The Devilish Dish~Why I'm taking a Hiatus...

I'm going to be away from blogging for a bit, and I wanted to fill all of you in so no one thinks I've fallen off the face of the earth.  (Although we currently have tornadoes and earthquakes going on at the same time here in Oklahoma so it's entirely possible.) 

You may or may not have heard me talk about the auto accident I was in almost two years ago.  I was less than 2 miles from my house.  An obviously distracted 20 year old girl failed to yield and turned out in front of me.  I was driving a large SUV and she was in a small car.  To give you an idea of the magnitude of the crash, ALL of the airbags in my vehicle deployed and I was the only occupant of the vehicle.  When I kind of "came to" and realized what had happend through all of the smoke, and powder from airbags, a kind lady who happened to be a nurse was at my window, along with two very kind college-aged boys.  My first reaction was to get out of my car and check on the other driver, but my right knee wouldn't move. 

(WARNING:  If you're easily grossed out, it's time to stop reading.) 

In fact it wouldn't bend at all because the knee cap was sticking out of my pants.  The skin wasn't broken, it was just this very weird, very not-supposed to be there bump.  Of course I was crying from pain, but mostly I was crying because I wanted my husband.  The young men were kind enough to move my seat back to get me away from the dashboard and steering wheel, and the nurse tended to my cuts and abrasions and tried to calm me down.  Then the boys looked allover my vehicle and gathered up the contents of my purse that had scattered everywhere.  Finally, they found my cell phone.  The nurse took charge, grabbed my phone, calmly explained the situation to my husband and in about 12 seconds flat he was at my window. 


Now I've told you before my hubby is a guy's guy.  He's always been an athlete, and had his fair share of sports-related injuries.  He's a very calm, level-headed person.  I've known him since 9th grade.  And when I looked at him he was 94 shades of white and had the collar of his sweatshirt pulled up around his face like he was watching a scary movie.  It was quite an experience being extricated from my car.  The most vivid memory I have of the entire event is looking around as they removed me to a stretcher and seeing smoke and glass everywhere in the headlights.  And the girl that hit me, standing in the street, wrapped in a leopard-print fleece blanket with her mother's arm around her screaming at the top of her lungs, "MY CAR, LOOK AT MY CAR!!!"  She didn't have a scratch on her, and according to the police officer on the scene, she was at fault.  The only other thing I remember before being loaded into the ambulance was my husband's voice yelling, "MY WIFE, LOOK AT MY WIFE!!!"  (He's a man of few words, but they are pretty funny words.)

In addition to my physical injuries, 4 cases of Coke and Diet Cokes exploded all over the inside of the car. (I mourn the loss of those Diet Cokes all of the time.  What a tragedy!)   And my ONE DAY OLD Versace sunglasses lost one of their rhinestones.  (RATS!!!)  I guess it's a good thing the car was totaled because I would still be scrubbing Diet Coke from the interior.  From what I've been told, they said her car hit mine nearly head on and her car went up under mine, pushing the dashboard into my knee, the gas pedal into my foot and the airbag deployment injuring my wrist.


Fast forward a  few i.v.s and x-rays and ambulance rides later to find out my injuries were a Shattered Patella (a knee-cap to you and me) a Shattered Calcaneus (a heel to you and me) and fractured wrist.  The only thing I really felt was the pain in my knee, and general soreness and shock.  About an hour after the wreck I mentioned that my foot "kind of hurt" and could we maybe take my shoe off.  And I was more worried about them cutting my shoe or the laces!  Little did I know...

I immediately had surgery on my knee, the doctor wound up removing the bits of knee cap, and attached my patella tendons to the largest of the tiny pieces that were left.  I spent that week in the hospital.  A week later ON MY BIRTHDAY, I got the staples out of my knee.  (Bleah, I highly recommend you not doing anything that needs staples in the first place.)

