Thursday, March 26, 2015

Being Pegasus ?

We got home late yesterday afternoon, a couple of days earlier than expected, one of us a little the worse for wear.

Long story short:
Our plan "A" (I-40/Route66) as far as Flagstaff AZ, with side trips to Grand Canyon and Sedona) was scrapped when we reached Albuquerque NM. I-40 and the city were just so congested and chaotic traffic-wise, I couldn't stand to think of another day and a half of the busy-busy-busy on I-40 with risk-taking drivers more in evidence than in either OK or TX. So, instead of an overnight in Albuquerque we headed further south, stayed a night in Socorro, then on to Alamogordo NM. There was a tentative plan for side-trips to Las Cruces, and White Sands, for a second look with less heat to contend with than last time; and a trip to the National Solar Observatory in the mountains around 30 miles from Alamogordo.

On Monday morning we set off from Alamogordo for the Solar Observatory -
a wonderfully scenic drive through the Lincoln Forest,
with steep very winding mountain roads, mostly all to ourselves. As we got close to the site, blue road signs appeared at varying distances, beginning with "Neptune", "Uranus" , on and on to "Mercury". (I snapped the signs from the car window.) Observatory is at about 9,600 feet from sea level. Reached the site, looked around the museum there and set off to do the round of the three actual observatory buildings, a short distance apart. On the way from the first to the second building - a tall white structure up at which I was gazing, unknown to me there was a slight indent or bump (not sure which) in the walkway. I went flying - not to the Sun like Pegasus but to Mother Earth camera in hand. I tried to stop myself, just didn't make it, but luckily - or not - the camera, while saving my face/jaw/nose/teeth from damage, was in such a position for me to land on a curved side edge of it, throat-first.

First aid at the museum/visitor's centre provided some antiseptic wipes for the multiple grazes and scrapes on both my hands and an arm. The assistant there called for first aiders from another site. They arrived and provided Band Aids, and a cold pack to help stop swelling. My voice had just about disappeared - little more than a croak, and throat very painful where it had hit my camera. They offered to call for an ambulance, but other than the throat thing, and minor scrapes I felt alright, so we opted to go back to Alamogordo right away and visit the Emergency department of the hospital there to have someone look at my throat.

The general doctor in Emergency suspected I'd bruised my trachea and advised to speak as little as possible. I was given a CT scan with IV ("for contrast")- I thought this was all a bit over the top - but whatever! After a long wait a specialist arrived with the results. She said there were a couple of things to be concerned about, possibly unrelated to the accident. She was going to send me to an ENT specialist. Croakingly I reminded her that we were not from the local area, and it would be better for us to get home to see my local doctor. One of the concerning things she had mentioned is something I and my GP are already aware of, has been tested and is nothing to worry about. I didn't go into long explanations to her, my voice was practically non-existent at that time. The other thing she mentioned, a "mass" on the epiglottis sounded more worrying. Anyway, they provided a print out and disc of the CT scan to take to my doctor. We left, and after a while, when coughing in the car, I spat out a glob of blood/mucus - possibly the "mass" they had seen. Throat bled some whenever I coughed, but after a few hours stopped bleeding. Throat remains very sore on left side, voice nowhere near normal yet, but slightly better. It'll take a few days more.

So...that's my tale of woe!














Edge of White Sands in the distance

20 comments:

Sonny G said...

gosh Annie. I'm so sorry that happened. thanks for the photos but not at the expense of your health..

missed you= welcome home== feel better soon..

mike said...

Well, at least you weren't texting when you took the dive...LOL. Sorry that your unintended experiment testing gravity went awry and provided souvenir injuries to bring home (what happens in New Mexico doesn't stay in New Mexico). I'll trust you mend quickly without complications and the camera is without disability.

I've been on those roads, too. I found them slightly disorienting, so we'll blame your feet-up-face-down on that. The white sand is glaring, particularly with the paucity of vegetation. Las Cruces is a strange college town...I was interested in moving there at one time (I lived in Albuquerque for a year). The entire area south of Albuquerque is stark, surreal, desolate, edgy, and disquieting, I thought...has a tone of discomfit to it.

Home sweet home, with your own medicine cabinet. The first of the severe storms just passed your area and I saw a suburb of Tulsa was hit.

I had expected you to post an at-large essay from Sedona regarding the recent 4U 9525 crash now thought intentionally caused. Sorry you had your own crash.

LB said...

Welcome home, Twilight. Sorry to read about your fall and injury but glad you received good care, which is a blessing.

Your story reminds me of the time my husband and I were out of town and needed to flag down an ambulance, coincidentally, also related to a throat 'issue' my husband was having. Scary as it was, the worst part was when we received the bill for services! It took several years to pay it off, hopefully you have better insurance.:)

Hope you continue to heal and nothing more comes of it.

Twilight said...

Sonny ~ Thank you - I appreciate that a lot :-)

Twilight said...

mike ~ Thank you kindly. LOL - the camera came off better than I did - just some scrapes on the edges of lens hood. Works fine - amazingly enough - as do I, all things considered (apart from vocal ability and a few inconveniently sore and scrubbed places where flesh met ground.)

We're obviously not meant to see Grand Canyon, Sedona, Las Cruces.
Okay - we shall accept as much!

We came across the difficulties in Albuquerque before - years ago, but I'd forgotten just how bad the traffic is in that area. I love all of New Mexico apart from a wide band around I-40, mid-state.

