Down She Goes

Today I have a pretty big hitch in my giddyup. I walk with a gimp that mostly resembles someone who has had hip surgery, or maybe even one of those zombies in a movie - You know the look - I have to pick up my leg to take a step and I almost look as though I'm joking. Any way you look at it, I look stupid. Why, you ask, am I moving like so? Well, yesterday I was headed out to the store - about 3:15pm. I had Cooper in the car and was even in it myself. But, I couldn't find my sunglasses and the sun was blazing against the snow. So, I hopped out and headed in the house to get them. I walked through snow and ice in our driveway, I walked across the play room (carpet) and turned into our entryway (linoleum). There were apparently some chunks of ice left there from either my earlier trip to the car to warm it up, or my daughters arrival home from school. I stepped on that ice chunk, unintentionally, of course, and when I went to take a step on that foot it slid under me. I went down. It happened so fast and I couldn't break the fall. I landed on my left side and partially on my belly. And, though I wasn't in pain in my tummy, I couldn't help but be a little scared that I'd done something horrible. I immediately called out for Katie, as I was afraid to move, and she came a runnin'. As I think back now to when I fell I realized that I fell pretty hard. I was able to pick myself up, however, and head for a chair. I hesitated calling anyone, but then it hit - my hip and groin area began to radiate pain. So I called my doctor to be advised. I knew what she would say, but I also knew it would be best to consult her first. "Go to the Family Birth Center at the hospital immediately for monitoring," she said. After Katie removed Cooper from the car and turned it off, she was very helpful to me making sure I was OK and had everything I needed. As I sat there preparing my call to Corey I realized that I hadn't felt the babies move since the fall - The fear within kicked into high gear. I composed myself the best I could and I called him - I'm sure I sounded like a blubbering banshee. He left work immediately and headed home. Shortly after he got home he made some calls to find a short term sitter for the kids. His brother Niko volunteered. He sat beside me and started talking to the babies - Last week he talked to them and they moved in response. After 10 minutes or so of "Hello in there!" or "Move it, girls!" they started to kick. I was so relieved, but we still needed to go in for monitoring. So by 4:30pm we were headed to the hospital and the kids were being cared for.

We were at the hospital for a few hours and the girls didn't want to work with the nurse. The protocol, when stress like this happens to the babies, is that the nurses must find the babies resting heart rate, make sure they can get it 10 beats higher, on their own with activity, and then back down to the resting rate. This is tough with one baby sometimes, so with the two it was just crazy. The poor nurse probably developed Carpal Tunnel with our visit alone. But after 2 hours we finally got the go ahead that we could head home. Thank goodness! At one point in our visit the nurse asked me to turn on my side and that was by far the most pain I'd felt in a while. So, when the time came to go home, I knew I'd have to work through the pain so I could stand. When I fell, I fell on my side. So, my hip became affected, as did my groin and other unmentionable areas. I've had some difficulty with pain in that area just from the weight of the girls, but this was awful. It took both Corey and the nurse to help me out of that bed. I was in quite a bit of pain last night, but as long as I stayed propped up on my back I was OK. Laying on either side was just so painful. This morning I'm still in some pain, but I'll be just fine. I took two more Tylenol and am resting today. Corey stayed home a while to help me get going - Such a wonderful man! I will be at the hospital again tomorrow for the growth ultrasound. The lady who admitted me to the hospital last night said "I just did your paperwork for your visit here on Wednesday - So, we'll see you then, too!" Ha. One visit to the hospital this week was going to be enough for me.

It is snowing quite hard at the moment. It is stacking up and the forecast says 2-4 inches to be expected through 2pm today. Oh joy. Good thing I won't be going anywhere today. Don't want to risk falling on ice in a stupid linoleum entryway!