On Tuesday afternoon, Sarah left the cardiologist’s office sporting her newest fashion accessory: a heart monitor.
She loved the way it looked so much that she even incorporated it into her work uniform the next morning.
She is definitely a fashion forward kind of gal.
Later that same day, bad weather arrived right at dinnertime–rain and wind along with a tornado watch. That meant that Summer, our little Yorkie, was engaging in her usual canine-ish nervous breakdown behavior which includes shivering violently and doing a lot of panicked panting and frenetic pacing.
After dinner was over (and as the wind and rain continued), Steve went to the living room while Sarah and I lingered at the table to chat and Summer continued to pace under the table in her own personal state of dismay. I was just leaning over to pick her up when I heard a terrible crash and suddenly felt myself falling.
Since we had been talking about the storm just a few minutes earlier, my initial thought was that a tornado or lightning had struck the house. It was the only reason my scrambled brain could come up with for the noise, and for Steve’s shouting, and for the fact that I was suddenly lying on the floor a couple of feet from where I had previously been.
After a few seconds had passed, reason finally dawned and I understood that I was actually on the floor because my chair had broken. I also understood that Steve was shouting because he had been in the midst of a peaceful, postprandial moment when he had heard the sounds of wood breaking and Sarah and I both screaming.
He came skidding around the corner shouting, “What’s wrong? What happened?” only to find me sprawled on my right side, not saying very much and not moving very much.
Sarah had leapt up from her chair about the same time that Steve had come crashing into the kitchen and so the two of them narrowly missed colliding with each other as Sarah shouted, “Should I call 911?” and Steve shouted (even louder), “Becky, can you move your shoulder? Can you move your head?”
In the meantime, Summer was adding to the trauma and drama by continuing to shiver and pant and wander distractedly between her shouting, running, nearly colliding family members.
After the initial few moments of confusion had passed I started getting shivery and said, “I feel like I am going to throw up.” (My arm, neck and hip were all hurting badly.)
Steve raced to the kitchen cupboard, grabbed a large plastic bowl and quickly tossed it at Sarah who was kneeling beside me. The only problem was that she hadn’t been informed that her dad was going to engage in a spot of bowl tossing so when an unannounced, unidentified object suddenly crashed to the floor between her and me, we both let out matching screeches. That made such a lovely addition to the already existing melee.
Steve kept on asking me if I had hurt or broken anything and I just kept on groaning and lying exactly as I had landed, afraid to move. He finally grabbed his phone and put in a call to a retired nurse from our church for some advice. As he stepped into the hall to talk he said, “Sarah, please stay near your mom.”
She was already kneeling on the floor beside and she lovingly took my hand in hers and began to stroke it and say comforting words, even in the midst of her own worried tears. Summer (always eager to do her part) continued to weave her trembling way in between the pieces of chair and the plastic bowl and the one woman lying on the floor and the other woman kneeling beside her. I’m sure she was wondering what in the world her world was coming to.
About a minute into Steve’s phone conversation Sarah suddenly shouted, “My heart is beating fast. I can’t breathe well. My face and hands are feeling tingly. I think I am going to pass out!”
Steve threw down the phone, grabbed her up and laid her on the couch with her feet up. He then ran back to me with a pillow for my head and began to run through his medical assessments while trying to keep our trembling, traumatized canine out the way.
In the meantime, I could still hear Sarah out on the couch (wrapped up in all of her heart monitor cords), breathing fast and loud and saying, “My fingers feel tingly. My face feels tingly. I am going to faint!”
At this point, I still hadn’t said a lot. I hurt all over and I was afraid to move any part of my body for fear of what I might find out. Steve set the dog aside (again) and walked through some steps to help me ascertain whether or not anything was sprained or broken. After about ten minutes of this, I eventually found the courage to roll off my right arm and onto my back; however, that whole process hurt so much that I rolled right back to my right arm which also hurt. I was one pitiful little mama.
Every two minutes or so, Steve would get up from beside me and run down the hall to check on Sarah who was still having her own set of difficulties.
Long story short (or maybe it’s too late for that), I eventually did make it to my feet, knowing as I did so that I was going to have a very sore hip, shoulder, neck, and arm for a few days, yet very thankful that nothing was broken.
I am not quite sure why falling off this particular chair was so violent when I’ve heard of other people falling from broken chairs and they just sort of sank straight to the ground. It might have been because I already had some momentum going since I was leaning over to pick up Summer as the exact moment the chair was giving way.
And because of that momentum, I ended up being thrown about two feet to the right and my head wound up right beside the cupboard in the far left corner. If I had ended up hitting it, THAT would not have been pretty. (For the purposes of this picture, I put a non-broken chair in the spot where the original chair had been.)
