(from the accident report is in plaintext, my non-report related comments in italics
Exact Location Where injury/illness Occurred: __Outside of 369 South Warren Street ______________________it was on the Market Street side of the H&A (Health and Agriculture) building at that address.
Describe how injury/illness occurred: _I was walking in to work (I was running a bit late and was walking at speed) and caught my toe on an unevenness between two slabs of the concrete sidewalk before the steps, the uneveness is between the last slab and the one further out, it rises about an inch, and I think I placed my right foot just before that, and when I went to lift it, it caught and I couldn't compensate. I also might not have lifted it enough to clear the edge. I didn’t have a chance to catch myself and fell rolling right, given the injuries, hitting my head on the edge of the step, I heard a "krump" on impact, but not, thank god, a "crunch" as when a bone breaks.. Someone who was walking in at the same time as me, a white woman (I did not get names, people will be identified by gender) helped me sit up and let me hold her hand with my left hand while I tried to breath (it took me about a half to a full minute to catch my breath) I think I hit my ribcage hard and still have sore ribs, but only when I take a deep breath. Another person let me sit with my back to his legs until assistance came. Someone (unknown) got a wad of paper towels and held them there until I could take that over. I took the paper towels down at some point to see if the blood was clotting, but when I saw the glob of blood about an inch across on the top of the towels and everyone was loud, I put it back. Adrenaline is a strange thing. I asked someone to tell Steve (Dantine) and Dee (Demetre ... need her last name) that I'd be a bit late and they came out, along with Dave Kelly and Russel Smith (fellow contractors). I asked Dee to take my non-purse bags (work stuff/book, lunch, and knitting). She also took my glasses which had fallen off and had a deformed temple so I wouldn't lose them. Dee brought a blanket she had in the office out for me, because the concrete was cold and I guess I was starting to shiver. They stayed with me until the ambulance, I think. After the first bandage was put on, and it looked like the ambulance was delayed, they got an office chair, transferred me to it and rolled me up the ramp into the lobby of the building. That was scary, the seat wheels were low and the seat post caught on a couple of spots at the foot of the ramp, the top of it, and at the threshold). I called Farnk and told him I was going to the hospital and not to worry too much about me. (timestamp of call was 8:53am)
When the ambulance arrived, the paper with my information was handed over. I was able to get up on the stretcher with assistance, but I could stand. I was able to select Helene Fuld because it was close and had a trauma center, as opposed to St. Francis (also close, no trauma).
Describe the nature of the injury/illness: I opened a (deep) gash on my forehead just above my eyebrow (I think my eyesocket was protected by my glasses. I scraped my right hand (surface scrape), right knee (a layer of skin, through the denim) and right elbow (sore only) on the concrete, I hit the sidewalk hard enough to make it hard to breathe for about a minute. My ribs still hurt, but only when I take a deep breath. and mainly right where the underwires lie.
Was first Aid Administered? Yes/No, If type of First Aid Given: Someone let me hold her hand while I caught my breath, she kept hold of it until they put me on the chair. Another person got paper towels to hold to the cut, later, another person (the same person?) the person was first aid/emt certified got a first aid kit from the building and wrapped a bandage around my head/the cut. It was probably overkill, as it almost covered my right eye, but better too much than too little. I know the first aid/emt certified people there grumped at bit about having to replace supplies for the box, so a smaller pad might not have been available. I remember the back of my head hurt, but inside my skull, so it might have been the brain reacting to getting banged around inside my skull) ambulance was called, and another person also first aid/emt certified? took my information down to give to the paramedics. Someone (bandager?) took my blood pressure (it was 110 over something)
At the hospital, they put me in bay 21 and I was able to crawl into the bed on my own, though the paramedics stayed close and had hands out and ready. They took my information (no, no insurance, I was going to sign up, but after I got my first "real" pay check, which comes in on friday), listened to my story of the triage nurse at Mercer who despite having proof of insurance, implied that I wouldn't be seen if I didn't write them a check for at least the minimum ER visit payment). They replaced the "blind one eye" bandage put on at S. Warren with a smaller one, and I was able to get a selfie of the mess.
