How Big a Setback?

As an organist without a regular "gig" I am frequently called on to fill in for other organists who need a break. That was what I was doing this morning when I got hurt.

Actually I wasn't playing the organ at the time. One service had ended, and before the next one started I visited the restroom. On my way back to the organ, I thought I saw someone I knew, so my attention was across the room, not on the shiny marble floor at my feet. There was a step down which I missed, and I landed on my left knee, ending up flat on my face in front of the altar.

Instantly I was surrounded by people who wouldn't let me move. There was a retired cop, an off-duty fireman, a nurse, and an EMT. One of them called an ambulance; two of them asked me questions to assess my condition. I didn't think I was badly injured, but my knee hurt, and so did my hand (that turned out to be because I somehow ripped the nail as I fell). I cried some at first, but I think that was partly the shock of the fall combined with embarrassment at making such a spectacle of myself.

When the ambulance came, they did more assessment and finally let me up. I was able to stand under my own power, but they immediately had me sit in a chair while they took my blood pressure and so forth. They looked at my hand and my knee, neither of which showed any significant injury. Finally they asked me if I wanted to go to the hospital, but I just wanted to go home. I called my husband and asked him to pick me up.

All this time people were arriving for the next service, which was scheduled to start in a few minutes. The song leader came in, looking worried, and I felt terrible about leaving her without an accompanist. I just wanted to get out of the church, so once the EMTs released me I asked the off-duty fireman to help me get to my car, and I sat there while I waited for my husband and my daughter to arrive. They brought me home, and I have been sitting with ice on my knee all day.

I realize how lucky I am. Aside from my knee (and to a lesser extent my hand) I was not hurt at all; I didn't break my wrist or hit my head or break my glasses or my teeth. The floor was nice smooth, clean marble so I didn't have any abrasions. And I am fairly well padded in the front so I didn't break a rib or anything like that. It could have been much, much worse.

And yet, as the day has gone by, I'm getting worried. My knee is not tender to the touch, but it is swollen, and now I can't put weight on it. (I'm using an old pair of crutches to get around the house.) I will be calling my doctor for an x-ray first thing in the morning.

So what am I worried about? How the heck am I supposed to prepare for my Black Belt testing if I can't walk? How much time am I going to lose?

My grandson keeps trying to reassure me. "I'll help you review your forms," he says, "even if you can't do them yourself. And besides, it'll probably only be a couple of weeks."

I hope he's right. Stay tuned.