We've found a few bees in our apartment lately, just walking on the walls. (We have to get maintainance over here to spray our apartment!) On Friday morning, Sarah found one. It was up rather high, just standing on the wall. I should've gotten it, but Nikki beat me to it. (She hates when I interfere with something she's trying to do!) She stood on a chair and reached for the bee, magazine in hand. She hit it, but the chair lurched forward, and she went down. She hit the highchair and the desk, and probably would've hit her head too, but I caught her and was able to slow and redirect her fall. I wish I had gotten to her quicker. The highchair is plastic. The desk... very sturdy wood.
She was really banged up. She has a bruise on her leg, and a bruise and scrape on her side. She seemed okay otherwise, and that she only had the wind knocked out of her. Sarah went from wailing about the bee, to wailing over her mother's nasty spill.
Nikki wasn't feeling that much pain, so she went out to run some errands. It was only when I went with her to cash a check, that she was touching her side, and then almost doubled over in pain. One of her ribs must have been fractured, but sitting just right, and when she touched it... oww!
We went out to eat after that, and we were going to go grocery shopping as well, but she said she had to go home and lie down. Perfectly understandable. Less understandable, was why she didn't want to go to the urgent care clinic (which is a nice office and is next door to our apartment complex). I looked up some info on WebMD.com (here's a link to the fractured rib entry), and it stated that it's very important to be seen by a doctor, to ensure that a lung, heart, or other such organ hadn't been punctured by the broken rib. I badgered a bit, and between that and her pain, she gave in. Urgent care, here we come.
She didn't like the doc too much, as she had a heavy Indian accent, and seemed deliberately obtuse a couple times (don't you just love when they get like that?). She felt her ribs, which of course, gave Nikki intense pain. Everything else checked out okay. The doctor ordered a series of x-rays, which I was surprised they would do in a clinic.
The x-ray technician was much nicer, complimenting our purses and smiling at us as we slowly followed her while holding hands. I got to see the x-rays appear on the monitor, which was pretty neat. Never done that before. Alas, they found nothing. The doctor said she didn't have a break or fracture. I reminded the doctor that a broken rib doesn't always show up on an x-ray, and she said, "Yes, you are right. If it is broken, it might show up once the swelling goes down." Thanks, doc! You should know this, though... I'm always right. :P Nikki thought it was hilarious that I challenged the doctor (unfortunately, her laughter caused her more pain). I was just so quiet for so much of my life, that now I feel I must speak my mind whenever it calls for it.
Unfortunately, Nikki is allergic to the main ingredient in Vicodin and Tylenol with Codeine: Acetominophen. So all the doctor could prescribe is regular Tylenol, and a muscle relaxant (which we found might interact with her albuterol, which is for her asthma). Nikki hasn't yet taken the latter, and it's probably a good idea. We both forgot the albuterol when they were asking her what medications she's on.
For some reason, she told her ex about her accident, and he kept insisting that she get her torso wrapped. They don't do this anymore, and for good reason. It keeps the patient from being able to breathe normally, and could likely cause parts of your lung to collapse, or cause pneumonia. He's given her pneumonia once already. When she was sick a few years ago, she couldn't eat because she would gag. He forced food down her throat, and she got pneumonia. She was in the hospital for weeks, and almost died. Now she has asthma for the rest of her life because of it. I'm so glad she's away from him. And he calls himself a nurse!
What is interesting, is that laying on the side with the broken rib, doesn't hurt that much, and actually lets one breathe much better. I told her about this (again, from WebMD), and she was surprised at how well it worked.
This will take about six weeks to heal, and there's not much that can be done with a broken rib. Pain meds, ice, and lots of rest. That's it. Nikki's in a lot of pain, but somehow she's dealing. It hurts whenever she moves, and often when she remains still as well. She has trouble breathing at times because of the pain associated with taking a deep breath. She remains quite stoic, however. She's such a strong woman. It's no wonder I love her so much.
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