A Few Clouds Along the Way….(Bonus Head-Staple Story Included)
So, we’ve had a few clouds come our way. On the wild Oregon coast that means days of grey, fog and rolling mist. Having lived in San Francisco for over 12 years, I have to admit this doesn’t bother me much. In fact the grey days give a cozy feeling of being home, opportunities for endless cups of guiltless hot chocolate and peeks of light that create unique and interesting photographic subjects.
But, we’ve had a few other clouds too. A few days back Paul got called away on a family emergency to Florida leaving yours truly alone on the coast (staying at Fort Stevens for another 10 days). The turmoil at home was probably enough for the poor man, but in order to complete the picture I decided to put myself in the hospital too. Yes, barely 12 hours after I’d dropped him off at the airport I ended up in the ER .
It was entirely voluntary, in retrospect quite amusing and rather typical. You see, I have an uncanny ability to land myself in the emergency room whenever Paul is away. It’s almost a given that, as soon as hubby leaves on a long trip, I do something colossally idiotic and ultimately self-injuring. It really begs the question of whether it would simply be better for me to wrap myself comfortably in 4-inch memory foam, top it off with an industrial hard-hat and stay indoors….but that’s getting off the topic.
In any case the story starts with the slide (yet again). Now, I’ve hit my head many times on our darn slides. Given the slides have been in the same place for over 2 years, you would’ve thought I’d learned my lesson by now, but thanks to my natural stubbornness (and a very hard head) I manage to create handy and recurring opportunities for learning.
Well, it was late at night (around 11PM) and I was walking briskly to the back of the RV with my head conveniently turned to contemplate the apparent non-going-ons of the road. Makes sense, no? A mere moment later I walked solidly into the edge of the back bedroom slide, knocked myself resolutely to the ground (soft, sandy underfoot thankfully) and passed out. I came to presently, decided it was a silly place to be and backed it up with the thought “well, that was stupid”. A preliminary probe of the ‘ol noggin revealed it was damp and (literally) dripping in blood promoting my very next thought along the lines of “well, that was reaaaaly stupid”.
Having collected myself up, left a broad tracking trail of blood through the RV and used half a kitchen roll to stop the bleeding I decided perhaps a trip to the ER was in order. To cut a long story short, the trip was quick (Astoria ER is outstanding), the cut mostly superficial, the narcotics fabulously effective (I didn’t feel a thing) and I now have a metal staple in my head. For those of you who may decide to do something like this in the future the nurses assured me that “scalpers are bleeders” meaning that my copious blood-letting was a completely natural event. Just in case you needed to know…
So, I’ve been taking it easy for a few days. The upside is that I now get to have even more cups of guiltless hot chocolate and our new RV friends Alex & Ellen have decided to come over and sympathetically keep me company (although I suspect my excellent rum & cokes might have been part of the draw). Either way I’m entirely grateful for both events which only serves to support the old saying that every cloud has a silver lining. Silver is, after all, just a shade of grey.
P.S. In order to keep the blog PG I do not have any pictures of the actual event, but have complimented my story with cozy and relaxing shots of the coast thus turning a rather bloody story into a pretty one. Cunning, isn’t it?
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Sorry about the injury. Being 6’4″ I have hit my head a number of times. Never as hard as you did. Wow. I am glad you were not deep in a boondocking site. Hey Jen and I are working on the Full time adventure. We are both healthy and my only fear so far is having some injury like you had and my soon to be cheaper high deduct insurance will not cover. I recall you guys had one of those policies. My question is who did you use and did it cover your visit to the ER?
Hope you are feeling better.
It’s a good question. I DID actually end up using the card on this visit simply because I wasn’t sure how serious the injury was until I got into the ER. No doubt the final $$ will be well under our deductable so we’ll simply pay it out of pocket. For most cases, unless I think it’s something serous we’ll just pay out-of-pocket up-front. The insurance is really only there for a “big” event. We do have the deductable safely set away in an HSA (Health Savings Account) for when/if we need it.
Nina
Glad you’re ok! Hmmm….not so sure about the PG rating you’ve self-assigned. After the sausage line the other day I’d say PG-13 minimum. =)
Hehe…both were very “sneaky” additions to the blog 🙂
Nina
Wow, sorry for the family emergency and for your mishap. I’m glad you’re okay and hope the situation in Florida will be, as well.
From a selfish point of view, I’m happy to know there is someone else that is prone to these unexpected bumps, nicks, cuts, falls, etc. I’m known for my clumsiness and it gave my kids something to worry about when I did my solo trip last year. I did a few flips here and there, but what they didn’t know didn’t bother them.
On the bright side, I can’t think of a better place to be laid up for a while sipping hot chocolate. Take good care of my Oregon Coast, will you. Heal fast.
Yup, I can definitely say you’ve got good company on the clumsy front! I’m right there with ya!
Nina
Hmmmm… maybe it’s time to cut up some of those swimming pool noodles and stick ’em on the slide edges. They don’t look great, but I guess a bloody cut and a metal staple don’t, either. Hanging with Alex and Ellen is a bonus! If it makes you feel any better, you aren’t the only person we know who has done this; she ended up in the emergency room, too.
Be careful out there! And I hope all is well with Paul.
