Everything went well, until it didn't. Of the dozens of major trips we have undertaken, only our 3rd Mexico City adventure ended in many kinds of disaster. That was way back in the 80s. We have been sick on trips, especially March Break ones to NM, when one or both of us would have bad colds. But somehow even those resulted in triumph in the end. Not so much this most recent trip. Its negative repercussions will last for many weeks. The trip ended suddenly on Day 6, when we turned around and headed for home, arriving safely on Day 8. It was supposed to last 17 days. What happened on Day 6 to terminate our hiking adventure?
Deb had her second fall within 9 days. Despite five weeks of training at home and at Malden Hill Park for hiking, she somehow slipped and fell down six stairs 4 days before our departure (see earlier blog). We decided to carry on with the film festival in Cincinnati, and that went really well. Deb's film was shown to a good sized and very appreciative audience on Saturday, Sept. 30th, in the 1 pm block of films. Afterwards she did a Q & A with the audience. I found the auditorium much too cold to stay there for long. The weather was very warm, and the AC was very cold. Still, I managed to watch several very good films, including Deb's. We walked a lot in the city, and though Deb was a bit unsteady on her feet due to her cast and large bumps and bruises all over her head, face, and body, she managed just fine. I even made it to my favourite Belgian restaurant, where they have about 20 taps of Belgian and Belgian style brews. It is a good substitute for Heaven.
Deb talks to the audience after the showing of her film at the Cindependent Film Festival in Cincinnati. She is holding the fox, one of the stars of her animated short called "A Fable For Four Voices."
We left town on Sunday afternoon, heading west to do some hiking. Deb's hiking would be moderated by her wrist cast (left arm). On the third day we reached our first (and what would be our final) hiking destination, the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in SW Oklahoma. We arrived in late afternoon, with time for a drive to the top of the highest peak, Mt. Scott. We also had time for one short hike, up to an old observation tower built in the 1930s overlooking a lake, but now closed up. That hike went just fine, without even using our poles.
For the next day we had plans to do several more shorter hikes before moving on to Texas for a longer one. Because of heat, humidity, and approaching storms that would reach our area by the afternoon, we got up at 6:30 am for an early start. Even that early it was very warm and extremely humid. We were on the trail around 8:30 am. Going up a short slope Deb lost her footing on some sand over top a flat but sloping granite rock. Down she went. She fell hard, on her left (cast) side. I was one second away, but could do nothing in time. She lost her breath for several seconds, and then the pain hit her. Her wrist was fine, but it seemed as if she had broken some ribs on that side.
She could not get up. We tried for about twenty minutes to get her to stand. There was no cell phone service back there, as we discovered. We were close to the car, and not far from the visitor center, where I could get some aid. But we finally managed to get her standing. Then began a very slow walk back to the car. That involved several staircases, as we had to recross a large dam. Into Lawton, sent onward from an Urgent Care Clinic where they sent us to the nearby Commanche County Hospital. Lots of x-rays, some pain meds, and finally a diagnosis. No broken ribs; a bruised lung. If that sounds painful, it really is. But only when you move or breathe. Otherwise everything is just fine. And don't dare cough or sneeze. The hospital was terrific, and treated Deb well. We left at 3 pm, heading for home. The sky was black, the wind was up, and we headed out onto the highway for a nightmare drive.
I have driven in rain; I have driven in wind; I have driven in snow. But this extreme rain was something entirely out of my experience. Determined to get as far as possible today towards home, we eventually made it to Joplin Missouri. Though reasonably comfortable in the car seat, Deb was in constant pain, with occasional bouts of most severe pain. I drove through rain where I could not see 100' in front of me. We had to get through Oklahoma City during rush hour during this fierce storm. We had to pull off for half an hour just due to stress on the driver. I ended up following a transport truck much of the night, trying to keep his rear red lights in my view. But this truck driver was a maniac, whose average speed was around 75 mph during this several hour rainstorm. We passed everything. Sometimes a car would be in the slow lane going about 40 mph, and we would zoom past as if it were on the side of the road and stopped. The rain never let up that night, as we seemed to follow the weather front to the northeast.
At the first motel Deb was able to sleep on her side, supported by a small army of pillows. Getting up and back down was not a fun pastime, though. Next day we made it to Lafayette, Indiana, and by Friday at 2:30 pm we were home, 47 hours after leaving the hospital. Messaging one of my physician/musician friends earlier today (thank you, Dr. S.), Deb can expect most healing to take place in the first two weeks, with lingering effects for up to six weeks. Yay. That is when her wrist cast might come off, too.
Lastly, I came down with a very bad cold on the way home, likely caught in Cincinnati. And now Deb has it. She can't take her (overdue) RA meds until that is all finished. The adventures never stop here at the Homestead.
Mapman Mike
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