YES THERE ARE ANGELS AROUND US, JUST PRAY!

This is a very personal story about what happened to me back on October 25th, 2011.  I had an accident at my school that I work at.  I had tripped and fallen down in the classroom that had a
movable chalk board.  Fellow teachers had come running in to see what happened and if  I was okay.  At first I thought I was.....the pain didn't set in yet.  You see, I trip over the leg of that chalk board, therefore, I roll myself back over.....still thinking I was okay.  Needless to say the  pain set in just as I looked  at my leg.  I had never broke a bone before in my life, so at first I thought I just dislocated it since I did hear and feel a pop.  I looked at my leg and when I seen the it, the part under my knee was laying flat on the floor.  It's not supposed to be that flat I was thinking to myself.  My co-worker, went to get help after seeing my leg.  In came the school nurse, Principle, Assistant Principal and other co-workers all staring at my leg.  Of course the nurse said to call an ambulance to take me to the hospital.  Right there and then, she knew it was broken, but wouldn't say since she didn't want to make me nerves. By the time the ambulance had arrived, and as the medics tried to move me on a stretcher, the pain was unbearable.  They had to give me morphine to control the pain and to lift me on to the the stretcher to bring me to the hospital.  The Assistant Principal had followed the ambulance to the hospital and stayed with me while they sent me for x-rays and for my family to arrive.  After the x-rays came in an confirmed that I fractured my tibia and fibula bones behind my knee.  They put on my leg in, not a cast but a Velcro brace that was too large.  When they made me stand up, it just slid down my leg and the pain again was so unbearable that I started going into shock.  My blood pressure and heart rate dropped so low, they got me back into bed and put an IV in my arm to get my vital signs back to normal. I finally was ready to be discharged, so they wrapped this brace with an ace bandage to make it tighter.

The trip home was one to remember, starting with getting into my husbands truck.  This was a challenge to do since I was unable to bend my knee.  I had to get up on my left leg, hold on to the truck door, swivel around and pull myself up into the back seat keeping my right leg up and laying it on the seat.  We had to make one stop, which was to my school to fill out  the rest of the paper work for workers comp. Now we had  to wait for workers comp to send me to their doctor.  That night was a challenge to get up to use the bathroom.  If it wasn't for my husband and daughter helping me, I don't know what I would  have done.   That night wasn't easy to sleep either, even with the brace wrapped with the ace bandage, I could still feel me knee move and sometimes pop back and forth. The next morning I some how figured out how to push myself up on the arms of the chair and and grab onto the walker, praying all the way to the bathroom and back, that I wouldn't fall, feeling my knee pop every step of the way.  I had no choice but to learn how to do this by myself since my family had to work and I would be home along..

Workers comp finally called, it was only a couple of days, but it seamed like an eternity.  They gave me the name of the doctor I was to go to, so I made my appointment for the next day.  There was one problem, I couldn't walk to far using the walker..... I really needed a wheelchair.  I didn't know what to do, and then something told me to call my church.  One of the Pastors there works people that have different needs.  Before the night was over, he calls me that he had a wheelchair for me. It was one that had to be pushed by someone.  My prayers were answered again, I was able to get to and from my husband's truck and to the doctors without having to use the walker.  We arrived at the doctor's office and filled out a ton of paper work. He looked at my leg and told me that it didn't look good and he wanted me to go for an MRI.  He set the appointment for me the same day as he seen the leg brace that wasn't good for my leg.  He replaced it with one that was longer and tighter, making it a better fit.  He gave me a prescription for some pain killers and for a wheelchair that I would be able to use by  myself.

We went to get the wheelchair and then to get my MRI.  The MRI technician was great as she listened to me on what to do after removing the brace. To put something under my knee since the leg would just fall flat again causing me a lot of pain.  She was so understanding and gentle as she replaced the brace back on my leg and helping me to the wheelchair.  She told us that the results would be sent to the doctor's office by Monday.  When I when home, some of the teachers had called me saying they  were on their way over with dinner for me and my family.  Well,  not only did they bring dinner, they also brought me gift money and restaurant cards, books to read, cards from the kids and a CD of my favorite, latest American Idol winner.  The thoughtfulness of all these people was just so overwhelming to me. I really felt so blessed.  It didn't stop there, I also got non stop calls, text messages and emails.

Well, Monday was here and I arrived at the doctor's office to get the results of the MRI. The doctor told me that it was a server break and he thinks I needed surgery.  He referred me to a surgeon at Texas Orthopedic Hospital to see my MRI and get his opinion.  He set the appointment for me and I was there the next day.  The surgeon agreed that I did need surgery, sending me the same day to fill out the pre-opp forms.  When done and the pre-opp physical was done, they told me they would call when I was to come back for the surgery.

