On Fractured Ribs...

A few days ago, I slipped on one of Jaden's toys which were strewn all over the hallway and took a bad tumble, well, actually more a belly flop than anything. I landed perfectly prone on my tummy and got the wind totally knocked out of me in the process. It happened so fast that I couldn't even buffer my fall with my hands as one usually does by reflex, at least. Man, are my reflexes that dull these days? Must be the epidural I had gotten, uhm, twice.

I got up quite hastily to assess the injury and after giving my torso's reflection on the bathroom mirror a quick once-over, I decided that I was ok and went about my usual activities after that. Heck, I even did my ridiculous abs workout that consists of sets of ten different kinds of crunches pretty effortlessly that night. But three days later it hit, I woke up again feeling like I had been pummeled all night. My left side was so sore that it even hurt to breath. I couldn't raise my voice by even half a decible without me wincing in pain or cough without making my eyes tear. And that night, on our "family bed," trying to get comfy was all but impossible. I was terrified that Maya would roughhouse me and pull some kind of WWE move and was equally paranoid that Jaden would jab my bad side with his elbow or that I would get "footed" by him in my sleep. Needless to say, I didn't sleep a wink that night, with my hands protectively over my sore ribs the whole time...

I don't think Googling up "fractured rib" makes me a hypochondriac. I just wasn't feeling up to waiting in the ER for ten hours or so (I've seen enough of hospitals these days). Apparently, it's fairly easy to fracture one, and although it's not necessarily life-threatening once other serious complications are ruled out, it can be excruciating. So I concluded that I must have a fractured rib, a hairline one at least, what else could explain the pain? If coughing too hard can score you one, then how much more a fall like the one I had? So that was my self-diagnosis and that's the beauty of the internet - with just one click of a button, boom! - you get all of this information at your disposal. Of course what you do with it is your call. In my case, I ordered myself lot's of rest and wrote myself a prescription for some Reisling which I had Kumar fill.

Exactly a week and a half later, I'm feeling a bit better. It's just been a bit cumbersome, especially since it's exactly where I carry Jaden. I've always marveled at the body's capacity to repair itself, though. By now I've progressed to the point where laughing doesn't make me yelp, err, things, but my long-term goal of course, is to be able to belly laugh in complete abandon without having an "accident" from the pain or what Gidget would have called a "senior moment" (lol). I think I'm getting there, towards recovery, that is. Senility and incontinence? Well, that too, I guess, eventually!!!