If you can complete the lyric, you know what kind of week I've had! If you're reading this then you most likely know me, but may not be up to speed with what I've been up to these past few days. Crashing my way through life would be the best explanation. If I believed in fate, I would say that someone was looking out for me. We have choices and paths that we can take in our lives. I was determined one way or another to take a particular path on Thursday evening. Looking back, and I'll never know the reason why, but there is a reason why I wasn't supposed to be in Charlotte Street at 5:30pm.
So here's my story. I was supposed to be at the opening of the Nick Woolff Gallery on Thursday evening in London at 5:30pm. I got as far as getting off the train at Paddington. I wasn't feeling quite myself, having been out for a meal the previous evening and not slept well. It seems I must have eaten something that disagreed with me. Two out of three girls, including me, had stomach pains during the night, but I had made it into work and at the last minute, decided that I felt well enough to go to London.
I arrived early into Paddington so went and bought myself a lovely new black cardigan and two lovely new scarves. At this point I'd like to say that I'm just glad I didn't choose the white scarf! If you're brave enough to keep reading, you'll soon discover why. I'm not prone to dizzy spells, hadn't had a drink but somehow I lost my footing as I went to get the tube. It was just after 5pm and I remember thinking I shouldn't go down the first set of stairs as it was rush hour and there were a lot of people coming up at this point. So I voted with my feet and took the second set. I remember seeing two guys coming up the stairs and I think I got as far as the first landing, then in true 'anna fashion' (never one to do things by halves!) I skydived down the second flight of stairs!!
@$%!!*&**$#!!?&**@!
Time never stands still but there are moments in life that the memory just can't recall. Perhaps it's the shock, the fear or just a protective mechanism? I must have slipped because I fell head first from the landing down a complete flight of stairs. I remember there being nothing in front of me as I fell. No people, nothing and having nothing to grab hold of either. I clearly recall being upside down and feeling my face crashing on the ground. My body and mind weren't sure what was happening but as I lifed my head and put my hand to my face, there was blood pouring from my nose. Not something I'll forget in a hurry!
I could hear a man's voice asking if anyone had any tissues, any water? I was still upside down at this point and just felt totally helpless. There was a guy kneeling down beside me trying to mop up the blood. He asked me "Can you sit up? You need to sit up' but I just couldn't move. Two guys picked me up so I could sit at the bottom of the stairs and I remember the blood pouring from my face and wondering what I had done. I was picked up and sat against the wall as a paramedic arrived. A guy from the station and two policemen taking details and it was at this point I realised I might have broken my nose!! My teeth were hurting, I could feel a cut across my nose, blood still pouring from my face and I was shaking with shock.
It's the little things that I remember. Like the guy in the suit who looked so concerned. The policeman who asked my age, then laughed. He'd reported the accident saying a woman aged between 30 and 40 had slipped on the stairs. Woo Hoo! It's a macabre thing to remember but they put a cone by my blood at the bottom of the stairs. I remember it because it was sitting by the wall when K80 took me back to Paddington the next day. There it was... 'my cone'.. mmm!
They decided to call for an ambulance and it felt like a scene from Holby City! Crowds of people passing by in the rush hour. It must have looked like I was being arrested as the policeman took my arm to help me up the stairs onto the concourse where the ambulance was waiting. Although I was very shaken and still bleeding from my nose, I was just grateful that someone was looking after me. St Mary's is just two minutes from Paddington. They took my blood pressure, 'Very good'.. I did question it because I was shaking and obviously in pain. 'You have the blood pressure of a 20 year old!'... there's always a silver lining.. ;-) so the next thing, I find myself sitting up on a bed in a cubicle in their small injuries clinic.
It was really tough to be on my own. It highlights the fragility of being single. I'm not a fan of hospitals, but who is? But the 45 minutes I waited on my own were the hardest. It was so good to hear Liz's voice and I was just so thankful that she lives in London and could come to help me. There's a 4 hour turnaround in A&E and I was there for the entire 4 hours! I felt bashed and bruised but amazingly, no broken bones. They glued the cut across my nose, gave me a tetanus and told me I could go.
Leaving the hospital was an enormous relief and me & Liz got a taxi back to her place.
It's now Saturday night and I'm staying with a friend in Chelts. I feel lucky (well I would, wouldn't I?!) lucky that I haven't broken any ribs, my wrist or an ankle. I have however got a significant cut across my nose, which has taken a blow across the bridge so I'm developing two horrendous black eyes! Every day a new bruise appears and I'm not a fan of mirrors at the moment! I have a red painful strip down the centre of my face where I must have hit the ground. Lisa took me to the emergency dentist today and the x-ray shows no root damage so whilst I've chipped one of my front teeth and they hurt, I'm hoping they are ok. My knees are bashed, I have three bruised fingers, an enormous bruise developing above my knee on my left leg and yes, it's going to take a few weeks before I'm fully recovered.
Lisa has been looking after me a treat. I'm so glad I have some great friends! Dom bought me chocolate, though I've lost my appetite and eating isn't easy at the moment. I'm taking it steady, letting go (which isn't easy!) and just waiting for my body to heal itself. The worst part is not being able to go out. Polite people are telling me that I don't look that bad, but I don't believe them. I'd frighten small children at the moment and to be truthful, if I saw someone with bruises like I've got, particularly a woman, I'd think they'd been beaten up! If you don't believe me then when I was in the dentist's today, three people sitting in the waiting room waited until I'd gone in to see the dentist before they asked what I'd done. 'Had I fallen down the steps of the pub last night and was I drunk?! mmm, hence, why I would like to hibernate until the spring. x
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