Hello, my name is:
FRANKENSTEIN

 

I spent from March through the end of July "non-weight bearing" to allow time for my heel to heal.  (haha)  The injury to my heel was described as "a bag of broken glass" and in the doctor's own words, "God DID NOT intend for us to break our heels."  I then spent July throught mid December in physical therapy, 3 hours a day, 3 times a week.  At which point I was pretty much told, "this is as good as it gets."   Which wasn't very good.

Fast forward AGAIN to one year later.  I had a surgery to try and work on the joint in my foot that was giving me so much trouble.  I received a bone graft, and had a RAILROAD-sized screw put into in my foot to hold everything in place. 2 more months of no walking and then the physical therapy started AGAIN.  Only this time the pain was unbearable and it was eventually discovered that the procedure was not successful and basically I "have a loose screw" which is kind of funny.  But not that funny.  Only to my husband who enjoys telling people, "My wife has a loose screw."

It's Official:
I have a screw loose.

At this point I told the doctor that my concern for my mental health had completely surpassed any concern for my physical health.  It was decided that I could make do, hobble around and when I could no longer stand it, we would do the entire thing over again. 


And now we're to that point.  As much as I dread it, we have to try the whole mess over again.  At the very least the loose screw and graft that did not fuse have to be removed.  I am so NOT LOOKING forward to 12 weeks of no walking.  I'm pretty independent.  I like being the Queen Bee of my own hive, and giving up most of that over the last almost 2 years has been hard.  More than anything I HATE not being able to cook.  From what I've been told, the procedure probably won't be a magic cure.  I'll probably never climb to the top of Machu Picchu.  But I might be able to go about normal life without excruciating daily pain, swelling and inflammation.

When life gives you lemons,
make lemonade and drink it at a baseball game.

Before you feel sorry for me, or think that I am feeling sorry for myself, please know that I am just grateful to be here.  And the fact that I have all of you to share my life and recipes with makes things even better.  Of the many silver linings to this cloud, I have discovered that my husband is an absolute prince (and believe me I never thought that before, in fact he used to be a little stinky...)  My poor Little Devil has been scared straight as far as teenage driving goes.  And I've re-connected with lots of friends and family members that had kind of drifted out of my life.  It's funny how your life flashing before your eyes really makes you appreciate what you have.  The doctor told me at my last visit that until recently, he never used to see the kind of injuries I had because before airbags, people didn't survive the kind of crash I was in.  The shattered bones were the least of their problems because the lack of protection to their internal organs that is now provided by airbags meant they didn't make it home from the hospital.  That really opened my eyes.  That Frankenstein-sized scar down my knee and my Hobbit/Elephant Man foot don't look as bad anymore. 


I can still cook.  The accident may have taken away some of my physical abilities, but if anything it has only improved my desire to create in the kitchen.  Do I have to stop and sit every ten minutes?  Yes.  Does it take me forever to type something on the computer because of my wrist?  Yes.  Is it too painful to sit at my desk for any length of time?  Yes.  Is a Chocolate Spiced Pumpkin Souffle one of the best things I have ever created and eaten?  Yes.

If you have to use a walker,
make it hip...

So there you have it friends.  In a rather large nutshell, that is the story of me.  And why you might not hear from me for a little while.  I'll need a little time to recuperate.  I do have lots of yummy recipes blogged for you in advance (that's where I've been lately!) so I'll be able to share from the laptop what I can't actually share from the kitchen.  One of the only things I'm looking forward to in my down time is snuggling with Baby Ruth.  She has been the best companionship anyone could ever ask for through all of this.  AND she makes a darned cute mascot for The Devilish Dish, don't you think?

Baby Ruth says,
"I love The Devilish Dish!"

HUGS and KISSES to each and every one of you!  I'll be back soon with lots of yummy new ideas.  Lord know I'll have plenty of time on my hands to think about food. (Thinking about it, but not being able to get to it is tough.  But it does make for a good way to diet!)