Emergency care on the road

I left after 8:00 a.m. this morning, intending to find the med center in or near Salome that I had googled. I never did come across it or any signs to it, so I just continued to Wickenburg, another site found online. That is the long way to Wickenburg, around 85 miles or so. I went to the clinic first, to find out that it wasn't an urgent care center but that they could give me an appointment with just a 45 minute wait.

I opted to go across the street to the Wickenburg Community Hospital Emergency Room. What a great hospital! From the folks at the front desk back to the doctors, techs, admissions personnel, xray techs, etc., they were professional, kind, and caring. It is also a beautiful place, obviously new, with a decor in keeping with the southwest and not like most medical centers.

I was admitted promptly and the admissions person came back to the examining room with a desk on wheels, so I didn't have to move from place to place - they all came to me. I was seen by the doctor and then sent for xrays, which showed no broken bones or fractures. I am so relieved, and think how close I came to possibly never walking again. I left with a prescription for Ibuprofen, which I chose over a narcotic type drug. I would have loved a feel-good pill, but there will come a time when I really need one of those and I'll gladly take them - this time I can survive with the "vitamin I".

When I got back and later talked to Dave, he mentioned that I was so fortunate to have fallen where I did. Creosote bushes grow everywhere, and the site owners often trim them down to several short, bare spikes. I could have been impaled if I had landed on one of those. But I am so grateful to have had nothing worse than a really sore tailbone, and I'm noticing aches in my neck, probably because my head hit the ground so hard.

I took a short cut back to the Park, and it turned out to be about 60 miles. So my little accident cost me a 150 mile trip, but I'm so glad for the outcome I didn't mind it at all. I noticed that I was beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable by the time I got to Wickenburg, which means that I really shouldn't be driving any distance for a while. I will know if I need to buy a step or ramp for the dog once the camper is mounted. She may be able to make it, but I notice she has more trouble climbing up steps or into the truck lately, but then so do I, at least for the time being.

So that was my day, at least 5 hours of it. I only wanted to take a nap when I got back to the camper.