Today, I am writing from my home office desk, which is a huge milestone for me.  I have been waiting for this day to come for sometime.  I first had to do some house cleaning and put away many unpacked travel items from our Xmas trip to Redmond, Oregon.  After cleaning up, I realized how quickly time has passed by these last few weeks.  Currently, it's Week 4 for me and I am greatful for all the small achievements that I have accomplished and knowing I am on the mend.

Here are the highlights from the past few weeks.

WEEK 2: I felt my leg as a whole from my hips to my toes.
WEEK 3: I felt my leg starting to heal itself.  Near the major
                fracture zones I have had tingling sensations.
WEEK 4: I felt my leg wanting to walk and my muscles telling me so.

I have four weeks to go till I can bear any weight on my right foot but I am not discouraged.  I am looking towards the ray of sunshine peaking over the horizon -- everyday the sun becomes brighter upon my face.  And when I am down, I say this passage to myself and smile.

Breathing in, I calm my body.
Breathing out, I smile.
Dwelling in the present moment.
I know this is a wonderful moment.
 ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

Here are a few pictures showing the original fracture and the installed hardware ( two plates and plus+ twenty screws ).

My Broken Leg (12/27/2010)

Post Surgery (1/3/2011)

Doctor's Office Visit (1/11/2011)

[ Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/m4ttringstad (c) Matt Ringstad ]

It's such a beautiful day.  After waking up to snow falling for the first few hours of the morning, the sky has cleared up a bit with a bright blue sky peaking around the scattered clouds.

I have been enjoying my freedom - I am able to utilize my loaner wheelchair to get around the main part of the house and make myself a latte & my "green vortex" smoothie in the morning.  Yesterday, I was able to get out of the house and go watch Hans play Indoor Soccer at the Sportsplex in Downtown Bellingham.

[ Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/m4ttringstad (c) Matt Ringstad ]

Afterwards, I got my Boomer's Drive-In fix, a Bacon Swiss Cheeseburger, Waffle Fries, and a Chocolate Shake. Yummy to the tummy!!!

This past week, I have been thankful to receive phone calls, messages, warm meals, and visitors to have come by to chat with me and help with various chores around the house.

I had two angels show-up to help put away our Christmas decorations, trees, candles, ornaments, books, and various nicknack's.  That evening, Lynn came home from work surprised.  It was a big help to our family.

I had another friend call me on the phone and we ended up having a very long conversation.  This friend introduce me to Norman Cousins book called, Head First: The Biology of Hope and the Healing Power of the Human Spirit (1989), which was a National Bestseller.  I like this idea of using laughter as a way to help heal thyself.  Norman Cousins was an amazing person.  He was given the United Nations Peace Medal in 1971, and the Niwano Peace Prize in 1990.  Check this YouTube video from UC Berkeley interview (1984) with him on his "Quest for Peace". http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/conversations/Cousins/ 

A good friend of mine, Judyth Sult, showed up at my house a couple of days ago, and provided me a Reiki Treatment to help me feel better both emotionally and physically.  She has been a practitioner for over 10 years.  It was such a treat to have her come visit me and perform Reiki on me.  I was so grateful.

My goal today is to begin my journey to restore my body -- both physically and mentally using Yoga.  I am so honored to have Ingela Abbott of Yoga Northwest, a certified Senior Iyengar Yoga Instructor -- one of only two in the whole Northwest, to help in my journey towards vibrant health, inner peace and mindful living.  I will spending one day a week with her to help guide me in my journey.

Finally, I am doing so much better with a reduced amount of Percocet -- it made me so groggy and not able to focus too well.

This post is a chance for me to write about my experience from the last 48 hours...I apologize in advance if it's a little confusing to follow.  I am still using drugs these days to manage my pain level.

I woke up on Monday morning at 4:45am and gave goodbye hugs to both Liam & Hans - told them I will see them after my surgery after their school day.  Lynn helped me into the Eurovan and we headed to St. Joseph's Hospital in downtown Bellingham, Washington.  We arrived a little past 5:30am at the registration desk at the hospital.  My surgery was scheduled for 7:30am.

It has been +48 hours from the time that I woke up in the recovery room at the hospital.  There is no better way to explain my feelings when I woke up in recovery except - it was purely awful and it scared the hell out of me. Not knowing where I was and what had happened to me - were very disconcerting for me.  The last thing I remember before this frightful moment was laying on the operating room before surgery when the anesthesiologist says something to me and I was completely put under by general anesthesia.

My head was spinning, twirling, and whirling - and would not stop.  Within minutes after waking up, it seemed like I was taken directly to my hospital room.  At one point, on the way to my hospital room, I passed by a bank of windows and asked for the attendant to stop so I could soak in the sun.  Moments later, I was off again - heading for my hospital room where I found my wife waiting for me. I was in and out of consciousness not too alert or able to talk in a coherent manner.   There was some concern about my shallow breathing - my respiratory rate was very low.  I would slowly get to a point where I stop breathing then struggle anxious for a breath.

