"What Lies Beneath?"

"WHAT LIES BENEATH?"

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Or, In other words........

"Lookbefore you leap!"

Well, I have been off, and on, here at my Wealthy Affiliate home for quite some time.

Here is the explanation.......

As many of you may already know, I deal with chronic pain because of Fibromyalgia, Arthritis, Spondylolisthesis, Advanced Stenosis of the neck and spine, along with almost daily Migraines.

I had been encouraged by my Pain Management Team to indulge myself by getting into our above ground pool. They said the resistance of walking, in even waist deep water, would be beneficial in strengthening my core.

So,

one hot day, I decided I could help three of my grandchildren that live with me, ages four, five, and eight years, learn some basic swimming skills and help myself as well.

I climbed the 3 steps to the top of the stool and ........

nervously contemplated my entrance.

It had been 50 years since I was in a pool!

But, this was only an above ground pool. There was nothing to fear, ..... right?

It's not like it was filled with hungry sharks.

It was only my loving, innocent little grandchildren.

As I stood there, remembering my first day on the high dive,

my grandchildren cheered,

"Jump, grandma, jump!""Jump, grandma, jump!"

They even climbed onto the top step and jumped in, to show me how it's done

and encourage me.

HOW COULD I DISAPPIONT THEM??
So..... I jumped!

Like my granddaughter in the picture above.

(Sorry, no cameras rolling!)

But .......

I jumped straight legged.

Suddenly,

I was shocked when my feet hit the hard, rocky bottom.

Instantly, I knew I was in trouble!

Pain shot through my right leg and it went limp.

Then,

to make matters worse,

my feet slid out from under me, slamming me onto my bottom, leaving me totally

submerged in the water.

My next thought was,

"Oh, darn, I got my hair wet!"

(This is not me, a photo for dramatization only.)

From under the water, I could hear my grandchildren laughing and laughing up above.

They didn't yet know I was hurt.

They just thought it was funny to see grandma jump in and slip away under the water.

Meanwhile,

I struggled to get off of the pool bottom and up out of the water,

without the help of my right leg!

My grandchildren were still laughing hysterically. When I surfaced, my granddaughter, still laughing, said, "That was so funny grandma. It would be good to send to AFV!"

(Then I thought ...... maybe even Funny Fails!)

I finally reached the side of the pool, pulled myself up, and rested against it.

Although I couldn't put any weight on it, I kept thinking it would start feeling better. So I continued leaning against the side, standing on just my left foot, and proceeded to give each child a brief lesson on floating on their back.

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My hubby had been canning tomatoes all day.

(Maybe I should have been helping him, instead of "playing!")

He had heard all the commotion and laughing, so he stepped out to see what it was about. Then he learned of my accident.

He came out to help me get out of the pool and was offering to help me into the house, but when I considered the path I needed to take,I decided to crawl ... rather than hop along on one foot.

I inched across the yard, up three steps, across the deck, and into the house. Then my husband helped me onto a kitchen chair.

My eight-year-old granddaughter got the footbath and my five-year-old grandson added warm water to help me feel better and clean the grass and dirt from my feet and knees. While my eight-year-old granddaughter wrapped a beach towel around my shoulders, so I wouldn't get chilled.

Such Good Little Helpers!!! :)

My knee and leg began to swell immediately!

I still couldn't put any weight on my right leg, but I knew I was going to need a way to get around.

I had a cane which I had used a couple of years back, when I had experienced a pinched femoral nerve. I told my grandchildren where it was in my closet and they eagerly went to retrieve it for me.

I kept thinking about the accident. I was really puzzled as to why I had gotten hurt. And what my injury might be?

Was it simply a stove* that would heal in a few days? Maybe.

(*stove = like to "stove a finger," etc., is an archaic term meaning a forceful, straight on jamming of a joint.)

Then my creative juices began flowing. I started thinking of writing about this incident for my Wealthy Affiliate Blog. (Writing, building websites and working with Wealthy Affiliate, are always on my mind.)

I asked my hubby to take a couple of pictures I could use for my bog.... a shot showing the view from the top of the stool, and one showing the stool.

A couple of days after my "episode," our son decided to drain the pool.

I still had it my head that the pool was waist deep, that's what I had told my Pain Management Team, but the water had been down a little bit that day. It was below the water inlet, so I had inserted the hose to add more water before I entered the pool.

I asked my 14 year-old granddaughter to take my yard stick and take pictures of how deep the water actually was on the day I jumped in.

The photo evidencewas shocking!

As you can see, the water was only 19 to 20 inches deep the day I jumped in.

Not waist deep, even for me! I am only 5 feet tall I used to be 5' 3".

~ Does anyone remember the movie, "The Incredible Shrinking Woman?" ~

But I digress....

THEN...

as you can see, I measured my leg.

This picture shows that the length of my leg, from the bottom of my foot to the middle of my knee, is ................. 19 inches!

(Note: my laptop, with the camera connected, is in the bed with me, on the left side. LOL)

What was I thinking???????

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* My First Mistake: I didn't know the true depth of the water.

* My Second Mistake: The water wasn't deep enough for me to jump into.

What I did was about as crazy as the guy in the picture below!

* My Third Mistake: See what I missed???

As they say, "It is usually a series of mistakes, that lead to an accident!"

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Well, I elevated and iced my leg for 24 hours, but it became apparent that it wasn't getting any better, so my hubby drove me to Urgent Care. After x-rays, the doctor said it was a contusion (bruised bone). He put me into a knee stabilizer and told me to use ice, only put 30% of my weight on that leg. (I couldn't put 1% on it!) and that I would probably be feeling better in a week.

But.....

the next day, I was called by my primary doctor's office. They told me that my doctor thought it might actually be broken and had referred me to the fracture clinic.

At the fracture clinic, the doctor put me into a custom fit leg brace that uses steel and Velcroâ„¢ to support my leg. It has a special, adjustable, metal hinge on each side of the knee that controls the amount of bend my knee can make. Mine is set to allow only 60%.

The doctor also said it might need surgery. He said this type of injury could get worse, so "Absolutely No Weight Bearing!" He then referred me for a C.T. scan.

The C.T. scan revealed that my injury is, as the fracture doctor suspected, a "Tibia Plateau Fracture with displacement." He described it as being like a "sink hole" in the top of the Tibia, created by the ball end of the Femur slamming into the top of the Tibia like a hammer.

Then, I waited for the decision about surgery.

After two days, the fracture doctor called to say that the surgeons discussed it and had decided not to do surgery, at this time, since I might need a knee replacement. (!!??!!) And he reiterated,

"Absolutely, No Weight Bearing!"

So...

I will be on crutches, in a leg brace 24/7, unable to be up and around like usual,

for two to three months... at least!!!!

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My mother always taught me that "every cloud has a silver lining," and the Bible assures us, in Romans 8:28, that "All things work together for good, to those who are called according to His purpose."

So, I always try to remain positive.

So, the way I see it,

this "accident" might actually be going to provide me more time to do my writing, build my websites and spend more time with my Wealthy Affiliate family! :)

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Final words..............................................

Remain positive in all situations

AND ....

Always make sure "YOU" know,

"WHAT LIES BENEATH!"