The ankle is broken

I got to the emergency room about 2:15 pm yesterday and left about 6:30 pm. I had some knitting with me, of course, so waiting wasn't bad. There were eighteen to twenty others in the waiting room as well. I was not surprised that I was the only one doing any needlework, but I was rather surprised that no one was reading.

After about two hours, I was finally called into an exam room. I sat there for fifteen minutes or so before a man came with a wheelchair to take me to x-ray. He took three 'pictures' and then took me back to the exam room. Fifteen or twenty minutes later a woman came with a wheelchair and said they wanted to do a CT scan of the ankle. After she got me back to the exam room, there was another wait. At first they said the ankle was broken in two places, but then after the scan they said it was only one fracture. They put on a walking boot with lots of padding and about a dozen velcro belts, and told me to keep it elevated and to call an orthopedic doctor on Monday. They also gave me a prescription for pain medication, but I don't feel any need for it. I have only mild pain.

I plan to call Dr Jackson, who did my hip replacement, tomorrow morning. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to see him tomorrow afternoon after my oncology visit. It would be really nice to take care of both things on the same trip to Paducah.

After I got out of the ER, I went to the Nazarene church. I had phoned from the hospital and told them the reason I wouldn't be there to weave in 'Bethlehem.' I sat in the parish hall and watched the people who had visited Bethlehem and came in for a hot drink (coffee, chocolate or cider) and cookies. I even ladled out some of the cider during one very busy period. There had not been many visitors on Friday, but there were last night. At the end of the evening, I asked if there was someone who would like a brief weaving lesson - mainly how to open and close my loom and how to advance the cloth so there's room to weave more. I met a woman at the garage of the parsonage this afternoon for the lesson. For some reason the two middle harnesses want to hang onto each other, so she's afraid she'll mess something up. At least they can open the loom, and make it look like the weaver has just stepped away. Perhaps next weekend I can participate again, using only my right foot to work the treadles. I guess that depends on what Dr Jackson says and does about my ankle. Since, according to my computer it is 29 degrees, I'm glad I'm not there. Someone said Friday night that the potter's water was freezing as she was trying to keep her clay wet.

I'm trying to get used to this boot. It's hard to get it into the car. I have to move the seat back as far as it will go and then pull it back up to drive. At least this gives me a chance to wear the sock whose mate needs mending. I'm only using a sneaker sock on the left foot because the swelling makes one with a top difficult.