Busted Ankle!!

“Poor BowderGal busted her ankle yesterday. OK, we don't know for sure if it's "broken" yet - should find out tomorrow. It's pretty darn swollen and purple, though, and the doc put on a cast kinda thingamajig.

We went up toward Yosemite to celebrate our anniversary. We stopped at a very nice picnic area at Knight's Ferry for a little picnic lunch. Shortly before getting in the car, I noticed I didn't have my wallet. Fortunately, we figured out I had only left it at home, and B-gal had her plastic and cash, so no harm done. As we drove on, we realized there must have been a pollen farm at the picnic area because I was sneezing, eyes were swelling up, she was coughing, etc.

So we got to Groveland, where I had booked a nice little inn, and we walked around looking in a few shops. It was too early to check in, and not much to do, so we went on ahead and decided to go into the Hetch Hetchy area. It was great! The big waterfall was just thundering all the way across the reservoir. So we parked the car a little ways above the dam and started walking down toward it. Of course, the view is great, so we, like everyone else I'm sure, were walking along looking at the view. Unfortunately, there was a little spot where the pavement was angled down to an adjacent path and B-gal didn't see it. So she stepped down and her ankle bent outward - ow! I sat her down on the little rock wall and knew it was fairly serious because the pain wasn't letting up and she was getting a little light-headed. So I zipped up to the car and grabbed the ziplock full of ice to bring down for her. We got her foot up on the wall and the ice bag on it, then she sent me down to the dam to take a few pics (I'll post them later).

I got back up to where she was sitting, and she was still in a lot of pain. So I backed the car back down and, with some struggling, got her into the back seat, where she could put her foot up while we drove.

As we drove, we figured we would go straight to the inn and ask if they had a clinic there. Just as we got there, we saw a sign to it - but it was closed on weekends, which meant we'd have to drive all the way to Sonora. By this time, the pain was letting up a bit, so we ended up getting an ace bandage and some more ice and staggered upstairs to our room. We figured a doc wouldn't do much more than that, and we'd be home in the morning anyway.

We were able to change clothes and go to dinner (pretty good!), then load her up with Advil to get some sleep, which worked OK. We drove home this morning, and she spent a couple hours at the emergency room while I took BowlderSon to his baseball game. Fortunately, BowlderCuz was there taking care of B-son, so was able to hang out with B-gal.

She's drifting off to vicodin land right now - will go see an ortho tomorrow to find out if it's broken. If it is, she has to get a cast - bummer!”

“Wow, really sorry to hear that. Breaks often heal quicker than soft tissue injury's.

How ever it goes, I hope she heals fast.

Give her our best.”

“Thanks, steve. We're working on a better story than "stepped on an uneven section of pavement." We were in Yosemite, so we oughtta be able to come up with something better....”

“Ouch!! Best wishes to Bowldergal”

“sorry bout that, B-peoples!! (And you were wondering what to get her for the anniversary... ice??)

It might not be broken. I've had mighty painful sprains that almost made me pass out... but no break. (and "they say" sometimes a break is better for healing)”

“bummer man - hope she's gonna be ok and its just a bad sprain or sumtin.”

“You sure have a lot of "bowlders" in your family.

Tough break with the ankle.

Well, you know what I mean.”

“Grizzly bite....yah, that's the ticket...


Hope she gets to feeling better soon!”

“1. She sent you to the falls to take pictures while she was hurt, wow, what a trooper.
2. Sorry about your not getting any on your anniversary.
3. I sure hope BG gets well soon. That had to suck.”

“I hope she heals up quickly! Happy anniversary to you both!”

“I did that once, but gave it up. Didn't seem to be much point to it.

Hope she heals well and soon.”

“Those pesky walkin' & gawkin' accidents !! Hope yer on the mend soon B-gal
:-)”

“Thanks for all the good wishes, folks!

Getting her in and out of the shower was a challenge - it's amazing how many little tasks around the house you don't even think twice about, then all of a sudden, hey, I can't do that!

Will update with the break/no break diagnosis as I find out....

Re: dayhiker's #2... Ummm, well, I'm not one to kiss and tell....”

“The verdict: not broken!!

Should be relatively quick recovery - whew!



Now, honey, about that beer you were going to get me?


[Whack!]

OW!!”

“Oh just be a good sport & be her slave for a few days. She would do it for you. Glad it's not broken. At least she didn't need a helicopter rescue like Cindy Lu.”

“Heh, heh... No helicopter needed - usually not when you're still in the parking lot.... But we are trying to come up with a better story, like her rope broke while rapelling down some granite face or something (hey, it's plausible)....”

“hey, that helicopter ride made it worth it! (well, don't know about that, but it sure took the focus off my klutziness)
Make up a good story! The ankle's injured either way, and you might as well make a good tale out of it! Check the insurance though, many won't cover climbing accidents! Maybe fighting off a bear...
I was hiking (and climbing!) 6 weeks after the break, in a walking brace.
I hope she takes advantage of her "slave" while she can.”

“Sounds nasty, glad you managed to make something of the trip though.”

“Ouch. Best wishes for a speedy recovery for Mrs. Bowlder.”

“Getting her in and out of the shower was a challenge"
~Bowler Man


Ah ah ah!
I kno what she meens! I aint no pardy neether!


BWT -
I am glad she did not get no sergry leg like I done the nother time. I was not no happy gerl then be cuz I had to "LAY DOWN!" ever time but Gissmaeioux and my daddy was nice and done good theengs for me.”

“I did have to keep telling her to "LAY DOWN!" 'cuz she kept wanting to get up and do stuff. But she's getting around better today. Mr. Hyde knows something is up and has been doing extra cuddling....”

“Hey BM sorry to hear of the injury but glad to hear nothing was broken and she is getting better. You might want to get your own self the beer for awhile. ; )

Funny how pets know something isn't right huh? My wife is laid up right now with a fractured tailbone. Our dogs are somehow mysteriously on their best behavior when she comes around. She called me at work last Thursday and I detected she was crying. I don't think I had ever heard her cry before. She is a real though gal...wears camo, breaks horses, etc...not really your typical gal. I knew she was hurting so I took her to the doctor. Nothing they can do.

I am employed by Hetch Hetchy and the waterfalls are thundering right now. The Merced river will flood within the next few days so be careful.”

“So you're the guy our lawyer should contact??



j/k!



We shouted hello to TheFlipFamily when we went through Escalon!


Broken tailbone - big ow!”

“OK! Finally got the few pics I took uploaded. Here ya' go!!

http://community.webshots.com/album/550251663GglvPZ”

“Wow, B-Gal is having a remarkable recovery! The swelling is waaaayyyyy down, and even the bruising has gone away to some extent. She even considered not wrapping it this morning. She'll be triple-jumping in no time!”