After I had my surgeries in France, I went to Aix en Provence for a week with my sister in law, girlfriend and her husband. I wanted to have a 'party' after 2 months in a facility recovering from my 2 surgeries (5 prodiscs). The second day there, I was walking through a square and almost got hit in the head with an 'errant' soccer ball! I just froze, thinking what that could do to me 4 weeks after getting the 3 new discs in my neck! It taught me not to go out without my neck brace (I was also in a body brace for the lumbar disc replacements (2))
Two days later, I was walking around by myself and fell down a couple of stairs (could not see them due to the #$%& neck brace!). I badly twisted my knee and landed right on my stomach (wearing all braces). I could not get up. The wonderful French people gave me some ice for my knee, called the gendarmes, who called the paramedics. I eventually ended up in the ER in Aix. They exrayed my knee...nothing broken. They also felt that I had not done any damage to the surgicized areas. But, I spent the last 4 days of my 'party' in bed with ice on my knee. While my friends were out exploring, site seeing and going out to dinner. I ate a lot of omelets in my room by myself! On the plane coming home, I caught an intestinal bug. (My digestive track wasn't happy with me to begin with, not after being disembowled in the surgery and falling on it 8 weeks after surgery). I cold not eat, had diarrhea and that made me toss the rest of my meds...could not take them on an empty stomach. So, I went 'cold turkey' off of meds, except for an occasional muscle relaxant or pain pill at night. I had pain at the top of the thoracic, going down the arms, numbness, pain etc, after the cervical surgery. It is pretty good now, but my body does not like working on the computer...no part of it!
The story is funny now, but it was not at the time of the Great Fall in Aix en Provence.
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