Cynically Optimistic

This covered bridge reminded me of the opening of Beetlejuice so I had my classmate John take the photo as I prepared to drive through it. Everyone in the minivan appreciate the fact that I didn't try to shoot and drive. We had enough drama with accidents on the trip.

We drove up in 3 minivans at different times for scheduling convenience. Due the snowstorm and traffic, our arrivals were out of order. To kill some time, one of the vans went to buy groceries. A frozen parking lot plus several inches of fresh powder equals super-duper slippery surfaces. One step out of the minivan and one girl was rendered screaming and grabbing her foot. Her heel was 90° to the left of where it should be. If it were the NBA they'd be showing the instant replay in slo-mo to see the gore.

After 5 pm on Friday the EMT service in rural Vermont is volunteer. The 18 year-old police office assured us that they would arrive in about 45 minutes. Since they're volunteer, they can administer an IV, but no pain meds, which made their attempt to set the ankle in the ambulance quite remarkable. Oh the screaming.

Hospital.
Morphine.
A very late night.

The next day, the local orthopedic surgeon arrives to announce her tibia is broken in 2 places, her foot in one place and she will require metal plates and screws to hook it all back together. Meanwhile, her ankle is as big as a football. Since we live so close to many hospitals the decision was made to take her back to the Hospital for Special Surgery. Except when they arrive they learn that since the referring hospital was capable of performing the surgery they would not be able to call in an emergency surgeon until Monday. Switch to ER at NY Presbyterian Hospital, which also refuses to admit her because she's been already seen by a different ER for the same problem. So they kind of begin to panic. Eventually we think to advise them to call the Insurance company (we have great insurance really) who works something out where they can get into NYP.

The major surgery had to wait until Monday anyway because they had to do something earlier to reduce the swelling. She'll be in the hospital for a few more days but will eventually recover fully. All this makes me consider what I'd think to do in such a crisis. I'll definitely be talking to my doctor about how to contact him should an emergency like this arise. Second, it makes me wish for Universal Healthcare. Badly.