Haunting sights and sounds
Website design By BotEap.comIt was about 5 years ago that I was jogging, almost home, when my two leashed dogs performed a crossover cable dance, ripped my arms in opposite directions, and felt me sailing face-first across the asphalt. I accept full responsibility, as wrapping the straps around my wrists is not an advised standard, but it was still a horrific, terrible surprise that has been hard to erase from my ears and mind. The sounds and images are haunting.
Website design By BotEap.comThe dogs, Telli and Jigsaw, had been on a rampage from the start, pulling and acting wild as we headed down the street and then onto a favorite trail. Telli, a border collie, usually stayed close to her, and if she wandered off, she would always come back in a few minutes. Jigsaw, on the other hand, was a perky German Shorthair puppy. Running filled him with a mad joy that sometimes left him without reasonable thought and his return was less predictable. As my husband Lynn’s pet and favorite dog, I didn’t risk losing him that morning. Lynn had just landed from deep sea fishing with my daughter and she would be home in the late afternoon and of course I wanted a perfect reunion, not a dog hunt. That was my fateful mistake: never letting the dogs loose for fun.
Website design By BotEap.comUsually once we are clear of traffic we let the dogs run free. They love freedom and it gives them double, triple, or quadruple exercise. When Lynn is with me, Jigs is much better behaved and pays more attention to commands. With me, however, he becomes a mischievous child, dashing off to do his own thing without giving much thought to rules and appropriate behavior. As I said, the dogs will come home, but sometimes this takes a while and a frantic hunt.
Website design By BotEap.comWe had jerked for four miles and then nearly floated down our street to the critical junction. Just two houses from home, the dogs jumped, and a thud and crack hit me in the face. The blow was my forehead and my shoulder; I break my nose, chin and front tooth. Only in one repetition can I imagine this disaster and with that image comes that horrible deafening double sound as darkness shadows my mind. My first thought was that I had imagined the fall, but then reality hit me as the dogs looked at me in shame. I untangled my arms and pulled them to the center to push myself to my knees and then forced myself to my feet. My legs were shaking with little wobbles, but I managed to move forward as I looked around hoping no one had seen this disastrous accident. We slowly ran home as blood dripped down my shirt. The dogs had stopped pulling as if they knew he was in trouble and waited silently for him to open the back door, undo the leashes, and stumble up the back stairs to the terrace. There I found a dirty old beach towel that I used to stanch the blood as I turned the doorknob and went into my kitchen.
Website design By BotEap.comI staggered over to the sink where I spat out a mouthful of blood and my front tooth as well. The blood, for some reason added to the mind, had not wanted to leave it in the street; the tooth was a false one held in a Maryland bridge that had been forced in where it had cracked leaving my other teeth unharmed. Feeling dizzy, I sank to the ground, thinking that if I rested for a few minutes I could make the blood stop and then continue with my busy morning plans. The tiles were cool and soothing and the nasty towel was doing its job when I suddenly thought, “What if I pass out? No one is here to rescue me!” Pushing myself to my feet, I walked down the hall to the bathroom mirror where my shattered face was revealed. A scraped forehead and chin, a crooked nose in a terrible tear from bridge to tip, my lips contorted and rapidly swollen, and a gaping hole in my line of teeth greeted me. Blood seeped into my shirt from my shoulder and my palms held a wide variety of stones. I decided that I definitely needed help.
Website design By BotEap.comMy first thought was to calm down, get in our little stick shift van, and call the ER. As I walked to my keys, I pondered the sensitivity of this move, including the thought of shifting gears and putting a towel up my nose. I decided to call my friend Joyce who worked nearby. I dialed, praying that I had matched all the correct numbers, when her dear voice answered.
Website design By BotEap.com“Yoce,” I muttered, “he’s ‘ini. I need your help.”
Website design By BotEap.comSomehow, Joyce recognized my plea, and when I grabbed my bag and limped to the curb, she was there, engine revving. Within minutes we were approaching the emergency entrance of the hospital and I received excellent nursing care.
Website design By BotEap.comAfter the preliminary paperwork, we were accommodated in a small exam room. The nurse warned me that, “This could hurt,” she tugged at my nose to align it, which quickly stopped the profuse flow of blood. It actually felt good to have that pressure, since it eased the pain instead of creating it. Then came a painkiller, X-rays, surgery to stitch my face up, a short recovery, and then home.
Website design By BotEap.comMeanwhile, Joyce’s husband, Vince, had called my husband and children with the news and had come over to my house to check on the dogs. Telli sat panting by the back door, anxiously awaiting my arrival. Jigs, however, realized that he hadn’t closed the door and recognized the opportunity for him to have fun. Vince got into his truck and after much calling and driving around the streets near my house found him lounging on some wet grass with two very attractive French poodles, frolicking with the girls, as I call it. Vince separated Jigs from his affair, took him home, and carefully closed the door. He also cleaned up some of the blood on the floor and took my tooth out of the sink and put it in a glass of water.
Website design By BotEap.comWhen I rolled out of surgery with blackheads scarily bulging out of my face, my son Stan came over. A quick call to his boss put him on the 167-mile drive from his work to the hospital, just in time to bundle me up and drive me home. I cannot begin to express how wonderful it was to have him there for me.
Website design By BotEap.comThe rest of the afternoon friends came offering me food, flowers and shocked stars while the eyes lit up on my face. Lynn and her daughter Allison arrived from San Diego early in the evening and my family’s nursing team went into full force. I have never been so grateful for such loving care.
Website design By BotEap.comEven though my nose has hideous white scars and a huge cartilage/calcium bulge that I didn’t have before this fall and my forehead and chin have peeling spots, I am lucky. The trauma of the crunching and banging reverberates through my head every time I walk past that fateful place where my dogs taught me a lesson about leashes and my heart learned a lesson about family and friends and unconditional care.
Website design By BotEap.comI also had the help of my friend Linda, a psychologist, who helped me deal with the terror, the crackling, and the fear of re-acting. She guided me through every step of the horrific event, reliving it with me as she helped me face the horrificity while gaining strength. Her knowledge, support, and advice from her adjusted my perspective and addressed my distress.
Website design By BotEap.comMy fall was minor compared to the disasters many others face. Children are hurt by their parents, families are in terrible car accidents, soldiers fight terrible battles, and many are given no strategies to deal with recurring nightmares or methods to deal with supernatural fears. From my experience, I realize that love and support are very valuable and essential to a healthy recovery.