Was BACK in E.R. last night..

[Jenn]

Hey Jenn,
Step back and look at the big picture- no concussion, no broken bones or cracked skull, didn't get RUN OVER by the car that turned in front of you. Bike is ok too. I'd say you were pretty lucky- this time.
You'll probably be on your bike again in a couple of weeks!

Good that you went and had your wounds cleaned by the pros, and good that you had more xrays just to be sure they hadn't missed anything.

Jenn, just a little helpful suggestion- you don't have to start a whole new thread every time you have something to update about your accident- unless it's a major new turn of events or something. There are now four threads about your crash, and it's getting confusing to keep up with it all.

Don't worry I won't be posting anymore.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Don't worry I won't be posting anymore.

I hope you don't mean like....FOREVER!!!???

Did I hurt your feelings?? I certainly didn't intend to. I was just trying to be positive and helpful.

[Python]

Oh, Jenn - more gentle (((Hugs)))

This is what I was afraid of with these abrasions. When I fell of my platform shoes years ago (in the 1970s) mine went septic and swelled up too. I can't remember the name of the dressing they put on me but it was covered in a creamy/sticky antibiotic goo. It took nearly two weeks for it to start healing up. The area was just where the worst part beside your elbow was. I couldn't bend my arm or even lift it above my head because it swelled up so much. I had to get help dressing and undressing for a while. Thankfully it made a full recovery although I did have some scarring for several months which eventually disappeared completely.

As for the way you were treated, I would most certainly complain and make sure you put it in writing and demand an explanation and an apology. It's the very least you deserve.

As for the pain meds, I don't like taking pills and potions either but sometimes we have to. They will make you feel better and help you to sleep. The body heals itself when it's sleeping.

I really hope you start to feel better very soon.

[Meg McKilty]

It probably already been said a million times in this thread, but find out who the manager of the ED is, and write an email. If youd on't get a response, go through the chain of command. An 8 in pain is intolerable, and should have been treated.

[smilingcat]

Dear Jenn,

please take care of your self. And heal fast. Road rash happens to lot of us. but don't let this deter you from your cycling. In a short time, you'll be all recovered. Important thing about recovery is try to have a positive attitude the whole time. Healing goes much faster when you think postive thoughts.

Like you get to spend more time with family at home.

[mimitabby]

Don't worry I won't be posting anymore.

good grief, don't take yourself out Jenn!

[Kano]

Don't worry I won't be posting anymore.

Oh no Jenn! I know that's not what Lisa meant! We DO want to know how things are going, and that we CAN heal from this mess called road rash! I thought of you, pictures flashing in my mind's eye, as I was screaming through the new phase in our subdivision last night, faster than ever, wondering if I should slow down just in case! I didn't -- there are only four houses in progress, the blacktop was SOOOOOOOOOOOO smooth, there's still no traffic of any kind there, and it was so easy to just loop around and around -- and make DH worry!

(DH has a cold, said we were going to have a SHORT ride, like three miles, so I decided to play hammer head to get some kind of work out in the deal. It was a fun change from my usual ride!)

Karen in Boise

[Wahine]

(((((Jenn))))) - I'm really sorry about your ER experience. I had a similar situation once, had to have serious wound debridement. Not only did they give me pain meds, they froze me locally and did not start the procedure until they knew I couldn't feel any pain when they poked around the tissue.

I hope you get better soon and if it was me I'd contact the nurse manager as someone else recommended.

As for the new threads, I appreciate the new threads when something like this comes up. If you had posted this on a previous thread, I likely would not have read it, thinking that you were commenting on peoples well wishes etc. I would not have realized that you had a new question and wanted input. I actually find it easier to keep track of things the way you have chosen to post.

I also think that Lisa SH did not intend to discourage you from posting. As someone else said, things are often misinterpreted in this type of format.

Keep us informed, we want to hear about you getting better!!