I’ve seen those swimming noodles and had thought (once) that it was a good idea.
Probably time to just go and do it!
Nina
if you don’t like the swimming pool noodles there is always the pipe insulation at Lowes or Home depot in a nice drab dark grey…. sorry about the boo boo but I am sure the rum and cokes will keep the pain to a minimum…
Rum & cokes are definitely nature’s medicine in every circumstance 🙂
Nina
Laurie beat me to the noodle suggestion….glad the head is ok and hope things in Florida work out for Paul as well too…..hopefully you will enjoy your alone time ….we are still in Michigan til the end of the month….glad you liked Edith…she is one of my faves….
Yeah, I need to go get some of those. Simply too dangerous for a gal like me without them.
Nina
Yikes! Passing out after hitting your head is intense. This is a strange question, but why did they staple your head instead of using normal stitches?
Seems staples are the standard procedure for head injuries. The scalp makes sewing rather too difficult,
while a staple just goes right through everything.
Nina
Wow! that is some way to see the stars!! sure hope you are feeling better and healing well! and our best to Paul too!
Cheers…head is feeling much better today 🙂
Nina
Ouch, Nina!
What family event brought Paul to FL?? Tomy will be in CA in December.
I’ll e-mail ya the details. We’re still planning to go through Bay Area next year and definitely looking forward to catching up!
Nina
Yikes! Poor thing. I hope you have an easy and quick recovery. No more ouches, or just don’t let Paul go away anymore. 🙂
PS- You write beautifully.
Thanks…I’m trying to keep out of trouble. Gotta get that boy back here pronto 🙂
Nina
I send Paul and his family our best wishes and good thoughts that they have a fast recovery. We hope everything turns out okay.
We are also glad to hear that you are doing okay after your head injury. Howard is just like you and others on this thread – always bumping his head on something. We also took him to the doctor about two years ago after he hit his head really hard getting into my sister-in-laws van. He was having dizzy spells and it turned out to be a consussion.
Sorry that you had this happen to you and even more so since Paul was away. I hope you were dong something fun outside at 11:00pm!!!! Like star gazing!!!!
Sheila & Howard
Good to know I’ve got some company on the head-hitting area 🙂
Nina
I’m sorry to say that this post really cracked me up! I am sure glad you are okay, and hope things with Paul are okay too. Happy healing (and sipping).
Tally Ho!
Yeah, it was definitely a good laugh (after the fact). Head doing well today…as is the sipping…
Nina
I think the key is to make sure you get the discounted insurance prices and not agree to pay the spread. Often these fees are way marked up and not what the insurance company has negotiated. Glad you are feeling better and safe.
That’s a very good point. I can often negotiate a different price if I tell the hospital I’m paying out of pocket.
Nina
You are perhaps the most cunning blog writer that I know… and a bit hard-headed too it seems. Rest your head and I hope things turn out ok with Paul’s family.
Thanks Syl! I try to be as cunning as I can 🙂 Nina
Hi Nina,
I’ve been following your blog for awhile now and really enjoy it! We’re leaving for a years “excellent adventure” in the spring and your posts have us salivating!!!!
How can I correspond with you directly about some full time questions we have, for instance, do you have a sat. dish for tv or do you find enough network tv on antennae?
Sue
Sue,
Feel free to e-mail me if you like (my contact is on our “about” page).
As for your qs on Satellite TV – we have one fixed on our roof, but wish (in retrospect) that we’d got a movable one. We end up staying in so many spots with trees (and without direct line-of-sight) that a movable dish would make alot more sense. We don’t watch much TV, but hubby does love his football. We do tune into local TV when we can…and it’s not bad usually. In our more far-out places however, a dish would come in handy.
Nina
EEEEGADS Nina…Maybe you better invest in some of the pool noodles and get them around those slides. I think the rum and coke is just what the doctor ordered. Please take it easy! Praying that all goes well with Paul and the family.
Yes…seems noodles are the way to go (assuming I just don’t wear a hardhat 100% of the time…)
And thanks for the prayers. Much appreciated!
Nina
Geez! You need those old people corner protector thingies that we always make fun of whenever we see ’em on RVs! Careful lady. That crappy weather will make anyone goofy. Glad you’re OK for now!
Yes, I’ve let the whole craziness of the coast get to me I think. Time to hunker down with a big glass of wine and be more sensible 🙂
Nina
Holy crap…glad you are all right and shared the story! 😀
I bump my head often also. Once my wife called called 911, she was so worried about my mumbling condition after I came to. Not so bloody though. I like to use the bedroom slide also. Has the hardest corners.
But the reason I am commenting Nina is to ask you to tell me about your rum and cokes and what makes them so special. I fear I am becoming complacent with my rum selection and would like to hear about yours.
Many Thanks
Ah rum…a favorite topic of mine.
For basic rum & cokes I like a flavored rum such as Bacardi Limon or (Paul’s preference) Malibu rum. The flavors add a little sparkle to the cocktail that I really enjoy.
For sipping rums (another passion of mine) my 3 favorites are Flor de Caña (12 year), Pampero Añejo Aniversario, and Zaya Gran Reserva. I wouldn’t use these for mixed drinks, but they are fabulous as post-dinner sippers.
Nina