OUCH! OUCH! OUCH!

Friday evening we fed the missionaries at 5:00PM.  Several of the senior missionaries were having a picnic in the park by Lake Pupuke.   We decided that we would walk over to the park and visit with others till it was time for the play to start.  This is a 5 minute walk from our apartment.  We arrived at the park and started to walk down the driveway to join the other couples.  It was about 6:30PM.  As we walked down the ashpalt, Susan stepped on something and fell.  The natural reaction to falling is to put our your hand to break your fall.  As she fell she heard something break.  She thought it was her glasses.  Nope, it was her wrist.  As she and Gary picked her up she took one look at her left arm and knew she had broke it -BAD.  She happened to be wearing a scarf, so they tied her arm up in a sling and walked over to where all the other missionaries where.  The other missionaries helped us think clearly and directed us to the closest hospital.  Elder Keith and Sister Carol Wallace put us in their car and took us to the hospital.  They stayed with us for quite sometime.  It was great to have their support.

Upon arrival at the hospital they checked her out and gave her something for the pain.  Gary had to go home and get her passport to prove that she has a resident visa.  Once that was taken care of they told her what they were going to do.  First on the list was an X-ray.  After the X-ray they told her that she had a FOOSH injury.  Fall On Outstretched Hand.  It was decided that they would do a ""Bier Block" to numb her arm so they could straighten it and cast it.  That is quite an ordeal.  Google it if you are brave.   After they cast it they called Radiology to take another X-ray.  Everyone kept saying that it was not stable.  If it is worth doing, you better do it right!  She broke it really good.  After the X-ray was taken everyone scrambled to look at the picture.  It was then decided to send her home for the night, but do not eat or drink anything after 2AM in case they would have to do surgery in the morning.  They wanted the head orthopedic to look at the X-rays.  They finished casting her arm then waited for it to dry.  After it was dry they split the cast so her arm had room to swell.  Finally about 10:15PM they sent us on our way to the pharmacy to get some prescriptions for the pain.

Saturday morning the ER doctor called and informed us that she could eat as the head orthopedic wanted a hand specialist to look at the x-rays.  Apparently there is a two week window in which they can do the surgery.  Saturday was spent at home and we thought she was doing pretty good till about 6PM.  That is when all the meds came back up.  Thank goodness we brought all those essential oils.  Now she is staying on top of the pain with her oils and has not been sick today Sunday.

Today Sunday, Gary went back and took a picture of where she fell.  It is obvious what happened, but it is too late now.

From this direction it looks fine

Now you see what made her fall 

We hope to hear from the hand specialist tomorrow.  Till then, thank you for all your kind words and remembering us in your prayers.  One positive thing - they have excellent medical care here.  If something like this had happened on our last mission - she would have already been on the plane home.