Broken

Even though our vacation was over as well as the 4th of July I thought I still had a few weeks of summer left. However, it sort of came to an end on July 9th. We had plans to rent a pontoon boat with some friends and hit Precey Priest Lake here in Nashville.

Mark really didn't want to go and mom and dad had made a last minute trip into town so he decided to stay home and entertain the in-laws. I didn't plan to being gone long so I would be back in time to eat dinner with everyone.

I met everyone at the docks with coolers packed, yummy snacks, towels and sunscreen in hand. We had a great time cruising the lake, floating in the water and sliding down the slide that was on our boat (which was a request of ours).

We decided to move locations and ended up stopping to watch everyone jump off these cliffs. There were so many boats just chillin' out. Well we were about to pull away and Captain Lance asked if anyone was going to jump before we left. My friend, Adam, said "I'll go." Well shoot, I had been thinking about it myself so I said "I'll go, if you go." And so here we go......

I had seen others take life jackets with them so they weren't worn out swimming to/from the boat, I followed suit. We had to climb up the cliff which Adam had to help. We were barefoot and the rocks were a bit slippery. We got up there behind a family (dad, son, daughter). As soon as we reached the top Adam jumped. I mean our friends from the boat didn't even get to see him. Me on the other hand had to get my act together. I tossed Adam my life jacket down below and he yelled up to me "be sure to keep you arms to your side so they don't smack the water." Ok, I thought, I've got this. I just have to keep my arms down and jump out far enough so I don't hit the rock I'm standing on. People had been doing this all day....

Ready, set......

Go!

Looks fun, right!?!? Well, it was, I guess, until I hit the water. As I was falling, I thought I would never hit the water. I think when that thought entered my mind I must have lost control and started to lean back some. I hit the water and it completely knocked the breath out of me and my back was KILLING me. I made it over to Adam and grabbed on to him and my life jacket and swam back to the boat. Oh man, I was in so much pain and could not breathe. So I somehow make it into the boat and lay down on one of the benches. I just wanted to get my breath back. My dear friends were trying everything to make me comfortable. They gave me ice, fed me aspirin, got me in the shade, talked to me, anything they could do, bless their hearts, they were trying. I tried a couple of times to sit up and whoa, that was painful.

Remember Mark was not with me and I didn't want to call him right away because I thought mom would panic. So I waited a bit and called him. I could tell he was napping so he was aggravated I was even calling to begin with.
Me: "Mark, I jumped off a cliff and I think I've hurt my back."
Mark: "WHAT ARE YOU AN IDIOT!?! DO YOU THINK YOU'RE 16?"
Ugh, what a jerk, right!?! I immediately hung up on him, not really the support I was hoping for.

I wasn't going to call him back now I was pissed, hurt and crying. We waited another few minutes and I asked my friend, Betsy, to call him. She continued to tell him that it's a bit serious and he needed to come pick me up. We headed back to the dock. I had to get off the boat and into the car somehow. I could walk so I did just that. I got my stuff and walked to my car where I waited on Mark and dad to get me. That was the longest car ride ever, all I wanted to do was lay down in my bed. Mark stopped to get me a heating pad and back brace so we put heat on it immediately (this is a no-no, we should have put ice).

I laid down for an hour, may-be and tried to get up to eat. I could not walk. I could not sit. I could not stand. I just remember crying at the table while my family sat and finished dinner. With that, I decided to get to the ER. We went to Stonecrest right by the house. They took me back fairly quickly. I think we got there at just the right time. The waiting room filled up rather quickly afterwards.

The nurses completed all the registration processes, vitals, etc. I was finally taken for an x-ray. The doctor told me a couple of things could be wrong but that she's ordered a CAT scan to get a better look. So they wheeled me in for that. The doctor came back and said I had a burst fracture on my L1 vertebrae. She continued to explain that the vertebrae pretty much exploded on impact of me hitting the water. This could be treated with surgery or by a brace. In the meantime, I had to potty. Mom asked the nurse if I could use the restroom and she comes back with a bedpan. Ummm..I.DON'T.THINK.SO. I made mom help me up and take me to the potty. I thought it was a quick trip and I made it just fine. I had walked into the ER for crying out loud. I get back in bed and my nurse had ratted me out. The doctor got on to me telling me they are keeping me overnight because the doctors aren't in right not but will be first thing in the morning. The other reason I needed to stay was so they could monitor me. They were concerned the fragments from the fracture that were just sort of floating out there could injure my spinal column doing more damage. That's part of the concern with me getting up and moving around too. They also wanted to monitor my legs and feet for numbness, make sure I was conscious, etc. So they put a catheter in and finally moved me a room.

I didn't sleep very well that night. I was on some pretty good drugs so I wasn't in too much pain but I think I was more concerned about having surgery. I did NOT want to go through that. Poor Mark was there by my side the entire time. (This was after Lisa gave him a good talking to and he realized this was way serious). The doctor came in first thing, I was NOT going to have surgery. Woohoo, PRAISE THE LORD! What a relief! So, someone would be in later to measure me for the brace that I'd have to wear for 3 month (Oct. 9th - Holy Cow)!

The day flew by! I had several visitors, the nurses were in every 2 hours, I had appointments on Monday Mark had to cancel for me, he had to call my boss, etc. I ended up staying Sunday night too. I got the brace Sunday night so I had to get another x-ray on Monday just to make sure it was doing the trick. I slept much better that night, while Mark was curled up on that silly fold out chair.

I was ready to be home Monday but I pretty much had to lay down, flat and on my back, the entire time. The nurses/staff at the hospital were awesome! Mark was a pretty awesome nurse too, but he had to go home with me! :) I was out of work for 2 weeks laying down most of the day, getting up to eat, potty and shower. I did not have to shower or sleep in the brace but if I was up for any other reason the brace had to be on.