The ER staff also got to listen to me complain about having just washed my shirt. Luckily, I didn't get blood on my fleece vest or my overshirt.
Then they left me alone. I talked with a 70 year old man with a bad chest cold, but he was allowed to leave when they determined he didn't have pneumonia, and the old woman who came in after him got the curtain closed. When I realized I had dried blood on my throat I asked for and was given a warm wet wash cloth to clean it off. Then the brought me a neck brace, in case I'd strained that
Then I got bored and realized I should've kept at least my book with me. Someone brought me a 4 year old issue of WebMD. I read articles, waited, and they moved my bed out of the cubicle. Someone gave me a blanket (Dee's blanket stayed with Dee), and I was more bored. They did let me go to the bathroom on my own at least, but it was awkward washing my hands with an ot monitor on one finger, and a badly broken nail on the adjoining one. It took three requests for a bandaid or clippers before they brought me bandaids. No clippers allowed unless handled by a doctor, and I guess the doctors were all busy.
They took a CT scan of my neck and head to make sure I was okay there, then back to the hallway until they were ready to sew up my forehead. I told them about the scrape on my knee and they wanted to see that, too.
They didn't want to sew me up in the hallway, and moved me to an empty cubicle. They took the bandage off, washed the site with surgical scrub as gently as they could, it still hurt. The person doing the stitching (surgeon?) had an assistant/trainee. They gave me the local anasthetic. It hurt so much I started to cry, they let me have tissues for that, then I closed my eyes when they put a shield over my face to keep the area clear.
They needed to put in 3 layers of under-skin/dissolving stitches for the fat layer, the muscle sheath layer, and the sub-cutaneous layer, and then 11 stitches to hold the laceration closed. I was told fencing was off the table for the next two weeks.
They needed the bed and the cubicle after that, so I was demoted to a chair in the hall until I could be discharged. I was told I could take Tylenol (though ibuprofen was allowed, I don't like acetaminophen), nobody gave me any. The nursing (nursing assistant), took the collar and they tossed it. I asked her if she'd been verifying my name all day because of possible concussion, and she confirmed it, and let me know that my CT scan was clear, and I could be discharged, once a doctor took a look at my knee.
That took place in the trauma center, with all of us (me, the same nurse, and the doctor taking care not to contaminate anything, including us), where I dropped my pants and the doctor agreed that I'd scraped some skin off. She also washed some of the blood out of my hair, which I hand't gotten because it was covered by the bandage.
Frank called (timestamp of call was 2:05pm) when I was out in the hall in the chair again, and I told him I'd bee discharged "soon" and coujld he pick me up. He said he would, as he had some errands to run. He called when he got to the hospital, but I still wasn't sprung (timestanp of call was 2:35pm).
The ER told me I had to get the sutures checked in 2 days, and get them out in 5 days. That could be done at the ER if I didn't have a doctor, but it would be more expensive. I found out I didn't qualify for Medicaid because I am making too much, but I might for charity care for part of it.
The entrance Frank went to was the wrong one, but we met up, he took me back to the office where I got my things and told Dee and Steve I'd be in tomorrow and we went home. I told security that my vehicle would be staying in the parking lot overnight, but I'd pick it up tomorrow.
The next day I went to work on the bus, and walked down from State Street to the building ... I took the ramp up to the entrance, and put in a full day of work, checking in with Kevin Jennnings about timesheets and finding out if the accident would be covered under workman's comp (he thought it would be, because I was on my way into the office at the time.
I got forms from Apidel, who is my employer to fill out (extract above).
I'm going to see if one of the nurses in the building can take a look at the sutures to see if everything is okay, and if they don't or won't I'll go back to the ER after work. I'm trying to take pictures of the whole mess to document the progress. Today is an ugly bruise that's making my eyelid droop and swell and it's a lovely shade of "bruise"
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