It has been a crazy week. Two or three people might’ve noticed that I didn’t post a blog last week. Rather than wax lyrical, I’ll get right to the action: I was at the hospital with my husband, who broke his arm Saturday night.
The short version of how he did it is, he fell some ten-twenty feet or so down a ravine leaving a festival. I was with a couple of friends and had planned to meet him in the parking lot. He shouldn’t have gone into the dark, wooded area between the festival and parking area, and a rent-a-cop security guard definitely shouldn’t have directed him there, but that’s what happened. He came stumbling up out of the woods on the other side looking like he’d come out the wrong side of a UFC match, and his arm is broken in five places.
The creepy thing? In my second novel Time’s Fugitive, a guy fell down into a ravine because it was dark, and broke his arm. I wrote that probably eight years ago, but still… weird! At least there weren’t bad guys chasing my husband.
He is due to have surgery Tuesday–couldn’t have it last week, because his arm is scraped up and that needed to heal somewhat first. So I have been playing nurse and not getting much writing done.
It’s amazing how many things are difficult, if not impossible to do with only one arm. Opening a granola bar package. Getting toothpaste. Tightening a loose towel rack. All things he tried to do while I was at work, things most of us take for granted. But he’s doing OK, and he’s keeping a good attitude about it. We are grateful to have family and friends to help, too.
We are just thankful it wasn’t worse. To put things into perspective, one of my husband’s best friends had a major stroke a couple days earlier and most likely will never walk or speak clearly again. He’s only 51.
What I read this week (and last): Revelation, by Maria McKenzie. This is Book Three in the Unchained Trilogy, and mostly focused on Selina, the granddaughter of an escaped slave whose actress mother appeared white and “passed” as such. At the end of Book Two, Masquerade, she’d convinced Selina that life would be so much easier for her if she did the same and pretended her black relatives didn’t exist. Revelation takes Selina through the second, third, and fourth decades of the twentieth century, through marriage, motherhood, and reconnecting with her dark twin brother. Unlike her mother, Selina is a sympathetic character, for we see how she’s constantly torn by the choice she made, up to where the book ends with her great-grandchildren in 1998. A fantastic, enjoyable read and highly recommended!
ROW80 Update: Before my husband’s injury, I finished a scene, and most of another, which I finished this past week. I hope to get another done this week between helping him, so we’ll see how that goes.
Do you have any examples of life imitating something you’re read (or written!) in a book? Have you read any good books lately? How are your goals going, whatever those may be? Please share–I’d love to hear from you! Also, any prayers and good thoughts for my husband and his friend are welcome!
Jennette Marie Powell writes stories about ordinary people in ordinary places, who do extraordinary things and learn that those ordinary places are anything but. In her Saturn Society novels, unwilling time travelers do what they must to make things right... and change more than they expect. You can find her books at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Kobo, iTunes, and more.
I hope your husband comes through his surgery without incident and his arm heals. I’ve had to learn to cope with one usable arm, and it’s a big adjustment, so I hope he regains use of it before long.
What kind of stroke did your husband’s friend have? Mine (also when I was almost 51) was a hemorrhagic one, where a blood vessel ruptured in my head. The other major type is ischemic, caused by a clot that moves to the brain. That one is a little easier to come back from.
Take care of yourself! Sometimes writing needs to take a back seat to the rest of your life. Be sure and let the two or three of us how things go.
What a thing to happen! I’m glad your husband seems to be okay, and that his injuries weren’t even worse! It’s very freaky how you had written about this very same scenario. It gave me chills when I read that. I’m terribly sorry to hear about your husband’s friend’s stroke, too. What a week!
It’s astonishing when we feel we already have as much as we can possibly handle on our plate, and then some emergency makes us have to revise all our plans and schedules. I’m trying to always keep a little open space on my schedule for those unexpected occurrences. Last week must have been the one for accidents. My husband’s (and my) handsome, 24-year- old nephew was hit by a car while on his bike. His face and shoulders got pretty banged up, but shockingly, no damage to his eyes or teeth. No concussion. He looks a mess after plastic surgery, but the swelling is slowly going down and doctors have assured his parents that his face won’t be permanently disfigured. Since he can’t eat solid food, I made him a pureed soup that I know he loves and my husband and I spent Sunday afternoon with him and his family. We don’t’ care about the time involved. We are just so glad he’s okay.
Keep us posted on your husband and his friend, please. And hang in there!
Wow–scary. Sending good thoughts your way!
I’m plugging along with my goals. I have a new deadline for a project, but I keep getting sidetracked with wanting to work on a different one. :/ I kind of have time to switch if I want, but I can’t make up my mind!
So sorry to hear about your husband’s accident. I wish him a speedy recovery. Take care, Jennette!
John, I was thinking of you, both because of our friend’s stroke and my husband’s broken arm! I don’t know what kind of stroke, only that hes “in there” mentally but there was a lot of damage to the lower left portion of his brain where I guess most motor control comes from. He also has an aneurysm, so I’m guessing maybe the first one?
Lynette, so glad your nephew is OK! My husband’s face was cut up pretty bad in the fall, and he fractured the orbital area of his skull, but his face seems to be healing pretty well, aside from some numbness. Good thoughts for your nephew’s recovery – and thanks!
Coleen and Denise, thanks!
Hi, Jennette,
I did notice you weren’t here last week and hoped you’d gone on another research trip to Kentucky for interesting historical tidbits.
I’m sorry about your husband’s arm and am horrified it’s broken in FIVE places. A motorcycle accident couldn’t slow him down, and considering he tried to fix a towel bar one-handed, he’ll cope with the bad arm better than most, but five places!
Your husband’s perspective is sharper than most because of his friend’s stroke. Fifty-one? Im so sorry.
Oh Jennette, I do hope that your hubby will be okay. That is so terrible. When things like this happen, it has a tendency to alter your schedule. It’s perfectly normal my friend. You know my hubby was rear-ended three and a half years ago. Its been one surgery after another. He’s due for another one soon. So you can appreciate why I don’t blog every week, nor do I get a lot of writing done. How can you when your going to doctors and hospitals, test, etc. In reality, family comes first. So it’s important that you don’t make yourself frustrated because of this. Look at your dear husband’s friend. A stroke a fifty-one is young, but not unusual anymore. There are crazy things happening out there Jennette. Please take care. You can only do so much. Give your puppy a big hug! 🙂
Thanks, Pat and Karen! He had surgery Tuesday and all went well, thank goodness. His friend is doing a little better too – he called my husband and was speaking more clearly. I’ll update more next week!
Jennette, I’m so sorry about your husband. How awful. So glad to read that the surgery went well. Its pretty freaky that you wrote about a similar incident in one of your novels eight years earlier–Twilight Zone anyone?
And thanks so much for the free promo! With all that you went through, I really appreciate you taking the time to add that to your post!
Maria, thanks! And I love talking about books I enjoy–and I enjoyed all of yours a lot!