Mind the Proprioceptors

Mind the proprioceptors--those hard working guardians of our homeostatic selves in space. I disregarded mine and thought I knew where my ankle was and went sprawling. I heard a tell tale snap crackle pop as my equally hard working ligaments or tendons tried making up for the disorientation of no communication from the proprioceptors. So lacking any spatial information they held the best line they could.

In simpler language, I twisted my ankle.

Since I had done this to my other ankle previously, I was writhing on the floor screaming my good ankle my good ankle like some cut-rate imitation of Richard's crying for a horse. I would have given my kingdom to have been safely upright.

And then crawling, hollering, ice and aspirin and adventures in health care in the north of Scotland. It was 6 miles into the village for the GP. I got a towel to keep my ice from dripping all over things as I melted and my GP sent me with a note to hospital for X ray. It was there I learned that I had temporarily lost my propriocepters. Hospital is about 30 miles away, considering we stopped home en route to get aspirin packet to say what dose I had taken.

It was a bad day in A and E or Casualty as it is called here. I was in a wheel chair and still dripping ice but I looked better than most of the folks waiting there. By the time I got to see a doctor and then got to X ray and back again, my ice had melted, but it had done its job. Instead of a large bruise and swelling I had just a couple goose-egg sized swellings around the ankle. Because X rays are done via computer now, I didn't get to see the inside of my leg. I got a tubie grip --an interesting textile, I still say although everyone looks at me funny whenever I say that. And a pair of crutches and I was off home. I was eager to leave the waiting room, which was as full as it had been several hours ago.

Now it's 4 days since the big event and I am well on the way to mending. Friends are telling me the funny things I said while I was on pain meds and I have traded my crutches for my hill walking sticks.