[Jenn]

My feelings are just as tender as my face and body right now so I'm sorry if I'm a little over sensitive. I didn't mean forever, I just meant while I take a few percocet and finally lay down and rest and FLUSH my body with antibiotics. Lack of sleep doesn't help either.
Ya'll are the best....thank you so much for all the kind words and hel
{{{{HUGS}}}}
Jenn

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

My feelings are just as tender as my face and body right now so I'm sorry if I'm a little over sensitive. I didn't mean forever, I just meant while I take a few percocet and finally lay down and rest and FLUSH my body with antibiotics. Lack of sleep doesn't help either.
Ya'll are the best....thank you so much for all the kind words and hel
{{{{HUGS}}}}
Jenn

Great!
When your wounds heal you will have new tougher skin! (bad joke maybe)
Get some rest, girl. The body heals itself fastest when we are sleeping, did you know that?

[ace]

Poor girl. Take good care of yourself. I'm so sorry this happened.

As an aside, I NEVER go to the hospital without a friend to advocate, to avoid the situation you describe. I've had a bunch of surgeries and a couple of ER visits, and I just find that hospitals are so short staffed these days, you may not get proper attention unless you have someone with you to be a friendly "nag" (I've also played this role for my friends).

For instance, when I had a myomectomy (removal of fibroids), I realized immediately after surgery that I couldn't tolerate narcotics (and was on a demerol drip), so was incredibly nauseated. The nursing staff kept "forgetting" to give me my anti-nausea meds, and fortunately I had a friend with me at all times to go ask for it before I lost my mind. I was way too sick to advocate for myself- constantly feeling like you're going to vomit when you have many abdominal stitches is not a good feeling.

Anyway, I know not everyone is able to bring someone with them to the hospital, but if you can, my advice is to bring someone who combines friendliness and pushiness in just the right measure.

[run it, ride it]

As an aside, I NEVER go to the hospital without a friend to advocate, to avoid the situation you describe.

oh boy; good call there! I was so glad to have the guy I'd been out biking with come with me to the ER for the whole clavicle incident. I have an inensely high pain tolerance--he was there to clarify, 'for her to call me at 5am to come back here means something is very, very wrong.' and he flashed my overlapped bone at anyone who came into the room and pointed out, 'that did NOT look like that last night.' ultimately that was what prompted the second set of x-rays which indeed showed shifting and led to my consult with the orthopaedic surgeon.

I tried to keep a sense of humour through the whole thing and found I got better treatment and more out of my treatment just by being very cooperative and appreciative. One doctor who was trying to determine if he could get the bone back into place was poitively smirking and chuckling as it popped in and out as he attempted new arm positions. He got out of me the only bona-fide scream through the whole ordeal--though I was in agony, I still took a step back and got a kind of sick enjoyment out of realizing how silly it was for a doctor and two nurses just bend me every which way trying to get the goshdarned bone back where it belonged, figuring out how the figure-8 bandage straps worked, etc. pain meds probably would have been a good idea before that round of torture, come to think of it!

my advocate also described my accident better to the doctors than I would have. I didn't just 'fly over the handlebars,' I was 'CATAPAULTED hard into the ground at serious downhill speed!'

those percocets are right gold, though, aren't they? enjoy 'em while ya got 'em. I am loving the ability to float on the surface of the pain. all I have to do is forget to take them with me somewhere--after a few hours I can feel the pain all the way into my bones again--to appreciate how they sustain me.

what has helped the most for me is keeping an eye on the big picture and appreciating the little pleasures. I'm sure the first shower was less pleasurable for you, jenn, than for me--but what about nice cool ointment in the wounds, or ice on your face? The buzz of the percocets once they kick in? after being in such intense pain, even the tiniest pleasure is magnified tenfold. I love taking my arm out of its sling for a stretch, finding someone to put my hair in a ponytail now that I can't make my own, having a good man to sleep next to now and then so I can lay flat and not worry that I'll get stuck lying down--he can pull me back into a sitting position... even having a bed to borrow now that I'm mid-move and squatting on the couch in my own apartment, hahaha..

oh, or thinking how amazing it will be to spend my first Victoria Day weekend since I was ten years old NOT WORKING and enjoying the festivities of my tourist town! Moving everything I own without having to lift a thing--got firends to help out!

Make a list of all the good things! supportive friends and family should be right at the top!