 PM. It was touch and go all day waiting for an OR slot to open up.
At 5PM, I was told that I'd be going in. I answered all the preop questions, many times, signed the consent forms, met the surgical team and was taken into the OR. Once the gurney was in position and IV lines all hooked up, I heard the anesthesiologist say, "starting dilaudid."
The next thing I knew, I was in the recovery room. Once the nurses were satisfied that I was OK I was brought back up to my room. I am now the proud owner of a sis inch titanium rod holding my femur in place and a titanium screw holding the rod in place. It will be a few weeks before I can place full weight on that leg. Susan is plenty PO'd that we were sent out to move cars before the pavement was sanded. She's planning to write a "strongly worded letter. Me, I'll just be happy to be able to play my bass guitars again.

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2naSalit

(101,608 posts)
3. What a nightmare!
Wed Feb 25, 2026, 11:07 PM
5 hrs ago

At least your neighbors were right there. The hos[ital run around sounds miserable, though.

Hope it all heals up well and doesn't take forever.

slightlv

(7,648 posts)
4. Oh, man... as someone who's had a hip replaced
Wed Feb 25, 2026, 11:08 PM
5 hrs ago

with titanium after a bad fall on cement (thanks to my dog on his leash), I can SO sympathize with you. Take it easy on yourself. I think I'd be doing more than a "strongly worded letter" myself... but that's just me. Good news is that it's been almost 20 years since I had that hip replaced, and it's only now giving me twangs when I walk to long on it. The bad news is between the titanium in my femur and hip socket, and the same in my spine, I now set off alarms when I walk INTO a store... never mind walking out! (LOL) Be gentle with yourself. I wasn't particularly, and started to do stairs way too soon. I'd advise against that for the first few days, at least!

MIButterfly

(2,433 posts)
6. I am so sorry to hear this happened to you, bluescribbler.
Wed Feb 25, 2026, 11:24 PM
5 hrs ago

I hope you have a full recovery and will be home soon.

Keep us posted on your progress.

Best regards,
MIButterfly

sheshe2

(96,924 posts)
7. It was a bad storm,
Wed Feb 25, 2026, 11:47 PM
4 hrs ago

and it sounds like your hip took the brunt of it!

Rest up and take your time getting on your feet again.

Deuxcents

(26,338 posts)
8. The simplest of things to do puts ya in this situation..
Thu Feb 26, 2026, 12:36 AM
3 hrs ago

Suds like you got good care and gonna be alright..except for healing n rehab but we’ll be with ya all the way. Take good care 🌺

IbogaProject

(5,756 posts)
9. Whew, I did similar just under two years ago
Thu Feb 26, 2026, 12:38 AM
3 hrs ago

Advocate for the pain meds to keep up with putting weight on it when they clear you too. While Its a long haul to maximum recovery be thankful the modern tech avoids traction.

FemDemERA

(756 posts)
12. Oh my!! I'm so glad there was someone
Thu Feb 26, 2026, 01:22 AM
3 hrs ago

Nearby to help out!! Wishing you a speedy and complete recovery.

Figarosmom

(11,157 posts)
13. You were damn lucky someone was out
Thu Feb 26, 2026, 01:32 AM
2 hrs ago

To see what happened snd get you help. I'm sure you will be back on your feet in no time. Good vibes coming your way.

Danmel

(5,750 posts)
14. Feel better soon Blue
Thu Feb 26, 2026, 04:15 AM
13 min ago

I feel your pain. I fell in October and fractured my left wrist and left patella. I too am now the proud owner of a titanium plate and 7 screws. I've been terrified of falling again and we've had sooo much snow.
S.
Hoping you have a smooth recovery and are back on you feet soon.

flvegan

(66,110 posts)
15. So you were following some sort of policy mandated by the condo assn/dec/rules, and
Thu Feb 26, 2026, 04:23 AM
4 min ago

were injured on condo/common element property following them?

I'll bet a personal injury attorney would love to hear from you. Strongly worded letter, notwithstanding.



Disclaimer: NAL, no idea what state you're in, just devil's advocate.

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