I could feel it that it would be some time before I was able have control over my senses and so I let myself ride it out. I felt bad when Liam and Hans came to see me that I would be talking with them and then all of a sudden - I would fall asleep.

I didn't really want anything to eat that evening for dinner and finally a little after 11pm I woke up.  My body came back into itself and I had come back to land of the living.  I sparked up a conversation with my roommate, Andrew, and it seemed we never stopped talking all night.  I was so thankful to be back as I ate lots of different treats like ice cream, pudding, jello, and brownies.  I was very lucky to have such an attentive registered nurse on the night shift.  She kept filling me & Andrew up with anything we asked for.

We talked about our kids, our wifes, and our lives - it was a very lively and energetic evening.  I was so happy to be feeling so much better since waking up from my surgery.

It's a wonderful day when I wake up to my son (Liam) baking croissants for his family.

[ Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/m4ttringstad (c) Matt Ringstad ]

I went to the Lions Club :. The Al Boe Wheelchair Warehouse today to find myself a nice wheelchair.  I just couldn't believe it when we drove away that I had a loaner wheelchair to use for the next 3 months.  The people at the warehouse were very helpful and accommodating to me.  And It made me realize - it's the small stuff that really matters.  I am not wanting to get into a self-pity mood.  I just realize that I haven't appreciated the small stuff as much as I should have over the years.  Having a broken leg seems to be a very humbling experience for me.  And I even ( really!!! ) enjoyed the Feng Shui flowers that my mother-in-law sent today.

I just got off the phone with my doc.  He explained to me that the fracture looks similar to what you might find in a car accident.  It's kinda like I was the car that ran into my leg. Hans, my son, recounted the accident to me.  He told me when I fell on the icy ramp - my right leg came down onto the edge of my snowboard and my entire body fell onto my right leg.  My left leg was twisted in the snowboard binding and I should have broken both my legs.  When I do something, I do it big and this time is no exception. It looks like I will be keeping weight off my right leg for the next 8 weeks. My goal is to recover enough so I can participate in the Seattle to Portland Bike Ride (STP) this coming Summer and go snowboarding with Liam & Hans next Winter.

[ Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bikeportland (cc) BikePortland.org Jonathan Maus ]

[ Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/m4ttringstad (c) Matt Ringstad ]

Thank you.

On Christmas Eve, I spent all day snowboarding with my parents (on skis), my two boys, and my wife at Hoodoo Ski Area.  We all were having a lot a fun; hanging out in the lodge for lunch, snowboarding in the fog, and enjoying a light snow fall for most of the day.  After lunch, Lynn, my wife, had called it quits for the day and went to wait in our VW Eurovan with Amber, our dog.  I pressed on with the kids and my parents.  We all got a chance to take a couple of runs together, then around 3pm, determined as ever, I told the gang - "let's go up to the top of the mountain for our last run of the day."  I had wanted to get my boys up to the top of the mountain before the end of the day.  Liam & Hans didn't really want to go and my parents were looking a bit tired, but we all made it onto the chair lift.

[ Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoodoo_(ski_area) (cc) Jeffreykopp ]

The ski lift chairs were a bit small but the three of us (Liam, Hans, & myself) managed to squeeze onto a chair with my parents following on a chair behind us.

Going up.  The three of us joked on the way up the chair - getting ready for our final run for the day.  As I always do - I start to go through the checklist before the offramp "Ok guys, let's get our boards straight, go straight off the chair, and make it past the orange cone."  Liam & Hans were ready.  I made a mental note that the three of us were really crammed together on the chair and I knew it would be a bit of push & shove getting off the chair.

As we started to descend off the chair, I looked down the offramp and noticed some ice - it was going to be slippery as I went.  Boom!!! I hit hard and my legs were tangled up with my board.  Once I picked myself up, I knew instantly that I had broken my leg.  It was kinda strange to see my right boot (foot) was flopping around a bit.  I didn't know what to think except I knew I had broken my leg.  I began to start assessing the situation and preparing myself for the first aid response.  I had anticipated that I would be going into shock and not sure if I would make it down to the bottom of the ski hill before I became unconscious.  Luckily, that scenario never happened - I never did loose consciousness.

I yelled over to my mom to let her know that I had broken my leg.  I waved to the lift operator to let him know I broke my leg and ask for help.  Luckily, the ski patrol hut was only 10 feet behind me and three or four ski patrol came rushing out of the building to help me.

At first, they checked me and asked what happen.  They had me try to walk on my leg and it was a definite "no go" - I felt shooting pain up my leg and quickly sat back down.  Instantly, the ski patrol brought a toboggan to me and put my leg in a splint box.

