DAMAGE!

On Saturday Nan and I went boating at Jordanelle State Park (near Park City) with some friends. We had a lot of fun on a 3-man tube behind the boat.

We were about to leave, but decided to go back out for 30 more minutes to try out a rope swing. We made our way to the rope, and took turns swinging down the side of the hill and into the water. Here is a video of Kurt.

On one of my turns I decided to start from higher on the hill to get more air. The pressure was on since several boats of people had gathered around to watch us, including one with several ladies. I climbed up as high as the rope would reach and launched myself. On the way down, I noticed that the end of the rope was twisted tightly around my ankle. I needed to get it loose quickly; if not, I would jump off, only to end up dangling by my foot and crashing back into the land. I let go of the rope with one arm and tried to get my foot out. After three quick attempts, I realized I wouldn't be free in time. I was careening back toward the land, headed straight for a huge stump (pictured at the bottom left of the video screenshot above). I curled up in a ball to protect my side and smashed into the stump with a loud thud. My right side hit directly--mainly my right arm, ribs, and thigh. I then bounced back over the water and dropped in. Fortunately, by now my foot had somehow been untangled. As I surfaced in the water, I saw lights, and felt a bit dizzy. I was in serious pain.

Here is the video of my attempt. You can see me trying to untangle my foot. Unfortunately, Nan was the one taping, so as soon as the trouble started, she panicked and moved the camera away to get a better look herself. When the picture goes bad, you will hear her worried voice; then just listen closely for the thud. (If you want to see the stump that I hit, look again at Kurt's video above.)

I dog paddled to the shallow water and was met by worried onlookers. I stayed in the water for a minute and then slowly got out. I think the adrenaline was in high gear because I was able to walk--sort of, although I was already feeling pretty bad pain in my legs and ribs . Four ladies on a nearby boat jumped in the water and swam over, calling out that they were nurses. They made sure that I sat still for a few minutes, but they didn't find anything life-threatening. The ride back in the boat was terrible as the pain became apparent. We got to the shore, Nan ran to the car, and I hobbled in, and we drove back to Salt Lake. Nan's biggest concern was that she had not captured it all on video for her blog. Mine was that we were going to end up owing extra money for our babysitter. Speaking of money, I made sure we went to an Instacare Facility instead of an Emergency Room.

They did a few tests and x-rays, but found nothing obvious. On the way home the doctor called and said she found blood in my urine sample. That--and the fact that I could not put any weight on my leg--concerned me enough that a few hours later I went to the ER so they could do a CT scan. Nan came with me and we listened to Harry Potter. The doctor thought I broke my pelvis since I couldn't stand on it, but all the tests came back fine. The blood was gone, and I was able to come home.

Before I left the hospital the doctor told me for a few days it would feel like I was in a car wreck. Well, he was right. I woke up with a throbbing headache, my ribs hurt as did my legs, arms, back, and neck. I smashed into the log on my right side, so that's where most of the pain is. I can move all of my limbs, but can't put any pressure on my leg still. The doctor is concerned about this and said I would need an MRI if I still can't stand by Tuesday. I'm hoping it gets better by then. Nan's still just sad about the video not turning out, since it would have driven up the blog stats.