Lickity Split, Banana Slip!

Have you ever had your life flash before your eyes? Well, last week (the day after my trip to Ikea), I thought my life was over. I was at the deli, and, like most days, it was quite busy, but everyone was in good spirits & all was well right up to closing time... almost. You see, an hour before closing, I was about to go on a ten minute break, when I heard my co-worker say my name. He was about to tell me something, but I never got to hear what it was because I was suddenly air born, performing the most unbelievable banana slip ever. Up I went, down I fell, and then… nothing.

When I finally came to, I could hear voices all around me, but I still couldn't open my eyes to see or my mouth to speak. My co-workers kept saying my name and asking me if I was OK, but all I could do was lie there. I couldn't feel anything and I was terrified because the only thing going through my mind was when my best friend (my roommate) broke his neck in a freak accident when he was 16. He was training to go to the Olympics in platform diving (yes, he was that good), and his accident left him paralyzed for a year. In fact, he was told that he’d never walk again, but thank God the doctors were wrong.

Anyway, the more my co-workers talked to me, the more I started coming around, and I was able to open my eyes & ask them what happened. They told me that I'd slipped on some water (that’s what my co-worker was trying to warn me about before), crash landed on my head, and was out cold for a couple of minutes. Meanwhile, I still couldn't move anything below my neck. This is it, I kept thinking to myself. This is where my life ends, on the floor of a deli. I was so scared, I started to cry. One co-worker immediately got up to call 911, and the other did his best to reassure me that I was going to be fine.

As we waited for the ambulance to arrive, I calmed down enough to realize that I could actually feel something. My head was killing me! Then, slowly but surely, I started to feel everything all the way down to my toes again. (Thank you, God, thank you!!) By the time the paramedics arrived 20 minutes later, I was sitting up. After assessing my injuries, they wanted to see if I could stand up, so they helped me to my feet. OMG was I ever dizzy. So very dizzy that I threw up. (Gross, I know.) The paramedics sat me back down and told me that I definitely had a concussion and needed a CT scan. Well, the last place I wanted to go was the hospital, so I told them that I'd be fine and would go see my doctor in the morning. They said that I needed to get the CT scan done the next day for sure. They then gave me some Tylenol for the pain and told me to get someone to take me home & keep an eye on me for the next little while.

The next morning, after a night of practically no sleep (I was too busy having dreams about landing on my head), I rolled myself out of bed and just about fell flat on my face. "Hello, hello -- I’m at a place called Vertigo." Holy crap, I thought, am I even going be able to get my a** to the doctor today? Well, it took a while, but I did manage to get there in one piece, and then it was off to the hospital for my CT scan, where, by the time all was said and done, I spent almost 7 hours. SEVEN FREAKIN' HOURS!!!!!! Anyway, after reviewing the results of my CT scan, the ER doctor told me that I had a severe concussion & extreme whiplash. He also said that I was one very lucky woman. Translation: He couldn't believe that I hadn't snapped my neck when I landed on my head. OMG, I shudder just thinking about it.

Anyway, I was supposed to be off work for two weeks, but I went back after 5 days. I know, I’m stubborn, but I was going stir crazy. Basically, I’m doing as much work as one can do sitting down (ex. making sandwiches) because of the lingering dizziness. So, nothing too stressful, but work nonetheless. I’m just so unbelievably grateful that I was able to get up off that floor.

JB