Ouch! ~Part 2

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Continuing from last week:

From Fort Worth, we drove down to Austin, TX, by way of Waco. We stopped in at Baylor University, where my father had graduated in 1924. He was one of the three students in the very first graduating class in the School of Music from Baylor University.

Baylor University Music Program Class of 1924

In Austin, we met up with a cousin of mine I hadn’t seen since 2001, along with his wife and his brother. We had a great couple of days with them, as well.

From Austin we drove down to San Antonio, TX – one of our favorite cities! We had lived there for three years in the 1980’s, while Fred was an instructor at the U.S. Air Force Officer Training School.

Graduating class of new Air Force Officers

That first night, we had dinner with a German friend and her husband. We had met them in Germany in the late 1960’s. She was actually a friend of my Mother’s, before she became my friend. She had married an American military person, and they moved to the U.S. and San Antonio, in particular. We hadn’t seen them since we left Germany in 1970. Still dear friends.

After now having seen all the friends we had planned on seeing, we were free to “do” San Antonio at our leisure. We started off by going downtown. We had been members of the First Baptist Church while living in S.A., so stopped to see if anyone was there. Fred met someone, who said the church was, essentially, closed (it being Saturday). But we were welcome to park our car in their lot and do the famous “San Antonio River Walk” from there. So we did just that.

Credit Google search

At least, we started out on the River Walk. That had always been one of our favorite things to do in San Antonio. We walked along, enjoying the sights and sounds – and wonderful smells of Mexican food! It’s just a sidewalk on either side of the river. We were also enjoying watching a momma duck and 11 babies swimming furiously in the river.

And here’s a picture with a turtle near the ducks!

With some people coming toward us, Fred and I narrowed down to single-file. That’s when I stubbed my toe on an uneven piece of sidewalk concrete – and down I went! Hard! I remember hitting my right cheek with such force that I thought I had shattered my cheekbone!

OUCH!

When Fred – and the passing tourists – managed to get me on my feet, I realized that I had done something really bad to my right shoulder – something really painful! I thought perhaps I had dislocated my shoulder.

Unable to continue on with the River Walk, we headed back to the car. I knew that I had to go to the hospital, but was a little hungry. So as we headed to get something to eat, I texted our daughters, my brother, and my best friend, with the words “Altercation with sidewalk. Sidewalk won. Lunch first, then ER.”

That ER visit lasted four hours – and we were so glad we had taken the time to eat first! After some tests – including xrays, CT scan, and MRI – the conclusion was that I had a hairline fracture of my clavicle (collar bone), as well as a hairline fracture of my right eye socket. I saw four doctors, including an opthamologist, with instructions to follow-up with doctors here in Orlando.

Here is a photo of my eye as we were leaving the hospital. As you can see, my eye was already turning purple after just four hours.

And here is a picture of my eye as it was by the next morning. That lasted for about six weeks. Not a pretty sight, right?

So, my ouchies are better – healing well – and I am seeing the required doctors. But it is certainly not something I would like to repeat!

~~~~~~~~~~The End~~~~~~~~~~

Tags: Memoir, Reconnecting with old friends, San Antonio River Walk, Travel