Oh my! - Another air crash, so soon after the last two! I've just been catching up on the news. Awful, awful tragedy! And another mystery involved it seems. Suicide while taking 150 passengers along too doesn't seem like the action of a sane person...there has to be more to it.
Astrologically, I guess it'll go down as another casualty of recent U/P squares. I paid a visit to Astrodienst's forum to see what astrology buffs there had to say, but sadly the conversation had descended into an argument with the moderator.
:-/

Twilight said...

LB ~ Many thanks :-) Sorry to hear of your husband's misfortunes. I'm assuming/hoping that our Medicare and supplemental extra insurance will cover what was done in Emergency. They took al details (several times). We shall see! There'll be questions if I receive a huge bill!!

I intend to wait over the weekend to see how I feel Monday before making appointment with GP here. I'm hoping time will sort out my throat issue. If not, more investigations, I guess.

LB said...

Twilight ~ Sorry, I didn't mean for my comment to plant any seeds of worry. Most likely your Medicare and supplemental insurance will cover your emergency.:) Fingers crossed.X

Your story prompted me to check out our insurance coverage under the ACA. Apparently, emergency visits aren't covered until we've met our deductible, which is thousands of dollars.

Americans with more 'affordable' Bronze plans have a $5,000 deductible with a $300 copay; Silver's deductible is $2,000 with a $250 copay. And costs could run even higher if an out-of-network provider is involved.

Not good news (especially for low-income folks or those with chronic conditions who make numerous trips to the ER), but at least good to know.

Twilight said...

LB ~ I think we'll be covered. Husband has had to attend Emergency Room here and wasn't charged anything - though that was more a question of monitoring (for several hours) his BP and advising - no CT scans etc.

We shall see.

No, there's not a lot of good news for any already struggling. The whole system is far too complex to be efficient for the receiver - it's more set up to make money for the insurance corps, and to confuse ordinary mortals like us. :-(

mike (again) said...

This should make you feel better...Russell made Prospect's #4:

http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/features/world-thinkers-2015-the-results-thomas-piketty-russell-brand-revolution

Twilight said...

mike (again) ~ Oh well done Russell! Thanks for the link, mike.
He's what I'd call "the people's thinker". He could, if given rein, reach more people and have more impact, that all t'others put together!

LB said...

Twilight ~ If you run out of movie suggestions and want to add another BBC dramatic series to your list, check out "North and South": http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0417349/

It's about the gulf between rich and poor, 'masters' and workers, city and country and a simpler way of life versus industrialization and all that it brings. There are parallels between then and now.

mike's link to the list of "World Thinkers 2015" reminded me.

R J Adams said...

Camera fared better than you did, it seems. Don't ignore your throat problem if it doesn't improve quickly. My father began having difficulty speaking at age 94. They discovered pharyngeal cancer. Radiation treatment cured it and he's now in his 100th year. And, at no cost to him! That's the NHS Brits love to complain about. I hope you fully recover very soon. Meanwhile, duck those cursed tornadoes.

Twilight said...

LB ~ Thanks, we shall certainly take a look at that. It's obviously a different "North and South" from the series of same title I saw years ago, the one with Patrick Swayze:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_and_South_%28miniseries%29

The 2004 N & S sounds interesting. :-)

Twilight said...

RJ ~ I'll not ignore it, but just want to give it time to right itself before anyone goes poking around. Throat feels a bit less inflamed today. Docs here tend to want stuff to heal in a flash (it was the same with my foot problem a few months ago), and some bodies take their time. :-)

Staff at emergency asked me several times whether my speech was affected at all before I tripped - they obviously suspected something like you describe, and had not come across anyone daft enough (or lucky enough) to fall throat-first on a camera!)
My voice was absolutely fine until the upending. I shall keep in mind what you've said, though.

Dang tornadoes starting early this year. The two that hit Oklahoma the evening we got home were well north of us. Fingers crossed for a month or two now, on that score!

LB said...

Twilight ~ It sounds like the folks who saw you after your fall were trying to be as mindful as possible.

Among other possible diagnoses, they may have asked about your speech to rule out either an existing thyroid problem, or ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease).

One of my former clients suffered from this same symptom, along with a few others.

And yes, the "North and South" we're watching is a different series from the one starring Patrick Swayze.:) Don't think I've seen that one either!

Twilight said...

LB ~ Yes, the medical staff obviously have certain questions and procedures to follow. I'd be feeling more worried had the voice thing ever happened before - nothing like it ever has. I was "right as rain" up to the moment I tripped.

Anonymous said...

"... Okay people ..."


"Places!"
"Lights, Camera ... Action" ...


"One, Two, Three ... Kick ..."
"Five, Six, Seven ... Twirl ..."
"Jump to the ..........CUT! ..."



"Annie, Annie ... Nooo!"

"When I told you to make sure you're in Camera,"
"That's not what I had in mind!"



Look after yourself ...
kidd.

Twilight said...

Anon - Kidd

LOL LOL!

Tell ya what though - I can speak, even now after throat said hello to camera, better than I could ever either kick or twirl.....wee-el maybe I could manage the odd twirl.

Thanks - yes, will do. :-)

Kaleymorris said...

Perhaps future falls should be in the manner suggested by Douglas Adams: "The knack of flying is learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss."

Twilight said...

Kaleymorris ~ Now that'd be a trick worth learning. Trust Mr Adams to have figured it all out! :-)