Busted Ankles and the Deerly Departed
by Sariah S. Wilson
Life was way interesting this week.
First, we welcomed two nieces - Charly and Emma. They're not twins, just two babies who arrived within a week of each other from both sides of our family.
Second, I sprained my ankle again. It is the same ankle I sprained last time. It is also the same ankle I had my first female heroine sprain in my first book. (In hindsight, I probably should have made her win a million dollars. I'd much rather have had that happen twice than spraining my ankle. Yes, it takes place in the Book of Mormon, but I would have figured out a way to make the million dollar thing work.) On the bright side, I did a spectacular job of it. I was walking down the stairs, while carrying my new baby (who, by the way, has gained 50 percent of his birth weight in two months. He's 15 pounds now and has grown four inches since birth). Somehow I slipped on a step, and began to fall. My instinct was to fall backwards to protect the baby, and my foot stayed caught underneath me, taking the brunt of my fall.
I worried that I might have broken it, but the X-rays were normal (except for the highly inflammed tissue). I have all these red spots on my ankle where blood vessels burst right below the skin, and a bruise that turned from purplish-blue to yellowish-green and every shade in between. It's like what I imagine might happen if Rainbow Brite were a vampire and bit you.
I'm wearing an air cast and taking anti-inflammatory meds. This is even funnier given the fact that the baby is a big fan of being held only while standing up. (How do babies know this? How can they tell the difference? Do they have some sort of internal altimeter that lets them know exactly how far they are from the ground?)
But before I took my glorious spill, I was taking my two youngest to the doctor for the baby's two-month check-up. (Yes, I can hear you now. Two months? He's already two months old? How has time gone by so fast? I can only tell you that time has not gone by fast here. We've been on Stake Conference Standard Time in the Wilson household - where two hours feels like ten.)
Anyway, I was driving along on the freeway headed to the doctor. I was in the middle lane of a three-lane highway. I noticed the semi in the far right lane suddenly slow down. I had only a second to wonder why he was doing that when off to my left I saw a deer run in front of the car in the left/high speed lane. She missed the car on the left, but ran directly into the car right in front of me. I didn't hear anything, but the deer smacked into the car and literally flew up at least six feet in the air, turning and spinning as she traveled the length of the car and headed toward me.
It was only a second or two, but I couldn't believe how fast my mind was working and everything I was able to think while all this was happening. It was sort of like that one Star Trek movie where Picard meets that race that can slow down time so that you can enjoy a moment in slow motion (I don't remember what else happened in that movie. Probably there was some sort of intergalactic conflict that only the Enterprise could stop).
I also credit my video game training as my first thought was that I couldn't let the deer hit me. I was boxed in on the right - the semi was still in that lane - and didn't have time to check my left. I'd have to figure out how to maneuver around the deer once it landed. I worried that I wouldn't be able to move in time - that my physical reaction would not be as fast as my mental one. I tried to calculate exactly where he would land and planned how to get around him.
But at the last possible moment, the deer somehow suddenly veered to the left and landed on the ground in that lane. I saw her GET UP. I can't imagine how that was even possible - I thought for sure bones would have been broken in hitting that car. The deer ran into the grassy median, headed toward the opposite side of the freeway.
I was so blessed not to have had the deer hit my car or land right in front of me. I'm fortunate that the car in front of me didn't slam his brakes on (as I wondered if had it been me, whether I would have done that) because I would have crashed into him. (I saw the car exiting the freeway at the next ramp, and the front end of his car was all smashed in.) It took a good 10 minutes or so for my heart to stop beating so fast.
All I can say is that it didn't feel like reality. It felt like something out of a movie, like the scene in "Twister" where the cow flies up to the camera. It was horrible, and I hope to never see/participate in something like that ever again.
Here's to hoping this week is a lot more uninteresting.
Life was way interesting this week.
First, we welcomed two nieces - Charly and Emma. They're not twins, just two babies who arrived within a week of each other from both sides of our family.
