I should be a rodeo queen...

So this was going to be a nice trail ride with Craig on Kahnor and Vicki on Timber. Bob on Gilly and me on Banjo. The perfect evening--warm, not hot. Quiet horses--except for Gilly. Half way out, Bob had had it with his antics. Trotting to catch up with Banjo, then stopping as if not sure if he should catch up. So I decided to switch and let Bob ride Banjo.

Buddy sour

In the time it took for Bob to mount Banjo and me to get on Gilly, Banjo had disappeared over the hill. I didn't see it coming but Gilly was paying attention. And he didn't want to be left behind. He went from 0 to 90 in a split second. I tried to stop him, but he would have none of it and gave a small first buck, a bigger second buck and a monumental buck on the third. Vicki says I flew 3 feet higher than his butt. I'm glad it was uphill and not down.

First thoughts

The first thing I thought or after my hip hit the ground, then my head was, "So tonight I skipped the helmet..." I almost lost consciousness but not quite. I remember hearing Vicki say, "Are you all right? Can you get up?" Something about how I just gave a great rodeo performance. Something didn't feel right, but I couldn't place my finger on it so I didn't even try to get up for a bit.

No leg

Vicki and I talked a bit as the smallest amount of nausea passed and I tried to sit up. I could pick up my right leg with my hands, but couldn't move it by itself. I figured it was just a stinger and I'd just need to rest.

No Bob

We couldn't figure where Bob was. Well, he hadn't seen the bucking. He was being pushed by Gilly and yelled at me to stop him when Gilly passed by riderless. So he dismounted and walked back. It seemed like a year to me on the ground.

No easy way out

By now I figured I wouldn't be riding or walking out. It's hard to think clearly at a time like this and as Bob left on foot with Banjo and Gilly he said he'd be back with the 4-wheeler. Now we are in the back 40 in an apple orchard with no roads nearby. My hip/leg was not feeling any better and I'm thinking I probably broke my hip. The 4-wheeler clearly would not work. I had my cell phone in an arm carrier (worked really well!) but Vicki had to walk up the hill to get reception. Sam was at home but didn't answer. Bob didn't answer. So we just waited and waited. Then we heard the truck coming. Bob had time to think clearly enough to know the 4-wheeler wouldn't work and brought the truck to Art and Vicki's--a shorter distance to the road from where we were--and he brought Art for reinforcement. Together they did the fireman's lift and got me into the truck. Vicki and Craig took a nice ride back to our farm on their horses and we rode out over the bumps and ridges of the fields to Art's farm.

Florence Nightingale

Art's Vicki, a nurse, was there to read the pulse in my leg and tell me I was seated well enough in the truck. I am so fortunate to have a friend like her. She called the emergency center to tell them to expect me, what the situation was, my age and all. But I wouldn't let Bob take me until I knew our horses were OK. We beat Craig and Vicki back and Bob got their saddles off. Then it was off to the hospital.

Like a bee hive

I was greeted with a neck brace and a team of people just to get me onto the gurney. In the emergency room it was buzzing - people poking me with needles, cutting my clothes off, asking how I felt, where it hurt, what was my birth date, was I ever unconscious... Xrays were done in no time. Fractured pelvis. Maybe nothing else, but I'd be getting a CT scan and a sonogram to rule out further injury.

Who else has a horse?

Someone, I didn't catch the name, mentioned she had three horses. She had a good one and a couple naughty ones. But doesn't ride much anymore. While waiting for the CT scan, Suzanne told me she also has 3 horses and we talked about what the future might hold. She told me this definitely shouldn't stop me from riding again.

Wanna go home?

The emergency room doctor said I had at least 2 fractures. I'd be on crutches for 1 - 2 months, but I'd heal completely in 9 months. No surgery required. There's no cast so it will be painful and oh, would I like to go home tonight? Hardly.