That's why

they call them accidents. Ugh. It wasn't my turn! I was so looking forward to a summer of activities including biking...after feeling so badly last summer prior to the Graves' Disease diagnosis.

No energy, abdominal pain, muscle and weight loss. Plus high anxiety. I was a mess. So I was determined to return to my "fun girl" self this year. Meds have brought my thyroid under control. It's amazing to feel better. I've been walking and felt ready to add biking to the mix - putting about 30 miles on my lovely steed Albie.

old pic of Albie - on right

Finally the city opened up the trail under I-35 which adds a world of trails to us. Yay! After a long day at work Wednesday, we decided to take advantage of the gorgeous day and ride to Saints - just down off 50th for a meal and a beer on the patio. It's about a 5 mile round trip.

We weren't the only ones with that idea. We saw Bill and Kathy Matthews there. They are the couple we purchased our townhome from. Huge bikers themselves, Kathy plans to ride from Iowa City to Washington DC soon - and she must be around 70 years old as they just celebrated their 50th anniversary. Very cool people.

Then our niece Barb and her daughter Mandy stopped by our table. They were there with another mom and daughter pair. Sometimes West DM is a small place!

I chose to have one beer only - so I wasn't wobbly on my bike on the route back. And I had a big salad with a whole chicken breast. It almost felt like we were on vacation for that short time - it was a lovely evening.

Until the trip home. We were so close to our house when I made a bad decision - to pass a woman on the grass. When I tried to re-enter the sidewalk, my upper body strength wasn't enough to pull the bike back up and I flopped down - hitting on my elbow on the grass on the other side of the narrow sidewalk. I heard something pop - with pain. My head bounced but not bad. There was a scrape on my knee. My hip hurt. It was about 7:30 p.m. Maybe I should have had a second beer - that fall would have been easier?

I knew I needed to go to an emergency room. Paul and I walked our bikes home - about a block. Then we headed to Methodist West, right next to DMOS, where my shoulder surgeon resides during daytime hours. Emergency was a zoo. I finally had an X-Ray about 2 hours in. The docs, tech and nurses were all very nice. Broken shoulder was the diagnosis.

You can't put a cast on a shoulder. You can just put it in a sling and take pain meds because it's very painful. I could feel it grind around a little. I had a few choice words for myself. What a stupid thing to do. Now this summer will be shot as well...

I called my surgeon at DMOS the next day - Dr. Schulte. They snuck me in and one more XRay confirmed the diagnosis. I'll go back in a month to see how it's healing. The break is near the armpit. Pop! $(%*#

It's likely to freeze back up. Nice. At least this time there will be a reason. Sleeping isn't easy. I've been taking the pain meds as directed. Atlantic buddy Patrick Hayes has a similar injury. He gave me some tips. I'm worried about turning into a big gelatinous blob this summer - need to figure out how to get some exercise. With this pain level, that isn't happening though.

God bless Paul Goldsmith for doing laundry and opening my car door as needed. He's been a saint!

Work will be interesting. That goodness I have some flexibility regarding working offsite. I will meet with my supervisor next week. My left hand isn't the strongest...but working on the laptop is preferable to a standing work station at the Wallace Building (with real mice).

They say 4-6 weeks for the sling. Then the aftermath. It's going to be another long summer - but at least this time I know what's going on! Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.