Paul Baker, who has grossed us all out at work with his many injury photos.
Tonight I was walking home after work from the supermarket and I was pretty weighted down. Big heavy backpack on my back: Check. Heavy bag of groceries in one hand: Check. Heavy purse in the other: Check. I came to that liquor store on School and Damen and there were some papers and leaves on the ground, but what I didn’t see was the circle of plastic, like a loop, a strap. Basically that thing lassoed itself around both of my feet and I face planted onto the ground. And since I was carrying to much weight it seemed to only take a millisecond and have an enormous amount of force. All I heard was the noise of the bag, but I’m pretty sure I made some sort of scream/grunt too. A guy in the liquor store made sure I was ok. I stood up and thought my pants legs would be gone, they were still there, but I just walked as quickly as I could home, everything stinging - I could tell there were some injuries. It was about a 10 minute walk.
The damages? Skinned right palm with a flap of skin hanging. Skinned and bruised left knee. My right knee isn’t skinned but is developing a really big purple bruise. It feels really deep. Both of my wrists are sore and my shoulders hurt too. I guess it was just that jarring. I don’t know what I’ll will be like in the morning but I have a feeling it’s gonna get worse. Right now I’m already hobbling around and the stairs are pretty impossible. I just feel throbbing all over the place right now.
9 responses so far ↓
1 jp // Sep 27, 2006 at 11:55 pm
ahhhh…life in Chicago. Just wait till the ice sets in. hope you heal up quickly! : )
2 Mom // Sep 28, 2006 at 6:44 am
Oh My! Wash that palm well!Antiseptic! Get a cart! Feel better =)
3 Nan // Sep 28, 2006 at 7:59 am
I know what that’s like. I fall all the time. I’m the biggest clutz.
4 rachelle // Sep 28, 2006 at 10:21 am
jp - have fallen on the ice. many times.
mom - i have a cart but i was just running quick when i got off the train on the way to work.
nan - dallas would argue that i’m worse, im sure. but this wasn’t my clutziness.. it was like if someone tied a rope around your feet as you were walking.
This morning didn’t really help matters - it took me 2 hours to get to work today and I had to stand the whole time! My knees are killing me. Apparently there’s a piece of rail missing between Belmont and Armitage. We sat at Belmont for at least a half hour. Then all the Brown Line trains were rerouted to the Red Line, which fucks the Red Line up too. Finally we were going on the Red Line, slow.. but going, and then around like North/Clybourne we had to sit for another like 20 mintues because there was a medical emergency at Chicago and they had to call an ambulance. Got off finally at Washington/State and then had to walk to the West Loop, which is just about a mile away. Fun day.
5 Paul Baker // Sep 28, 2006 at 10:43 am
That reminds me, I never did post the pictures of my hand to my blog. I really need to do that. Yeah and the CTA sucked this morning that’s for sure.
6 Aunt Susie // Sep 28, 2006 at 9:13 pm
Geez Rachelle. You poor thing. How awful. Take it easy.
7 Angi // Sep 28, 2006 at 10:08 pm
We downstate (Bloomington) are sorry to hear about your fall, Rachelle. Please take it easy for the next several days to a week because injuries now may cause issues in your future.
Also, if you still have soreness in your knee(s) and/or shoulder(s), you might want to have them checked out. I say this from experience–I sprained my right rotator cuff unknowingly in a fall last year, which turned out to be excruciatingly painful about 21 days and four shots of morphine later.
Feel better, and thanks for the blog and pictures…keeps me in touch w/the city! :O)
8 tien // Sep 29, 2006 at 2:01 pm
d’oh. that really sucks.
i hurt my hand banging it into a wall yesterday. i hope it’s not broken.
9 ChrisM // Oct 5, 2006 at 6:17 pm
Time was, we Catholics called that Stigmata. Hmmmm…
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