accident, injuries, delays, frustration, etc.

[dubkitty]

to make a long story a bit shorter, i fainted in my bathroom and had a fall that slammed my head into the ceramic-tile-covered concrete floor. results: concussion, teeth almost through my lower lip, cuts to scalp, facial abrasions, one cracked tooth, severe stress to right shoulder, and broken spectacles. apparently i must have tried to catch myself by grabbing the sink, leading to my entire body weight (~175 lb.) shifting to those muscles in less than a second. this was around 1 on Friday. Becky insisted i go to urgent care, where they sent me straight to hospital because i'd hit my head. spent almost 6 hours in the ER while they checked everything that might possibly have gone wrong or been damaged. the next morning i picked up the meds they'd called in to my pharmacy and went over to Becky's, where she cared for me while i was at my worst. she was a nurse before becoming disabled, and i couldn't have asked for better care. her family also took in my cat Otis because he needs insulin injections twice a day and there was no time to board him. he was a family stray cat before i adopted him, and they all love him. i came home today.

as of now my shoulder and the concussion symptoms are the biggest problems. i've been having various disruptions to my thought processes, emotions, etc. and get exhausted after a half-hour's activity. i just have to wait it out because there's no treatment for this sort of thing. i'm incredibly frustrated that this happened just as my relationship has hit a new peak and i finally have everything needed for the 3-looper board. i won't be able to play guitar for several days due to the muscle strain/possible damage. and i can't hang on social media because the concussion has made me extremely emotionally volatile in the last 18 hours. so basically i get to mope around bored and play Yatzy on my phone till my brain recovers enough to work effectively or my shoulder improves enough that i can play. i"ll try logging into work for scheduled meetings tomorrow afternoon (from home) but am not expecting much.

all praise and credit to my wonderful mate, who took care of me as if she was my mom, and to the family members who helped with my kitty. i'm not going to be very online for a few days because of brain stuff and pain from typing/holding my phone (hurt shoulder of dominant hand). it hasn't been good, but it could have been much worse. i could have fractured my jaw, skull, or both so i'd say i got off kind of easy even considering how much this has sucked, which is a lot lot. (repeated "lot" was a deliberate child-ism, not a result of drain bramage).

sorry to be a bummer, but i've found that online support from my friends has been very helpful and i didn't want everyone to think i'd fucked off to Indonesia like John McAfee. i think i'll be able to start dealing with music stuff by the weekend. i hope.

[Chankgeez]

Feel better, dubs, hope you heal up quick!

[plhogan]

Feel better old buddy

[D.o.S.]

Take care of yourself, dubs.

[Dowi]

Sorry to hear that dubkitty, hang in there!

[coupleonapkins]

Always plenty of time for Indonesian McAfee'n!

Glad to hear you're on the mend

[Pepe]

Well, that sucks. All the best to you!

[Gone Fission]

Oof. Feel better and take care of yourself!

[Paul_C]

We tried saying take care of yourself and now look !

Take extra care of yourself

Get well soon.

[Heraclitus Akimbo]

It sounds rough, but the scenario (and possible head injuries) could be bad bad. Hope you mend at a decent clip!

[dubkitty]

update: stayed in bed Monday and Tuesday other than going to my scheduled optometrist appointment because i desperately need new glasses, especially now that the most recent ones are fucked. brain seems largely recovered, but things still aren't quite right and from what i've read it could be cocked up through Thanksgiving. sleeping as much as possible seems helpful. my dentist is around the corner from Becky's family's house, so i had them do x-rays Monday morning to check that the teeth they worked on weren't damaged and get a prognosis for the chipped tooth. it's "fractured" and will require yet another crown, but should remain stable till next year's FSA account rolls over which is helpful because this event, the 2 crowns that go in early in December, and new glasses/prescription sunglasses will wipe out this year's $3000+ FSA before Christmas. the same thing happened last year just from dental work. brush your teeth, kids. or get really good insurance. they didn't charge me for the evaluation, which was nice.

