Thoughts.com Blogs - skated my way to the emergency room

It just occurred to me
that I have dropped a few birthday hints recently
in my last few posts.

I must have subconsciously slipped that in

I think

because I've been birthday burned more than once,
and its my way of trying to prevent it from ever happening again.

I have had some
less than happy,
celebrations

the first yucky birthday occurred at the young age of 5

On my 5th birthday,
my Grandma Murphy bought me a pair of big girl roller skates,
ball bearings
the kind that came with its own skate key

you could never find that sucker when you needed it
we used to wear them around our necks
so cool!

another story

for all you youngsters
this was pre roller blades era

ideally
the skates were fastened and tightened to a pair of shoes with leather soles

rubber soles and sandals did not work,

although that didn't stop some people

I digress

Because these skates were definitely more advanced
than the plastic pair I had previously owned

my mom warned me not to try them out
until she had a chance to go along with me for my safety

well, I lived to regret this

and was reminded of it for the rest of my life

however
I did not listen to my mom
and immediately went outside

put on the skates
and landed in a pile
sprawled on the cement

legs twisted every which way

only a few feet from my front door

I let out a scream that could be heard for miles
and then began to cry like a baby

mostly because I was afraid that
my mother was going to kill me for disobeying her
and not waiting like I was told

of course the severity of my injury had to be tested
and ice cream was usually the bait

someone had carried me in the house
because I told them I couldn't walk

apparently they did not believe me
because
the good humor man was ringing his bells on our block

my mom and the other grownups
gave me some money and told me to run along
and get myself an ice cream bar

When I didn't move
and continued crying instead
they knew a trip to get a few x rays was in order

my dad was on his way home from the golf course when we
were all headed to Little Company of Mary Hospital

the very place I was born

5 short years ago from the very day

when my dad pulled into the driveway
a pack of kids greeted him with tales of 'woe'
or should I say 'roe'

anyway
he got back into his car and headed to the emergency room

in those days they would not let parents stay beyond visiting hours
and they were forbidden to bunk overnight

I will never forget the horrible fear I felt laying in that giant bed
staring at an enormous clock on the wall
that ticked ticked ticked the night away

abandoned all alone without the comfort of my parents

or my doll
Betsy Wetsy

I had broken the main bone in my right leg and it was pretty serious
the doctors told my parents they were not sure if I'd be able to walk
and if I did, I would probably have a limp

thank GOD
all the prayers and novenas everyone offered up for me must have paid off
because I was fine

after spending 3 long hot summer months in a cast
from my big toe to my hip
and it wasn't a walking cast

my poor mother must have broken her back carrying me around

I remember going to the grocery store with her
she would throw me in the cart and pile the food on top of me

She had to bathe me with a giant plastic bag covering the cast
which was hanging over the side of the tub

and oh, how that leg on the mend
itched constantly

I used a coat hanger to get inside to scratch it
but I could never quite locate the exact spot

My mother sat me in a chair on the front porch every single morning
and I couldn't move until she came back and put me somewhere else

I really hated sitting there
in the hot sun
without a bit of shade
I roasted to death

thank goodness
the house next door was being built that year
I had all the construction workers to keep me company

I PROBABLY TALKED THEIR ARMS AND LEGS OFF
because when I wass unable to get my moms attention
they would actually ring our doorbell and ask my mother to put me in the shade

I thought the guys were so nice
and now that I think about it
those poor guys were probably trying to get rid of me
ya think?

I digress

Like I said, it was a long hot summer
I got tired of sitting on my perch and watching the kids play
I decided I needed some sort of mobility
so
I figured out a way to scoot

I put my hands on the ground and used my one good foot to propel me forward
keeping the leg in the cast straight out in front of me

like an ornament on the hood of a car

I looked like a three legged lady bug
dragging my butt along the ground

the very first time I did it
my mother came out to check on me
and when I was gone
she panicked

she knew I couldn't walk
so she thought I was kidnapped

who'd want a sunburned kid
with a nose and a big toe perpetually peeling
in a big bulky cast anyway?

my mother said I wore out all my fancy underpants
doing the rosie scoot as we called it
durng that summer

soon
all the kids in the neighborhood

used that mode of transportation
to travel up and down the block in the same way
it must have been a very peculiar sight

after three months the cast was removed and I had to learn to walk all over again
just in time to attend kindergarten
and thats
that's another story