Long week

It has been a long, busy week, and not in the best of ways.

Thursday, April 15th

I went for a short, easy ride last Thursday evening after conducting a day-long aroma panel for my wine research. Ted was going to come down from Spokane that evening after doing a short ride himself, and then we were going to get ready to head to Walla Walla for the Tour of Walla Walla Stage Race.

I was about 15 minutes from home when my phone rang. It was Ted, telling me he was lying on the side of the road after being hit by a car. When I asked if he was okay, he said, "No. I'm in a lot of pain and I think my leg is broken." He told me the ambulance was coming, but he didn't know which hospital he would be taken to.

While I rode home (quickly!), I made phone calls to family to let them know what had happened, and that I would be heading to Spokane immediately. I grabbed the dog, a change of clothes, and headed to Spokane, arriving at Sacred Heart at 8:15. After 23 x-rays and lots of wound cleaning (his elbows were completely thrashed... and filled with rocks - not pebbles - rocks!), it was determined that his left ankle and right wrist were broken. The driver had hit Ted from behind going 55 mph a couple miles south of Cheney. I left the ER at 2 am, and headed with Hitcher to a hotel to get some sleep.

Friday, April 16th

Up at 7, thanks to the dog, a quick bagel for breakfast (first food since lunch the day before), and back to the hospital. After a look at the x-rays by the orthopedic surgeon, Ted was told he would not be heading home that day. I hung out for a bit, ran to Rite Aid to grab him some things, and then headed back to Pullman to take care of the cats, grab clothes, and to take Hitcher to the kennel to be boarded.

Mom and Dad drove to Pullman to pick me up, and headed to Spokane with me. After a visit to Ted, we had a fantastic dinner at Sante.

Saturday, April 17th

After a quick breakfast at the hotel, we headed back to the hospital to visit Ted. We were there for his PT session, which really showed just how limited his mobility would be. His PT also said that he would likely not be going home until Monday.

At this point, Ted had a roommate for the first time - an inconsiderate, old priest, who left the lights and TV on all night, and was rude to the nurses (Ted nicknamed him "Padre Prick). As this roommate limited visiting, we decided I should head back to Pullman for the night, so I stopped in Cheney to pick up Ted's car, and headed home to have a martini and salad bar, and to visit the cats.

Sunday, April 18th

Decided I should make myself go for a bike ride before heading back up to Spokane. The weather was beautiful, which helped my motivation, but didn't keep me from constantly looking over my left shoulder. After a shower and a light lunch (Haagen-Dazs Pistachio Ice Cream), I headed back to Spokane for a short visit. Left the hospital around 8:30, and headed home for a quick dinner of Safeway pizza.

Ted had been told that he would possibly leave the hospital the next day, so the plan was for me to head back to Pullman again, pick up Hitcher Monday morning, and wait to see if I would drive back up, or if Ted's uncle, Bruce, would drive him down to Pullman.

Monday, April 19th

Ted had more x-rays taken of his ankle to see if it was looking like he would need surgery. So far, so good. He was told he would be able to go home in the afternoon. Sure enough, things took far longer than they should have, and Ted didn't get home until after 6. Bruce very kindly drove him down, and our nice neighbor physicians helped to get him in the house (and gave him a welcome home Black Butte Porter complete with hot pink straw!).

Tuesday, April 20th

Ted's awesome sister, Corrina, flew over from Seattle to stay with us for a few days. Otherwise, not an eventful day, though sleep was hard to come by in our little house; this was due to pain for Ted, and due to cats for me (sidenote: tape used for wound care is apparently very fun to throw around in the middle of the night if you are a cat).

Wednesday, April 21st

A day at home. Corrina cooked and cleaned for us. I walked Hitcher and got my Stats project done.

Thursday, April 22nd



Woke up to rain, so opted for no bike ride again. Tomorrow will be a day for a ride. We got Ted settled in the car, folding down the back seats of the car, covering them with a moving pad and an unzipped sleeping bag, and propping his ankle with lots of pillows. Off to Spokane we went for two meetings - one with Ted's mortgage guy, and one with his orthopedic surgeon. Oh, and a stop in Cheney along the way. Bad news: Ted will have ankle surgery Wednesday. Good news: Ted is getting closer to having his house! After the appointments, we drove Corrina by the house, and stopped at Latah Bistro, as a treat from Mom and Dad.

Corrina leaves Saturday at 3:20. Her help has been awesome. Ted and Corrina's mom, Ellie, arrives Saturday at 2:55 and will stay for a week. And, I will be doing a collegiate road race and crit her in Pullman/Moscow this weekend. Time for one of us to get back out there. And now, time for bed.