DC Med-Evac

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Not only a boot, but also a WEAPON!

Last we spoke, I was heading to the USA for a week of vacation, relaxation, and air-conditioning.  No sooner did I land in the land of dreams that I walked through customs and into baggage claim where I tripped, slid and fell flat on my butt in front of everyone and their welcoming families.  Too embarrassed to notice the pain right away, I turned and looked at my friend Heather to say “Wow, that really hurt.”  Heather said “I thought you were trying some new dance move,” since I apparently landed on my knees and slid like Brittney used to before the two kids and daily-lattes.  But, no, there were no dance moves, I actually just wiped out and started my American-vacation with my foot up in the air and bags of ice surrounding the ankle to help with the swelling.  My ankle looked like a softball.  What was I supposed to do?  As a traveling PCV, I had no idea how to get ahold of the doctor in America, which made me realize how ill-prepared I was to be traveling ‘abroad’ in the USA.  After sending emails back to Honduras and calling the PC office in DC, I was finally hooked up with an orthopedic surgeon the following day over by GWU.  By then, I obtained a pair of crutches and hobbled my way around to the bar; if there is no medicine at your disposal, then I suggest large amounts of vino.  When I showed up at the ortho doc, he promptly ordered some x-rays and then proclaimed that it was a severe sprain, to which I was lucky b/c he had thought it was broken.  Dance moves, I think not.  The good doc set me up with all the bells and whistles of what I now call my space boot, an air cast and an ace bandage, as well as a follow up appointment a week later.  Let’s also not forget the physical therapy.  As I limped on out in my new accessory, I could only imagine what the hell I would look like walking around Honduras in this thing.  I called PC back and let them know the news; I was told that my vacation would be turned into med-evac.  Seeing as how I couldn't walk, this seemed fitting.

Cherry Blossoms in bloom

The boot goes for a field trip!

A few days later, I headed into the PC office, where I was met by my advisor, an awesome woman who helped me get my hotel and PC perdiem while in DC (the most important thing!).  I felt very fortunate to get this, since a few days later the gov looked like it would be shut down and I’d be living off the hot dog cart.  This past week I have started going to physical therapy, where the PT said my ankle is in bad shape (worse than I thought before), full of knots and not really able to move.  It seems my Chaco’s will be in the closet for awhile.  While it seems cool to be in DC, it is really cold right now (Hola, primavera, donde esta?) and I can’t really walk anywhere, so I have offered my services to the National Peace Corps Association and this coming week will be volunteering with them.  Not sure how long I’ll be here for now, but if you’re in the neighborhood, won’t you please be my neighbor?