cast and car, part 2, written Aug14

I was getting pretty good at typing again until yesterday. It gradually became possible for me to type two-handed. But yesterday I went in to have the cast checked. They took it off and took new x-rays. They decided that indeed it is a compression fracture of the radius. When the cast came off, we could see evidence of a fair amount of bruising (a lovely shade of chartreuse), which the doctor explained was the broken bone bleeding into the surrounding tissue. There was also still some swelling. So now they've put on a long-arm cast, 5-6 inches above my elbow. I can't hold a phone to my ear, and I can no longer type two-handed. Bummer. That said, though, it does feel like the right thing to do. The cast feels good, relatively, and I'm no longer tempted to overuse the wrist. This one will stay on for at least two weeks, when I will go in again to have it checked. I have no idea what will happen then. The doctor did say that it takes 6 weeks for broken bones to heal in adults. One week down. It will come off a little before I head to California for a month.

My car is running very well these days, and I'm beginning to think of selling it eventually, maybe around the first of the year. Aside from not being able to afford all the next big repairs that will come down the pike, the temple is changing how it uses vehicles. They are selling all of them (there have been 3, two of them vans) and going to Flexcar. I'm signed up, though I don't yet have the paperwork or the magic card that will allow me to get into a Flexcar. There are several parked around here in this neighborhood, and I think it will be a very good way to go. The abbots have purchased a hybrid SUV for their own use, and it will also be available for temple use to some extent.

At the moment I can't use my bike, and it has a flat tire anyway. A friend who is a bike mechanic volunteered to go up and fix my flat for me, which would be awfully nice of him. It might be a challenge for me even to get back into the garage, which is where it needs to go next. Well see.

I was thinking of going camping for my vacation, but right now I'm not sure I could set up a tent. So now I'm thinking of making reservations at a b&b at the coast or something for a couple of nights. It will be mid-week, so maybe that will be possible.

cast and car, written Aug 6

I'm typing this one-handed because I have a cast on my left wrist almost to the elbow. The annual lay disciples' excursion to Oaks Park was a resounding success, in spite of the absence of one of the chief instigators (she *said* she was sick). After a great potluck dinner and schmoozing, we went on various rides (I managed to get two other people to ride the screamin' eagle with me) and generally had a good time. A few people left as it got later.

6 of us went into the skating rink. Three of us put on skates while the others watched. You guessed it -- I went down and landed on my wrist (then my butt, of course). Knocked the air out of me, and the wrist hurt a lot. There was a good first-aid lady there who put ice on it and eventually splinted it before we went home.

Today I drove my car (one-handed, like I'm doing everything these days) to get routine maintenance. It turns out to need a new clutch (111000 miles, I suppose it's entitled). Took public transit home, stopped at the library to return books and get more, had lunch with the family here, and then went to Kaiser. They X-rayed the wrist and weren't sure whether it was sprain or whether that might be a hairline crack in the wrist bone. I heard it both ways. Anyway, they put a cast on it, which actually feels better to me than the improvised splint and forst-aid sling I've been getting by on.

Haven't done my laundry yet, and am just in general doing everything more slowly than usual. But doing okay.

Enough, already.