Much Needed Wake-up Call

X-rays showed no fracture

Goals for this trip changed when your humble correspondent tripped down stairs last night. The intense pain in the right thigh had subsided only a little by next morning, so it was off to the Straub Clinic emergency room. X-rays showed no fracture or break, and the diagnosis was a hematoma (blood pool) by the thigh muscle.

Even with a regimen of rest plus occasional movement, ibuprofen, and alternating a heating pad with cold compresses, the hematoma would take days to break up and for the pain and swelling to subside.

Comments: 1) the Straub doctor said that the thigh bone was "well-maintained," a compliment that I would be happy to accept if I had known that a fabulous femur was a health objective; 2) Daydreaming when I tripped, I need to be mindful to be mindful. 3) I now have a lot more sympathy and patience with people who have mobility problems.

It was a much needed wake-up call, and I was very lucky the consequences weren't worse. © 2014 Stephen Yuen