Achy Breaky Leg

On July 3, Sylvia and I arrived home from work simultaneously, a reasonably rare occurence. We took the elevator up to our condo together, started down the hall, and as I was unlocking the door Sylvia fell down in just the wrong way and broke her tibia in three places.

I called 911. The ambulance took at least a half hour to arrive - emergency services in Aberta's major cities often experience such delays thanks to growth pressures. We were taken to the Royal Alex, then waited in the hallway with the paramedics for a couple of hours, Sylvia trying to manage the incredible pain as best she could. A doctor - or was it a nurse? - my memory probably isn't to be trusted - put on a splint. Then they called orthopedics. X-rays were taken, we moved from room to room, and by three in the morning, Sylvia had a proper bed in section 32. I arrived home at four, got a couple of hours sleep, then headed back to the hospital.

Sylvia was still on the waiting list for emergency surgery; they had to put a rod in her tibia to properly fix the break. More than a day later, the operation was done, and done well; the doctors expect a full recovery, though it's going to take a couple of months. Now Sylvia is recuperating at Grandview, undergoing physiotherapy. She'll probably be there at least a couple of weeks, though she's determined to get out sooner.

Fortunately, the health care professionals at the Alex and at Grandview have been superb. Sylvia's received excellent care, and I'm very grateful to everyone who has helped her recover thus far.

As might be expected, Sylvia's emotions are bouncing up and down a little at this point. But she's exceptionally brave and tough, two qualities that attracted me to her in the first place. The wedding is going ahead as planned, though we might have to make some different arrangements for Sylvia's walk down the aisle...she was thinking of getting one of those man-portable things that Cleopatra rode around in (at least in popular fiction). At least it'll fit into the movie theme...

(Sylvia gave me her blessing to blog about this bit of news; it just didn't feel right to blithely write about comic books or Star Trek after a serious accident like this.)