Our Saturday (Not So) Accomplishments

This morning Alan and I woke up and decided with so much we wanted to accomplish today, we got started on the yard. I started mowing and Alan went out to pick his infamous tomatoes, which at one point were about 6 feet tall and blossoming with thousands of tomatoes.

I had finished the front yard and was working on the backyard when I heard a yell over the loud mower engine. I looked over to Alan and saw him in the corner of the garden on his back. I could tell by the sound of his voice that he was in pain. I ran over to him where I asked him what happened. He said something to the effect of "it gave out". I thought he was referring to his back until I looked down at his knee. It looked bad and his kneecap was definitely fully on his left side of his leg. I knew I couldn't move him and as he writhed in pain, I ran into the house where I found his phone and called 911. A little frantic, I gave our address to the dispatcher who called it into Syracuse Fire/EMT.

As soon as I was done calling 911 Alan requested that I take some photos. Yes, he was in tremendous pain but he had the where-with-all to ask me to take some pictures. I snapped a few, ran back in the house to tell the kids to get dressed and wait out front to direct the ambulance to the backyard. They arrived within a few minutes and put Alan in a split to move him.

I rode in the front of the ambulance and Alan asked the EMT's if riding in an ambulance would give him any preferential treatment at the hospital or whether he would still have to wait hours before seeing a doctor. They assured him that he would get right in. When we arrived I was waiting for the big scene like in the movies, but there was none.

It took 3 tries to get the I.V. line in Alan and we were both frustrated at the time that it was taking. After Dr. Bass looked at the knee he decided to knock Alan out before putting it back in. We were both relieved. It took just a few seconds, and I was not allowed to watch.

Alan will now have to be in an "immobilizer" for a week and we'll then follow-up with an orthopedic to determine how everything is healing. Anyone know a good one?

What I saw when I got to Alan

Alan's vantage point

Just before Dr. Bass popped it back in.

We send a big thank you to:
1) Amy Barton who despite being so early in the morning took the kids to her house,
2) Our neighbors the Whites for finishing mowing our lawn
3) Syracuse fire who responded quickly and professionally
4) My brother Ray who quickly came over to take the kids and picked us up from the hospital
4) The folks at Davis Hospital who finally got Alan the drugs he needed
5) Dr. Bass who decided to knock Alan out and popped the kneecap back in place
6) Everyone else who expressed their concerns and offer of help