Now I'm at home, waiting for the call, but time flue by because of all the text messages and emails I was getting from my co-workers and friends. But, the day arrived and the call came, telling me not to eat after midnight and the surgery would be tomorrow at noon.  I was relieved that the day was finally coming since it's been nearly 2 weeks since the accident happened.  I knew that without this surgery my leg wouldn't heel since I still felt the movement and popping of the knee. 

It was the day of the surgery and my husband John, daughter Missy and her boyfriend Chris, came to the hospital with me.  The surgery took 4 hours I was told and when I was awake enough to understand....I was told I needed another surgery the next day because I had multiple fractures.  They  thought that the first surgery wasn't enough.  My leg was too fragile and would break again. He referred me to another doctor that his specialty was with this kind of surgery,  He was to put a Ilisarov Fixator, also called a Halo on my leg.  Of course I had no choice but to have this surgery done.  The next day came and I went again to surgery, more fearful then before since my nose was stuffed and I had trouble breathing.  As I was coming to, after the surgery, I was in the recovery room, but still very drugged.  I wasn't sure where I was...all I seen was people walking around with masks and I seen this thing around my leg.  It was something I never seen before.  There was these big bolts going into my leg the size of what you would use building up a house or holding up a fence.  I could have sworn that I was abducted by aliens and they were putting these probes in me.

My stay at Texas Orthopedic Hospital was about 6 days and the doctors and nurses were wonderful.  They were sweet, understanding, gentle and always there for me whenever I called and even on their own, they would check in on me to see how I was doing.   You might say, well that's their job, but they did more than their job, more than words could describe.  I really was blessed to have them all.

I now had to be transferred to Health South Rehab in Humble Texas for therapy.  There was no way I could go  home and be by myself while my family was at work.  Besides that, I couldn't do anything by myself for hygiene or just to get out of bed.  The nurses and techs were always there to help me with whatever I couldn't do on my own. I had to go to therapy every day for 4 hours.  There was Physical Therapy, which exercised my arms and left leg.  Group Therapy was exercising together with other patients and sometimes playing games or making things......I made a book marker and a blanket which I love and use all the time.  Occupational Therapy was to help with my hygiene, teaching me how to do for myself when I was along.  This was to me the most important, because I couldn't even get out of bed without assistance for a very long time, not even to use the bedside commode.  I was so blessed with my therapist.  They too were awesome, so caring and understanding.

I stayed at Health South for nearly 4 weeks,  and had so many visitors from both my job and from Northwest Bibe Church.  They all brought me cards from the kids at school and also from my Sunday School class as well. These cards were mixed with Get Well and Christmas cards.  They were so cute and also so loving they brought tears of  joy to my eyes.  They told me how much  they missed me and thanked me for teaching  them.  I can't explain how I felt because it's a feeling of indescribable love and joy I felt. I also received more gift cards and my church brought my family every other day meals so they didn't have to cook and  Mary and Addie bringing me Starbucks and Subway.  This is such a blessing, since both my husband and daughter had to do everything  they always did, plus now what I did before my accident plus come and visit me.

Finally it's time for me to go home, but I still am unable to walk.  I didn't have a bed that I could sleep in since the bedroom is in the back of my house.  I can't sleep there cause the bed is flat, not  like a hospital bed and I would always be alone.  I wouldn't be able to answer the door for anyone that came to see me.  I tried to sleep in the chair in my living room like I did before the surgery, but the chair  cushion moved and I was unable to get out of the chair. Again my daughter had to help me.  I had a panic attack since what if this happened while I was along, I thought to myself.  I wouldn't be able to use  the bedside commode. I called my church again, and my Pastor that got me the wheelchair was able to find me a hospital bed for me to use for as long as I needed it, for free.  I would have it the next day.....now you may see what I'm talking about.  God had to be watching out for me.  God had to have given my husband the strength to move my couch, out to the trash by himself,  God had to have given him and the Deacon of my church that was delivering the hospital bed to my house the ability to bring it in and be able to put it together without instructions so that it works perfectly.  God has to be behind all the wonderful people that are bringing us meals every other day for most of January and most of February.  Now.....what about me....dealing with what I have been going  through and having the strength to do it.  God has to have been behind everything and everyone that has been there for me, giving strength, compassion and love to all.  Using us, regular people to help others.  Yes, if we let God in, He uses us to be his Angels here on earth.

http://cmyviewson.blogspot.com/2012/01/yes-there-are-angels-around-us-just.html