Writer's Workshop: The Break

Ok, I'm tagging the 'break' prompt of Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop today. Mama Kat wrote about her collar bone fracture, I figured I would share mine. There's a bit of a fun story in it. :)

How did you break it?

Back in my younger days, I was really into the punk/thrash/metal scene. I loved hitting shows, jumping into the pit, and letting the steam out, so to speak. I was around 18 (half a lifetime ago!) at the time and went with a bunch of friends to a local concert. There weren't many people there, so it was a relatively open floor. The band was jamming out, and we were doing the usual - moshing. At some point I caught air and landed square on my upper back... that's when the fun began.

When I hit the ground, I hit hard. I heard this sickening wet crunch and the worst feeling (not pain) ran through my body. It was something akin to nausea and dread - I'll call it drasuea for now. I remember I got all clammy from it too, almost like I was in shock from that horrible sound. Oddly enough I wasn't hurting at all, well until my buddy Dave came up, put his hands under my shoulder and proceeded to lift me up. The ***PAIN***. The wrenching of the bones in my shoulder told me that I broke something. So I got a lift to the hospital.

Of course, hospitals are always fun. Do you note the sarcasm? Sitting in a waiting room for three hours. Kudos to my friends though, they hung out with me the whole time. Finally, I got x-rayed and got to see the break. My left clavicle broken clean in two... neat and nasty at the same time. The docs splinted and slung me, gave me a prescription for percoset (whooohooo!) and sent me on my way.

Over the next few weeks I healed pretty slowly. That damn splint was the biggest pain in the ass. It wrapped around both my shoulders, under the armpits and met in the center of my back in an 'X' - that's where it hooked. It was very difficult to work with one armed; I usually needed help to remove and put on the splint. Come to think of it, I'm not even sure if it was a splint, but that's what I'm calling it. Ok, so maybe it wasn't completely the splints problem that I healed slowly... I kept trying to play my guitar with a broken shoulder. Hey! I'm a man of music, dammit!

The percoset were very very fun. They only lasted about 2 weeks... and I don't remember those two weeks, but I know nothing hurt. Actually there was only one time where the pain floored me after the inital break - I got hit by a vertigo spell (I've suffered from vertigo for as long as I can remember) and fell shoulder first into a wall. I let out a scream something akin to a banshee's wail.

The only really good thing to come out of breaking my collar bone was the attention. A bunch of the girls I was friends with back then felt so bad that I had broken a bone. They would bring me cookies, help with the splint, make dinner, etc. for a good bit of time. Yeah, I milked it for all it was worth. :D

Heh, the collar bone never healed right. I have a triangular bump sticking a little bit out of my shoulder now. The halves of the bone actually healed one on top of the other. Makes my left arm weak unfortunately - can't put pressure on it. Go figure.

The Dream Cycle, 2009.10

I feel like this year was slow in my dream cycle - not remembering much of what I dreamt. Oddly enough, these last three nights I've dreamt and rememered bits and pieces. So today comes a small conglomerate of dreams.

Grandmother

I was meeting with my family for some kind of gathering. At some point in my travels to reach them, I found my grandmum. (My grandmum - my sisters and I call her Nanny - passed away in '91 - the day I graduated high school :/ ) She was wandering around, not lost per se but more like exploring wherever she felt like going. I convinced her to come see the family with me and we went to the party.

I remember arriving at the place and walking in saying "Look who I found!" and pointing at the doorway. She comes walking in and everyone goes crazy greeting her and seeing how she is. The only other part I remember is that she was listening to everyone in turn, getting updates on everyone's lives.


Yellow Spiders

Yes, another spider dream. I'm not sure where I was but I remember seeing a two foot round yellow and black spider holding another dead yellow-black spider in its mandibles. The spider kept circling me, looking like it wanted to attack me but would not release the other spider. I don't know if it killed the other spider or I did... maybe that spider was its companion? Maybe an enemy?


That's all I remember, I know there was a third dream but it's too fuzzy to write about. I'm not sure why I remembered these two... I need to find a way to remember my dreams more often.