random thoughts – Day 1,798 – (Monday) – chicken and plaster

The walkways and driveways in the immediate area of The BungaLowell, cleared to the pavement on Sunday, were covered in ice Monday morning. Ugh. Salt and used coffee grounds collected over the past week were distributed.

My sister came to take me to the orthopedic surgeon appointment and arrived with sand and salt mixture, soup, and sandwich cookies. She salted and sanded and waged battle with the ice before we embarked on our medical adventure.

Top loaded fries at Dave's Hot Chicken.

The plan was to have lunch before the appointment. As I read off restaurant names from plaza signs, my sister recognized one that my nieces like and we had a winner – Dave’s Hot Chicken. We got the Top Loaded Fries – “fries piled high with cheese sauce, pickles, kale slaw and topped with 6 Dave’s Bites and drizzle of Dave’s sauce.” As first timers, we played it safe with medium hotness, but next time it will be a hotter level.

There was time after lunch to visit Market Basket for some quick essentials for both our homes. I thought I wanted ice cream until I stood in front of the freezer, stuffed full from lunch, and couldn’t choose. I got Korean hot pepper paste, Bengal Spice tea, peanut butter, and bread.

Today's x-rays.

There was an image in my head of what might happen at the ortho office, and it went something like a yank on my hand, a bone pops into place, it gets wrapped up, and off I go. No idea why I thought this. 

What happened was, two new x-rays were taken to check if anything had changed since the initial ones on Friday. The doctor said I needed surgery to put in a plate, which will take place on Wednesday. He sent me “next door for a splint that will be more comfortable than the Ace bandage” I had been using, which didn’t feel uncomfortable.

“Next door” was very literally the building next door. “Splint,” which I thought would be a plastic forearm brace with an Ace bandage wrapped around it like Sis had ages ago after our brother accidentally dropped a rock on her hand at York Beach, turned out to be a bulky cast constructed of layers of cotton and plaster and then a stripey stretchy bandage that I am under strict instructions to not get wet.

Surprise accessory and
reconfigured outfit.

A wardrobe reconfiguration was required in the casting office when I realized my arm needed to come out of my flannel button-front shirt before the cast went on or I’d never get it off without cutting tools. So there I was, right arm in a shirt sleeve, left arm bare, shirt partially buttoned over a sleeveless base layer, topped with a polyfill vest, looking like a bizarre first grade fashion design attempt.

Now there is a legitimate problem of what to wear for daytime and for sleeping. It’s winter and I’m cold. There are no clothes that I’m willing to sacrifice a sleeve on, because all the rarely worn things were already donated away. I have a kimono, and while stylish, it’s not winter warm. The roomy sleeves accommodate the cast well but are drafty as all hell. The casted area from my fingers to above my elbow is warm, but the rest of my upper region is freezing.

A stop at a second Market Basket on the way home yielded ice cream. As Sis loaded the bag into the trunk and I settled into the passenger seat, an SUV was entering a nearby spot. Suddenly, I heard excited chatter and saw the SUV moving with the passenger door wide open. The two female former occupants were outside the vehicle, reaching in from the driver’s side and trying to grab the steering wheel as their vehicle rolled into a Honda SUV parked in a nearby spot and finally stopped. They reentered their car and the driver reversed the SUV away from the one theirs had just rammed. We thought for sure they would stop and at least leave a note. Nope. The driver kept on driving.

My sister memorized the NH license plate number and noted the “student driver” sticker on the vehicle while I fumbled unsuccessfully in my bag with my one functional hand in search of my phone to get a picture. Our best guess was they wanted to move an abandoned cart out of the way but the driver hadn’t put the car in “Park” first. Stunned by what we had just seen, we went back inside to the courtesy booth and left the license plate info of both vehicles.

Back at the house, it was a stretch of refrozen tundra. Sis attacked the ice and spread more sand/salt mix before returning to her own frozen wonderland. The day had it all – ice battles, new food, a surprise cast of plaster, witnessing a parking lot situation, and more ice battles. Whew!