It’s the week before Christmas and I was merrily following my last-minute holiday prep schedule when from out of the blue something unplanned and unwanted occurred!
I am not kidding when I say the chronically ill must be flexible with their plans. Between chronic pain, surprise flares, and unexpected accidents, it’s a miracle that anything ever goes as planned.
You know the silly Christmas song Grandma got ran over by a reindeer? Well, that is all I could think of when my anger subsided and I was finally able to find the humor in what took place.
Find out what threw my last minute Christmas prep plans for a loop and how I plan to deal with it!
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Not so secret Santa
I am a huge procrastinator when it comes to purchasing Christmas gifts. While I have many reasons, * cough cough* excuses, my biggest reason is that I am terrible about keeping gifts a secret!!
Seriously, I try and try, but it just slips out!! I really do NOT mean to tell people what I am giving them. It’s not even like I am all “OOOOH I have to tell you what I got you”, nope, I just blurt it out in a normal conversation. For example, mom says her juicer is on the fritz and I reply “Good thing I bought you one for Christmas”. I don’t even realize what I have said until they react.
With that said, as we entered the final week before Christmas my daughter and I headed to Disneyland to do some shopping.
Shop til you drop or an unwanted gift knocks you to the ground!
All was going according to plan. Boom, boom, boom! As we made our way through Downtown Disney, then from one land to the next throughout the parks we were finding something for everyone on our lists.
Then it happened……..
As we were making our way around the hub in front of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, BAM!
Out of nowhere came a woman pushing a wheelchair at full speed. I’m not talking about walking fast, I mean she had to have been running.
Like I said, she came out of nowhere and slammed into my right side. Specifically, my right foot. The footrest of the wheelchair rammed into the side of my foot. Upon impact, it felt like it had been impaled.
One step forward, two steps back
Here is the kicker of my story…..
I have been using my wheelchair at Disneyland for the past two months due to a severe psoriatic arthritis flare in my knees and around the lower portion of my rib cage.
After two freaking months of resting, my body was ready to walk for more than 15-60 minutes a day. That night I listened to my body and followed its cues. I slowed down when my knees and ribs asked and rested often. Moments before being T-boned by the wheelchair, I was telling my daughter how thrilled I was to finally be able to spend an evening at the park with only my rollator!
Thankfully my rollator is also a transport chair combo. The pain was so bad that tears just poured from my eyes. I couldn’t walk or see where I was hobbling! My daughter pushed me to the parking garage because I couldn’t put any pressure on my foot.
By some miracle I drove us home without passing out or vomiting.
The next morning I couldn’t walk and there was swelling where it had been hit. As soon as my husband was able to break away from the office, he took me for x-rays.
Thankfully, nothing is broken!!!
However, it still freaking hurts!!! Bruised bones were an unwanted gift, but thankfully my foot should be healed within a few days or a worst-case scenario a week.
With help from my husband, the comfort of my wheelchair, use of my crutches, and post op shoe for support, I will be able to finish the rest of my shopping and last-minute errands.
I will be rolling instead of dancing around the Christmas tree this year!
Final thoughts on my unwanted gift
What happened to me just goes to show that no matter how well we plan or how careful we are, there are no guarantees to getting through a holiday with less pain.
Thankfully, I had already planned for the worst as I had no idea how long it would take to recover from my latest flare.
How are your last minute holiday plans coming along?
Awww noooo, that’s bloody awful! Great timing for Christmas, too. What the hell was that woman playing at, running full force like a person possessed with the wheelchair? I hope she apologised profusely! Jeees. I’m so sorry you’ve had to go through that – I hope you can rest up now and take things slow and easy. Sending hugs,
Caz xxxxx
My daughter who has often had to push me said that woman has no business pushing a wheelchair lol. No apology except yelling sorry over her shoulder as she continued on. Thanks, I’m doing just that, resting. 😊