Mechanical bull + Rob = Broken back.
Yes, that's what I said. Tuesday night Rob had an after-work party at Cadillac Ranch, a restaurant in Tempe Marketplace. Dutifully taking his turn and after signing the waiver, he got on the bull somewhat boasting that he was raised on a ranch. The restaurant employee took that as a challenge and spun him around a dozen times then wrenched it the opposite direction. Rob flew off and landed on the back of his neck, then his feet flipped over his head. He said he heard his whole spine pop all the way down. He was stunned for a moment a, then rolled over and got up. His back hurt, but he shook it off for a whole couple minutes, then it got progressively worse. He called me to come and get him knowing that he wouldn't be able to drive home. He started losing feeling in his right leg and they eventually called the paramedics. I showed up at the restaurant in time to see him being strapped down to a board. They were taking no chances. I met the ambulance at Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn Hospital.
I waited for approximately 30 minutes (reading the last book in the Twilight series *awesome*) then went back to see him. We waited another 90 minutes for him to get some pain meds. He said it was the most painful thing he had ever felt. He first dose of morphine didn't quite do it for him and they gave him another dose about an hour later. He went for a CAT scan. Then we waited again for the results. My dear friends the Hulls let my kids spend the night so I didn't need to worry about them.
We got the results back and it showed a compression fracture of L1 which is somewhere below the middle back. No surgery is needed thank goodness, but he will be off of work and any stress for about 6 weeks give or take, then 3-6 weeks of physical therapy. He was very lucky.
We had to get his car from the parking lot, so once I knew he would be out for a while, I said goodbye until morning and called my first ever babysitter who is now getting married, picked her up and she helped to drive it to his work parking lot where my other good friends, the Reeds, picked it up the next day and drove it home.
I drove home after that, got about 3 hours of sleep and got up, cleaned up for a while, waited for my kids to wake up. My friend Gina called to ask what was going on. She told me that Jacob was upset, I had him come home. He cried a little and I told him Dad would be fine, it would just take a while to heal. He felt better. Funny how the only time I cried was when I saw him crying. Jacob sure does have a tender heart under all that funny guy stuff.
I got the kids situated with the help of more friends and went back to the hospital. The only reason he couldn't leave earlier was because he couldn't endure the ride home. The Reeds (wonderful as they are) let me borrow their van. We folded all the seats down and put a mattress in the back of it. He was finally discharged at about 4 in the evening Wednesday. He was able to get in to the van and we had a not-so-fun for him drive home. He was able to walk upstairs (I wasn't sure I could carry him), made a bed for him on the floor and he's been there ever since. Our friend Tim Hull installed bars in the bathroom to make it easier for him. We did have to go to our primary doctor the next day, again NOT fun, to get some muscle relaxers. They seemed to help a lot with the pain. So he is just trying to rest now and get better.
I want to thank all the people that have helped us, from our kids, to meals being brought in, to car borrowing, to bars installed, to blessings offered and given, to just plain support and love given. We are definitely blessed to help such a wonderful support group. And also thanks to our Lord and Savior who never gives us anything we cannot handle. I'll update later. Love to all!!!