My takeaway from our action-packed evening is that I am thankful for a husband who was so calm and reassuring in a crisis, and a daughter who valiantly provided comfort and help to me, even when she was in need of it herself.
Summer, too, eventually calmed herself down and the four of us ended the evening sitting quietly in the living room, taking deep breaths and, in my case at least, taking a couple of extra strength Tylenol to go along with those breaths.
Three days after the fact, I feel like I am more sore than I was on the day it happened but I am hoping I will be back to feeling well soon.
The best part of that day was when I walked into the bedroom and saw that Steve had turned on the mattress heater and had turned down my bed covers–a small act of love that meant so much.
I laid my aching body down and gave thanks– not only for the warmth of the heating pad but also for the warmth and the love of my family. When I looked into Steve and Sarah’s faces during those moments of stress, I caught a glimpse into how much I am loved and cherished by them both.
Heart monitor. Broken chair. Love.
A tough day. A good day. A day to remember.
Oh dear, sad to hear of this dramatic scenario going on in your home. More exciting than a tornado! (almost!) Glad you all are okay now. I think our “old age” coming on makes a small fall, a big one.
Ruth,
Yeah, falling is definitely a bigger deal now than when we were teenagers. Hope to not do that again any time soon!
That must have been a terrifying experience for all of you, Summer included! Hope you’re all feeling better, though I know the bruises and aches will take awhile to subside. Our dog was terrified of storms and fireworks. We got her a Thundercoat which did provide a little bit of relief but not as much as we had hoped.
Kari,
We have a Thundercoat for Summer too and I think it helps a little; we also have some meds to give her if it gets too bad. I’ve always wondered what it is about a storm that scares a dog so badly!
Well. Well. Never a dull moment with you people, lol. Glad there’s only 3 of you and the dog in that house of yours. It must be comforting to know that Steve has a cool head in the most tryiing of emergencies. You girls keep him busy!
I had a hard fall on my hip not long ago and even though it hurt like heck for a week or so and the bruising was extensive, compared to a broken bone…I was so thankful. It’s amazing how one moment can possibly change everything. Also a reminder for us ladies to be sure our bone density is in the normal range. Glad you and Sarah are OK. I’m thinking that if nothing dramatic shows up on her holter tracing after that scare, nothing ever will! It sounded like she was hyperventilating with all the tingling going on, has she ever tried breathing into a paper bag?
Lesley,
Yes, we gave her ol’ Holter monitor a great workout! We should have results soon; I’ll be curious to see what shows up on it.
I’ve never had a bone density test; I guess since I didn’t break anything in that recent tumble, it’s a good sign. Thankful you didn’t break anything on YOUR fall. You’re so right about one moment having the power to change everything.
Wow…just read your eventful evening. Glad you are ok. God continue to bless you and family
Virginia,
An eventful evening is a good way to put it! I much prefer my NON-eventful evenings! 🙂
Wow ! What an evening. Hope you are felling better soon and that Sarah gets the answers to her medical issues
Michele,
It was definitely an evening to remember! At least we can look back after the fact and see some of the humorous aspects of some it. 🙂
I’m so sorry! Hope the pain soon subsides and you are feeling better soon!!!
Thanks so much, Jenna. Today is my first day to not feel all those “fall twinges” so I am thankful!
Family is everything isn’t it?
Mary,
Truer words were never spoken. 🙂
I am so sorry–horrified actually!–to read about your latest trials. I can see I will just have to come down there and put you both to bed with hot water bottles and assist the ever incredible Steve Smith! Honestly. You guys are surely due for a stretch of smooth sailing after all this. And i will sit in my chairs a little more cautiously from now on! Sending a lot of love and some hugs!
Deb
Deb,
Thank you for being horrified on our behalf! It has been rather a dramatic past few day but at least we can look back at a lot of it and see some of the humor.
Thanks for the long distance hugs and the offer of lovingly placed hot water bottles!
Oh my goodness that is so scary! Glad you are just sore and mostly okay. If there was one good thing about it is that Sarah’s monitor should show something. I had a friend who wore one and it never showed a thing despite her having symptoms which was super frustrating.
Take good care! Prayers for all.
Heather
Heather,
That’s true about her monitor. It should give them a reading about how her heart reacts under stress. I’ll fall off a chair any ol’ time if it means she can get closer to a medical answer!
Oh my!!! Glad everyone is going to be ok! Family it does a heart good! With what you all have been through and now my family is going through. I’m glad my family is around. I know you are too Becky!! Feel better soon Becky. Prayers for you and Sarah.
Catherine,
So sorry to hear about your mom; please send her my love.
It truly is a blessing to have family, isn’t it?