Second, I sprained my ankle again. It is the same ankle I sprained last time. It is also the same ankle I had my first female heroine sprain in my first book. (In hindsight, I probably should have made her win a million dollars. I'd much rather have had that happen twice than spraining my ankle. Yes, it takes place in the Book of Mormon, but I would have figured out a way to make the million dollar thing work.) On the bright side, I did a spectacular job of it. I was walking down the stairs, while carrying my new baby (who, by the way, has gained 50 percent of his birth weight in two months. He's 15 pounds now and has grown four inches since birth). Somehow I slipped on a step, and began to fall. My instinct was to fall backwards to protect the baby, and my foot stayed caught underneath me, taking the brunt of my fall.
I worried that I might have broken it, but the X-rays were normal (except for the highly inflammed tissue). I have all these red spots on my ankle where blood vessels burst right below the skin, and a bruise that turned from purplish-blue to yellowish-green and every shade in between. It's like what I imagine might happen if Rainbow Brite were a vampire and bit you.
I'm wearing an air cast and taking anti-inflammatory meds. This is even funnier given the fact that the baby is a big fan of being held only while standing up. (How do babies know this? How can they tell the difference? Do they have some sort of internal altimeter that lets them know exactly how far they are from the ground?)
But before I took my glorious spill, I was taking my two youngest to the doctor for the baby's two-month check-up. (Yes, I can hear you now. Two months? He's already two months old? How has time gone by so fast? I can only tell you that time has not gone by fast here. We've been on Stake Conference Standard Time in the Wilson household - where two hours feels like ten.)
Anyway, I was driving along on the freeway headed to the doctor. I was in the middle lane of a three-lane highway. I noticed the semi in the far right lane suddenly slow down. I had only a second to wonder why he was doing that when off to my left I saw a deer run in front of the car in the left/high speed lane. She missed the car on the left, but ran directly into the car right in front of me. I didn't hear anything, but the deer smacked into the car and literally flew up at least six feet in the air, turning and spinning as she traveled the length of the car and headed toward me.
It was only a second or two, but I couldn't believe how fast my mind was working and everything I was able to think while all this was happening. It was sort of like that one Star Trek movie where Picard meets that race that can slow down time so that you can enjoy a moment in slow motion (I don't remember what else happened in that movie. Probably there was some sort of intergalactic conflict that only the Enterprise could stop).
I also credit my video game training as my first thought was that I couldn't let the deer hit me. I was boxed in on the right - the semi was still in that lane - and didn't have time to check my left. I'd have to figure out how to maneuver around the deer once it landed. I worried that I wouldn't be able to move in time - that my physical reaction would not be as fast as my mental one. I tried to calculate exactly where he would land and planned how to get around him.
But at the last possible moment, the deer somehow suddenly veered to the left and landed on the ground in that lane. I saw her GET UP. I can't imagine how that was even possible - I thought for sure bones would have been broken in hitting that car. The deer ran into the grassy median, headed toward the opposite side of the freeway.
I was so blessed not to have had the deer hit my car or land right in front of me. I'm fortunate that the car in front of me didn't slam his brakes on (as I wondered if had it been me, whether I would have done that) because I would have crashed into him. (I saw the car exiting the freeway at the next ramp, and the front end of his car was all smashed in.) It took a good 10 minutes or so for my heart to stop beating so fast.
All I can say is that it didn't feel like reality. It felt like something out of a movie, like the scene in "Twister" where the cow flies up to the camera. It was horrible, and I hope to never see/participate in something like that ever again.
Here's to hoping this week is a lot more uninteresting.
Sariah Wilson — 5/09/2009 09:08:00 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
May you have the dullest, most routine, utterly tedious week of the entire year. You've earned it.
Aren't those slow-motion moments awesome? Well, maybe not when they're occurring, but later on.
We get elk hits here. Fortunately, I haven't yet hit one (or had it hit me), but I've had some close calls.
Here's to a boring week ahead for you.
Awesome! It's been years since I've heard a good Rainbow Brite reference.
In a reversal of the Chinese curse: may you live in uninteresting times!
I laughed my head off at Vampire Rainbow Brite!
Sorry about the ankle and the deer. Thank heavens for those video game reflexes! As for the babies and the standing up...I have no idea but I hear you. I hear you.
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