A Trip Begins.....

The departure was earlier than expected (Thursday afternoon not Friday morning) and began in the wrong direction! I got to ride in a new 2009 Chevy 3500 Dually. However, I never imagined that I would be in the back of the vehicle instead of the front. Now the details! I was finishing the detailing on the HitchHiker by waxing the front cap. Standing on the next to the top step of a seven foot ladder, the ladder went to the right and I went to the left. I landed hard on the side of my left rib cage. Luckily Barb was inside doing some last minute jobs. She heard the ladder hit and my cries of agony. She found me rolling in pain on the grass next to the driveway. Once I caught my breath, it was determined that an ambulance wasn't needed at this point. So it was off to the local hospital. Arrived there at 3:06 PM. After eight x-rays, a CT scan with contrast and an EKG, the doctor determined that I had at least four broken ribs and a minimally collapsed lung. The time now was after 8:00 PM and they needed to transfer me to a larger hospital for observation. If the lung collapse got worse, I needed to be in a larger hospital with a chest surgeon . Once a hospital that takes our insurance was found, it took until 10:00 PM for the new Chevy ambulance with only 1500 miles to arrive. Barb beat the ambulance there (where a bed in ER awaited) even after a detour to the sticks and bricks (house) to get things that were needed to spend the night. We arrived at the larger hospital at 11:30PM. At 4:30 AM I was finally transferred to a hospital room for "overnight " observation and got to sleep at five only to be awakened at seven for routine checks. An x-ray taken that morning when compared to the one taken when I arrived showed that my lung was not worse so I was allowed to leave at about 4:30 that afternoon. The doctor said it would take at least 4 to 6 weeks for recovery. So for now I am sleeping in my recliner and popping pain pills every four hours. TRIP CANCELLED!
This is very discouraging since we had to cancel a trip in April to New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona with RVing friends when Barb's dad died. Maybe we will try a third time in four to six weeks.