the facial injuries are largely resolved other than that a part of the lip stubbornly refuses to heal. i'm on antibiotics so it probably isn't infected, just in a damp spot that's hard to scab over. it's really annoying because it stings, but the Billy Idol Effect is diminishing (the optometrist thought that description was totally hilarious. he was also amazed when i said that the image of my left retina looked like a map of Budapest, he Googled it, and apparently my optic nerve is the River Danube. he actually saved the images together to show to his staff. by the end of the visit he was asking about my pedalboard and taking notes. it was very odd, particularly because i've been seeing him for a few years and he never showed that much interest). the shoulder problems have focused on a specific spot near the shoulder/neck junction that makes using the right arm feel like a hate crime, but it's also greatly improved. still uncertain if it's damaged, but i don't see going for an MRI unless it continues to be nasty my primary care practitioner demands it. this is another aspect of the situation i'm totally unfamiliar with.

the limitations are still very frustrating because i'm seldom this sick or injured, but i'm dealing with it. limiting use of my dominant arm is had to remember to do. i had to stop while scooping the litter box to switch hands. i just want this to be over. i'm pleased that my skewed sense of humor remained intact throughout, even when they were poking me with sharp things, which they did a lot in the ER; apparently my veins aren't very good any more (from natural causes!). i think this augurs well for my general mental health. and i went back and listened to my old Soundcloud loops the other day and have had themes from them running around in my head. it's time to get to work when my damn body will let me. the present-day composer refuses to die!

[oldangelmidnight]

My wife fell in the tub and got a concussion a couple of years ago. It was a few months before she could comfortably look at a computer screen for any length of time. I'm glad to hear your brain recovery is going more quickly but take it easy there, too.

For the body stuff, can you get a referral for occupational therapy? Those are the folks who know how to get you back to scooping catshit comfortably.

[dubkitty]

i could, but i don't think it's necessary because the shoulder problem is slowly settling. i finally realized that if i do pretty much anything with my right arm it slings me shit, so i've been trying to do everything with my left hand which is really weird because i have to continually stop myself from doing things in the instinctive manner i normally do. driving with a manual transmission has not been fun, but happily i mainly drive to Becky's via I-64 and a major secondary rural state highway or along large urban streets with timed lights so i don't have to shift too much. but it's now more of a small annoying point of pain than a OUCH JESUS FUCK I MOVED sort of thing. my lip is finally healing over, so i won't have to pursue a career as the wee impersonator of the King Of Rock And Roll, Elvish Presley. and my brain seems better...i was quite depressed and discumbobulated after i came home because i had to deal with stuff alone, but last night Becky really needed support when i went over for our usual Wednesday night visit so i spent the evening listening and trying to be constructive, which i think got me out of my claustrophobic little Pain Box because i had to not think about myself. i feel happy again. i'm going out today to get the remaining cables i need for the looping board, but i'm not going to wire up the power supply/associated cables till my shoulder is sorted. i have been and will continue to keep a close eye on my brain function until it seems clear things are OK. i barely did anything from coming home Monday till yesterday afternoon other than a performative WFH shift yesterday, and every four hour nap was an improvement in my condition. sometimes you just have to be still and let your body do the work. if i could sleep straight through to Saturday morning i'd probably be fine when i woke up. i'm still very aware that i could have severely fucked myself up...i could have broken my damn neck. i seem to have a knack for skating through dangerous situations without severe damage. maybe my luck is better than i used to think.

[dubkitty]

i still don't know where the Budapest thing came from. to my knowledge i haven't even seen a city plat since i was about 14, and that was over 50 years ago in passing as endpapers to a novel set there. the psychogeography of the divided city was a major sub-theme, so the map was essential. the brain is a strange and wonderful thing.

[Chankgeez]

Elvish Presley.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpGk2YvRXvM