Our six days of riding started out great. As I mentioned in last week’s blog, the ride was headquartered out of the gorgeous newly opened Lodge at Paris Landing State Park about 2 hours west of Nashville, TN. At BRAT, breakfast and dinner were provided, plus other activities including yoga and pontoon boat rides. Also participating in BRAT were our looper friends, Greg & Helen as well as our good friends John and Lenore from St. Pete. Each day we had a different route and the park rangers had SAG stops along the route. SAG stands for “Support and Gear” and they provide water, snacks, and the all-important potty. We had beautiful weather and gorgeous rolling hills to ride along.
We were blessed that another couple we met on the loop, Jon & DeeDee, decided to camp nearby, and DeeDee came over each day to take Murphy on a walk while we were riding. She and Murphy hit it off when we first met them at the Dismal Swamp canal in Virginia. We ran into each other often during the loop and have stayed in touch after. The six looper friends visited the Eiffel Tower in Paris, TN and enjoyed a Mexican early dinner. The restaurant had a robot that delivered the food to us. So fun! There was also a craft fair at the park over the weekend and I could not pass up a bag of Kettle Corn.
Each morning, I would take Murphy out for a potty walk/exercise before we left. I had to leave prior to sunrise due to the early ride starts. On the morning of our 4th day of riding, Murphy and I were jogging downhill on a gravel road in the park. I wear a jogging waist belt which Murphy’s leash attaches to. He must have seen an animal as suddenly, he lunged. I could not get my footing on the gravel to stop him and I went flying, superman style, feet off the ground and I landed hard on my right side. I knew it was not good as the pain was intense. I rolled over and called Dave. He quickly came with the truck and took me to the emergency room in Paris, TN, about 17 miles away. I was in so much pain I was panting like a woman in labor. After some strong pain meds and a CT, it was determined I had 3 burst fractures in my spine, L2, L4 and L5, with L5 being the worse with little fragments. The rural hospital could not provide care for this type of injury, so I took a helicopter ride to Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville. It took the helicopter about 35 minutes to get there and Dave 2 hours to drive. The trauma team at Vanderbilt was awesome. Initially they thought I would need surgery due to potential compression on my spinal cord which regulates bladder control, but after 24 hours, all was going good in that department so they put me in a back brace, took an x-ray and prepared to send me home. I was starving as I had not eaten since 6 p.m. the night before my injury, which was now 38 hours ago. Dave brought me chocolate pudding and the nurse gave me a banana. I was one happy girl!
The support we received from our looper and St. Pete friends at the campground was tremendous. Helen and DeeDee took over care of Murphy and we had many other offers of assistance. As they say, “That’s what friends are for” and our friends sure lived up to the adage. We cannot thank them enough for their support. It looks like 6 to 12 weeks for recovery for me. As of this writing, I am still in quite a bit of pain, but can get around slowly in the back brace. I am not sure how I am going to stay down for 2 to 3 months. I am sure to make Dave crazy. Dave has been excellent in helping me get around and he has graciousily taken over housekeeping tasks I cannot do. We hope to be back in St. Petersburg for the winter in just a few weeks where I can complete my recuperation and then go dancing at the new 70’s nightclub.
Moving slowly Brenda, Caregiver Dave, I miss DeeDee Murphy
Wow. Ehat an ordeal. Glad you are recuperating, slowly but surely
I bet Murphy is trying to take care of you as well.
Do what the Doctor tells you to do and you will get better.
See you later this year
Good Lordy, girl, flying gymnastics !, at your age ? (Oh wait, you are a lot younger than me 😉
Seems you got first class care and you will be back swinging before long.
Soak up the pampering!
Let me know if you guys need anything.
Wes
Rolling hills? Seriously. I was there and let me just say that some of those “hills” were shear torture… oh, wait, that describes your Superman flying landing. Oh, my goodness, Brenda, my heart hurts for you (and Dave) to have to endure this recovery period. Wishing you the best and standing by for any assistance you may need. Get well soon!