And I thought tripping over the bottom of my PJ bottoms and flying across the hardwood floor head first into a wall was exciting. Hope you’re feeling better. Day #3 is always the worst!
How’s Sarah?
Hugs, Jodi
Jodi,
Well, pajama bottom tripping into a wall is not so much fun either! I guess we both have our falling down stories to tell. 🙂
Sarah has had a good day today.
My stars! What a way to create a little excitement in your lives!
You all deserve some calm after that storm.
Mrs. Pam,
And speaking of “your stars” I think I just about saw my own stars! Looking forward to those few moments of post-storm calmness.
I am glad you are okay Becky, I fell down 17 hardwood stairs holding our dog a few years ago, luckily I slid down on my back and not head first but I could barely move for the next few days, I was bruised from my neck all the way down to my knees….and I hope everything turns out well with Sarah…..
Dale,
Ouch. Seventeen hardwood floors definitely sounds like a bruise-inducing experience. I hope your doggie made it through okay!
The reason I couldn’t grab a railing was because I was holding on to Kasie, I didn’t want to let her go, she was fine!!!
Dale,
You did well to keep enough presence of mind to hold on her. Good job!
Wow! You had an exciting evening. Sarah’s heart monitor may show some wacky readings for that time. Glad you didn’t break anything.
Phyllis,
Sarah made sure to write in the little chart they gave her what was going on during that particular period of time so that they would have a little context for her racing heart.
Wow, when you guys start your day off, you certainly do it with a crash (no bang here). It wasn’t fun for Sarah, that’s for sure, but at least she had the heart monitor on and what she experienced will help with the info in the long run. For you, glad there were bruises and soreness, no broken bones. Dr. Steve was the right guy for the job!
Sharyn,
Well I am not married to a real doctor I do like the Dr. Steve title you bestowed on him. He was certainly the dispenser of wisdom and comfort and knowledge on that particular evening!
So glad you are just sore! Cannot take two friends experiencing a severe fall in just four-five days and one not surviving. Pray Sarah is fine and her monitor will show what happened with her. I praise Steve for his cool-headed help for both. Poor Summer–hope she is fine now. We had terrible storms yesterday and some hail I understand but we did not see that. Take care and use “red oil” for soreness. My Daddy firmly believed in rubbing that on the sore places. It really does take soreness away because I have tried it. God bless.
Ann,
I’m so sorry about the loss of such a dear person in your life. I know you have many, many precious memories of your times with her.
Praying for you and these upcoming tests. Hugs.
Glad to read you are okay. When something like that happens, the pain usually comes through more on the second and third day and then starts to subside after that. On the up side, at least they will get a good reading on what Sarah’s heart is doing. As scary as this was for everyone, I am sure it will be a story that you will be able to talk about later and laugh about. Steve definitely knows how to look after his girls. 🙂
Mel,
Yes, we have definitely moved on from the trauma to the humorous parts of that event. I’m sure if someone had captured it on video we would watch it and laugh because of the Keystone Cops quality of everyone running around–including the dog! 🙂
Wow. Glad nothing was broken. In college, I broke a chair also, partly due to the fact that I was tilting back too far in a tilt back, rolling, desk chair. It went down, I landed hard on the back bars splitting them in two. My mom rushed in to see what all the noise was, and unsympathetically said something about not playing around with the chair…
Patti,
I am sending you some long overdue comfort since you didn’t get a whole lot on the day you broke your desk chair. That sounds like it was scary!
The worst part of an event like that is how unexpected it is. One minute you’re fine and the next, you are flat on your back. A little bit unnerving!
How scary!! I’m so sorry you fell but I’m thankful that you didn’t break anything.
Is Sarah’s heart monitor just for 24 hours? Or longer?
And poor Summer….she had to be so scared/upset/nervous with all of that going on. It’s a good thing you or the chair didn’t land on her. As little as she is, that could have been a bad deal. My mother-in-law had a miniature yorkie (she weighed about 3 pounds…..so tiny) several years ago and Tinkerbell ran out to the car to greet her one day, she didn’t see the dog and the car was still moving and the dog got hit. She lived, but had a fractured pelvis and leg. Good news: she healed completely and also got chiropractic treatments on the sly from a family friend. 🙂
Thank goodness for Steve and his quick thinking accompanied by a calm presence. He’s a real blessing!
LeeAnne,
Sarah’s heart monitor was just for 24 hours. They said she would get a report today but–we didn’t. Oh well. Our family is pretty used to waiting on this stuff!
Yes, I am glad that I hadn’t picked up Summer before the chair broke because who knows where she might have landed.
I can’t imagine a 3-pound Yorkie! I loved that Tinkerbell got “chiropractic treatments on the sly.” 🙂 How amazing that she live through that experience.