I called my wife, Lynn, from my cellphone to let her know "get the car running - I broke my leg."  Her response was "WHAT?".

My boys and my parents were able to ride a ski lift chair down to the bottom of the hill.  I got a chance to make sure Liam and Hans knew that I would be OK.  I assumed Liam, my oldest, would be the big worrier but it ended up being Hans, the tough guy.  It made my heart ache -- seeing him so worried about me.  Liam made sure his brother, Hans, was comforted on the ride to the bottom of the hill.  I am so grateful for both my boys.  Afterwards - the next day, I come to find out that Hans was so worried about me because he thought the ski patrol were going to lose their grip and I would end up flying down the hill in the toboggan - crashing and dying.  Wow, knowing where Hans was mentally - it really moved me.

At first they were going to lay my body flat for the ride and I said, "heck no - if we crash, I want to see where I am heading."  A soft bench chair was placed in the toboggan.

The ski patrol lifted me into the toboggan.  And I was on my way down the hill.

I was brought into the Ski Patrol building and placed onto a medical bed.  The ski patrol were very nice and professional - checking my vitals, making sure I was kept warm & comfortable, and waiting with me until the ambulance arrived from Sisters.

[ Source: http://www.sistersfire.com/ ]

Once the Medic Unit arrived, the lead Paramedic began assessing my condition to determine if I should need transport via the Advanced Life Support.

At this point, my wife was with me and watching the whole thing go down.  I was very direct and assertive - making sure that I was being taken care of - top notch service.  All she could do was smile and apologize for me.  At one point, she tells them, "he isn't the easiest patient."  I then look at the lead medic and let him know that I had done some volunteer work with Whatcom County Fire District No. 4 in Bellingham, Washington.  He re-assured me that they were looking out for my best interests and he understood where I was coming from.

First, the lead medic cut my long underwear from the bottom up to my knee.  It was so awesome - he made sure to cut it up the seam so I could eventually mail them back to Patagonia for a free repair.  At one point, the medics needed to take my boot off and there again - I took control.  I explained every single little detail to the medics on how-to take my boot off my foot.  It was amazing - my boot was taken off so easily that I didn't feel anything tug or pull during the process.  Luckily, my bone wasn't sticking out of my skin.  And my vitals were OK with my blood pressure coming down.  I had a fairly high blood pressure - when I initially showed up at the bottom of the hill, which indicates I was in shock.

I had the medics and ski patrol help get me into my Eurovan with my wife driving and my boys with my parents in the other car.  Off to the Emergency Room at St. Charles Hospital in Redmond, Oregon.

Arriving into Redmond, I was taken by wheelchair into the ER and setup in a trauma room.  "Do you want drugs? , Do you want drugs? , Do you want drugs?" - all the nurses kept asking me if I needed anything for the pain.  And honestly, it didn't feel too painful.  The pain was manageable without any drugs.  The doc came into assess my situation and I explained the whole ordeal over again - which must have been the third or fourth time telling someone what had happened to me.  "I broke my leg."

I was taken to the Radiologist for X-Rays to find out how bad it really was.  It didn't help matters when one of the nurses told me that I may be going into surgery tonight.  My first thought was get me out of here.  I went to the Redmond Hospital out of convenience - if I was to have surgery - I would be going to Bend. Period.

[ Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/m4ttringstad/ (c) Matt Ringstad ]

The doctor came into the room after he had reviewed the X-Rays.  I still remember his face - so vivid in my memory banks - when he said "Are you sure you don't want drugs?.  He tells me that I had broken both the Fibula and the Tibia.  If it had only been the Fibula, then it would have been any easy fix.  So the next thing he tells me is I may need surgery tonight - and he would be talking to the Orthopedic Doctor for a consultant prior to any decisions being made.  At this point, I am mentally climbing the walls of the trauma room - no way am I having surgery here.  Get me out of here.

Finally, the doctor comes back and let's me know that he will be discharging me.  Yippee!!!  He had consulted with the Orthopedic Doctor and since everything looked in-line that I may not need surgery.  And even if I need surgery, they would need to wait for the swelling to go down before then.  The doctor also mentioned that it is a good idea to have whomever is going to conduct the surgery to be the one to follow me through the recovery and rehabilitation process.  After the doctor leaves, the nurses came into the trauma room to put a hard split on my leg for the trip home to Bellingham, Washington.

I leave the hospital in a wheelchair with X-Rays in my hand.  I am helped onto the bench seat of my Eurorvan.  I take some pain pills, sit back to relax, and try to keep my head from spinning from all the activities from the last few hours replaying in my head as my wife and I drive towards my parents home at Eagle Crest in Redmond, Oregon.

My new life adventure begins...