Dave's version

First of all, (this is Dave, and I believe I'm blogging for the first time) as a courtesy to those of you who have weak stomachs-- the pictures and following description gets graphic, at least according to Mel. She suggested I not even put in any pictures, but, come on, what fun is that? Besides, I'm a pretty visual guy, so the photos suit me well. If you qualify as one of these squeamish people, simply read only the next sentence and the last little paragraph (skip the long middle one and the pics at the end), and pray for us; otherwise, enjoy.

Well, if you haven't heard already, I broke my ankle a week ago Monday evening. I was running hard to first base in a church softball game; it was going to be a close play, so I stretched as if to get there sooner. I WAS safe, but my leg was fully extended when I hit the bag, and instead of having a bent knee and the impact going through my entire leg, it just went to my foot/ankle, which crumpled immediately, accompanied by the sound of a number of unnerving pops and cracks. Needless to say, I was a little freaked out-- My lower leg and foot went numb for about a minute, after which I realized I still had feeling (because it hurt a lot) and limited mobility in my toes and ankle. I went home before finding out that we lost the game anyways. After a few hours, it was much better, and every day it has kept improving. Everyone that I talked to said I didn't need to see a doctor, and everyone who saw it said I should. Well, eventually I grew frustrated by the speed and length of my improvement, so I went to the clinic on Saturday. After some painful poking by my family doctor and 3 x-rays, the radiologist was only allowed to tell me that I was a "tough guy" and that it would "take a long time to heal," (both things I already knew.) My doctor, however, told me something I didn't know when soon afterwards, he informed me that it WAS, in fact, broken-- I believe he said there were 3 fractures. After this, he gave me what looked to be a summer time down hill ski boot, which I've since found out, is just as uncomfortable as the real thing! It certainly was more comfortable than any of my attempts at wrapping it, and would go well with the Salvation Army crutches (or "crunches," as Mo calls them) that I got earlier in the week. My doctor continued, "I'm not an orthopedic surgeon," he informed me (again something I already knew), "but call his office on Monday to set up an appointment for that afternoon."

So, there you have it, the last few days of my life summarized in a little paragraph. What I've left out is that Mel, Mo, and Mel's family (but most often Mel) have been wonderfully patient and helpful the past few days. As far as the photos are concerned, the first 3 pictures are from Tuesday, the day after it happened, and the last 3 are from today, Sunday. When you read this, or think of any of us, please pray for wisdom for the doctors, healing for me, and patience for all of us.

How it looked on Tuesday (the day after my 'incident'), notice the swelling in the last picture!


This is how it looked Sunday (5 days later), notice the swelling has gone down somewhat, but the bruising is just ugly, and immense! I'm pointing to what I believe to be the broken ankle bone, which ironically doesn't have as much bruising nearby, go figure!