3. Picking up the 5er...oops, not so fast!

We were to go pick up the 5er on Tues. Oct. 6, but based on the below info. you will see why we didn’t make it. The remainder of this post is what I wrote in an email on Monday Oct. 5th.

Saturday (Oct. 3rd) started out hectic. We had to get stuff ready for brother-in-law Paul's 70th birthday party at the park, prepare for 40 plus people back to our house for a Cal football watching party, and Susie et al spending the night (plus breakfast for 30 at Connie's the next morning). Just a normal weekend in LWW. (And of course we had given up our tickets for the Cal vs U$C game just to go to Paul's party...with the caveat that I WILL be back in front of our TV when the game starts.)

We packed the 4-Runner early Sat. with tables, chairs, ice chests, crock pots, cameras, charcoal, etc., and backed out the driveway. We heard the sound of a crock pot lid 'settling' as I turned the corner, so I stopped, rearranged things, made sure the beans had not spilled and we started off again.

Got to the park safe and sound to find Connie and several others already setting up. My job was to BBQ 7 tri-tips on the huge permanent grill there...fun stuff! I got the coals started (while enjoying some ice cold Sierra Nevada Pale Ale) while others were arriving, and was watching everyone else fighting the wind trying to get the table clothes to stay on the tables. It was VERY breezy (as I guess it was a the Cal game as well). All at once I heard a commotion and as I turned a big bunch of colorful balloons someone brought (and tethered with a heavy weight) came blowing toward me (dragging across the ground) with the lake clearly their destination. For some STUPID reason I took off after them (as people were yelling "Grab the balloons!")

Some times the decisions we make in a split second are not the best...or maybe even the worst. As I ran after them (thinking I'd probably pull a hamstring) it became obvious that they were going to make it to the lake (why that was really all that bad of thing I'm not really sure) unless I turned into a SUPERHERO...so I dove.

Imagine the highlight reels that you see on Sports Center where they show the plays of the day, or week, or month, or EVER...well this was one of those plays. I laid out parallel to the ground and stretched as far as I could, and 3 feet from the water's edge I grabbed one ribbon of the 10 or so balloons. Everyone was watching, and cheering, and yelling to get my picture lying there on the ground with the saved balloons...and then they were wondering why I wasn't getting up...and just laid there instead.

I looked up to see Janna walking toward me saying, "You're hurt, aren't you?" (at least she had the courtesy to not add DUMBSHIT in there as well). "Yup", was my response. My right shoulder felt like I had...well, like I had dove and fallen on it...GO FIGURE. Well, after a couple more Sierra Nevada's and 4 Ibuprofen I was able to continue cooking the tri-tips, but the whole time I was thinking, "This is not good, that was dumb, I shouldn't have done that, what was I thinking" (and I still am!!!!)

Everyone was very complimentary of the meat as they sat down to eat, and after all the others (60+ people) had gone through the food line, Janna, Connie and I cleaned up the last of the beans, grabbed some tri-tip and potato salad and headed for the crowd to find a place to sit. I found a spot by Heidi and Bob and Janna was over by some other friends. I had taken one bite of tri-tip (of course I had nibbled a lot while slicing it) and one bite of potato salad when I looked up to see Janna standing off under a tree with napkins to her mouth. I got up and went to see what was wrong, only to find her bleeding profusely from the mouth. Remember the crock pot mentioned above, well apparently it splintered off a sliver of glass that then worked it's way to the bottom, and Janna bit into it and perforated her tongue.

I said "we're going to emergency", and after telling Connie and Doris what had happened (just as the crowd was singing happy birthday to Paul) we took off. That was approx.3:00pm.

By the time we checked in at the hospital and were put into a waiting room, the bleeding had stopped. The 'puncture' was about 1/4" wide, and nice and clean. We then wondered whether we should even be there or not. Plus we knew 40+ people were going to be heading to our house in about 45 min. Maybe (with any luck Janna observed...bad karma) she could get checked out and we would be out of there in 45 min (NOT!) At 6:51pm (per my cell phone log) I called home to say we were on the way home. We were sitting in the ER for over 3 hrs...just sitting and staring and reflecting...slow punishment (for something we guess). The staff was VERY apologetic, but when we checked in the nurse said all of a sudden they were VERY busy...of course. And yes, I do think there was a full moon that night!

Our house was a ZOO when we got home. 8 kids under 12 running around, 2 babes in arms (Chloe and RJ), a bunch of people that had been drinking for almost 6 hours and Cal on the big screen losing badly...YIKES! The good news is that everyone made themselves at home, figured out the Wii and the TV (I did call on that though), the BBQ (brats for dinner) and gas heater on the deck (someone had one just like it).

The other bit of good news (we guess) is that we are probably VERY lucky that Janna was the one that got the glass, as it could been someone 80+ (there are a lot of those in Paul's bridge club) that is taking coumadin...another YIKES!

So, here we sit in the aftermath, sort of wondering what just happened.

Janna had one stitch put in (self dissolving), has penicillin to take, liquids only for 24hrs, and now soft food for a week.

I just got back from the Dr. No specific diagnosis, but I should keep my arm (right of course) immobile in a sling for 10 days to 2 weeks, make an appointment with a physical therapist in two weeks to start rehab, and also make an appt. with an orthopedist (takes two weeks to get into them anyway) in case it is worse than my GP thinks ("Doc, it only hurts when I do this...well then don't do that!"). I don't need any pain killers (as the continual throbbing is just a nice little reminder to not be moving it) but it sure hurts if I try to move my arm away from the body (front, back, or sideways...but typing is OK, and I can still bend my head down low enough to brush my teeth...but have to brush my hair with the left hand). I can sleep OK, and can even roll over onto it (as long as I hold my right arm still with my left hand while rolling)

Oh, and did I mention that we are suppose to go pick up the 5th wheel tomorrow, drive to Disneyland for a 4 day weekend on Friday (not with the 5th wheel), and go camping in Yosemite for 4 nights (two weeks from today)? I called and moved the 5th wheel appt. to the 14th as Janna does NOT want to even attempt to tow it (she hasn't even driven the new monster truck yet). Janna can drive to DL, and I can push RJ around in a stroller with one arm. So now we hope I heal good enough for us to 1) be able to pick up the 5er on the 14th, and 2) still go to Yosemite. But if not it won't be the end of the world...we've been there before, and we'll go again!

The whole time we were at the hospital Chris was texting me play by play what was happening at the game (he was watching TV and listening on the radio), and Steve Balling was texting me from the game. When I told Steve we were at the emergency room he made the observation that it was probably more painful for them being at the game...and I agreed (but I hadn't yet told him about my arm).