I am currently laying here crippled in my bed, dosed up on some ridiculously strong pain killers with my not so fabulous ankle covered in ice packs and piled high on pillows. It's pretty safe to say that yesterday was not the greatest of days.
In the past 2 days, I have been in and out of so many different medical service rooms that I think I have actually lost count. It all started on Monday when I went to see my Doctor about my problems with my skin. For the past 3 years, I have tried so many different treatments to try and rid me of my acne, but nothing seems to work properly. The appointment ended well; I was FINALLY referred to a dermatologist to be put on a more strong and appropriate course of treatment which should take place over the next few weeks. Before this happens, my Doctor advised me that I needed to have a blood test to check my liver (no, I am not an alcoholic - it's just to check that I am okay to pursue with one of the possible treatment options which can cause damage to the liver). This kind of freaked me out as I've never had a blood test before and I always thought that it would be worse than donating, and I was especially terrified as I would be donating on the same day that I was booked in to have the blood test, which was the next day.
Tuesday came around, and I was feeling quite nervous about the day I had ahead. My blood test was in the morning, and the blood donation was in the afternoon. I planned my day out so that I could rest and eat well in between, to try and prevent fainting when I donated like I did before. My friend Lena was donating with me on this occasion, so I felt much more comfortable than I did before when I went in alone. I got to the clinic to have my blood test, and it's safe to say that I was absolutely terrified. I was expecting a huge needle and a lot of pain, but within about 30 seconds (maybe even less) it was over, and I walked out feeling so proud that not only did I not faint but I didn't even flinch! 10 points to me! This certainly put my mind at ease, and I felt so good about donating later on in the day because I was confident that I wouldn't have any issues with it now. The day was going great, everything was going to plan...that was until lunch time at least.
Now, if there's one thing I learned on this occasion, it is that food is no longer my friend. If I had stayed away from the lunch hall, my day would have most likely stayed a 10/10, but that was not to be the case. Lena and I was walking down the concrete steps from the lunch hall, when I was called by someone from behind. I turned around to look, and as I did, I lost my footing and fell down the stairs, smashing my ankle onto the edge of the concrete step. It was probably the most painful thing I have ever done, and I've smashed my head open, had teeth knocked out, stubbed my toe and stood on a plug, but this easily hurt the most out of everything. Admittedly, it was quite funny, and as everyone else was laughing, I laughed along (although I wanted to cry) and I think that initially took the pain away. We walked (or should I say hobbled) back to our friends in the Common Room and immediately, everyone was throwing all the first aiding advice at me and helping me out. My friends are fab. We got hold of an ice pack from the school nurse and elevated my leg, but nothing was making the pain go away. If anything, it was getting worse. I went back to the school nurse to see if she had any advice, and she took a look at my now golf ball sized ankle and told me to go and lie down. This was actually great news for me, because I am now in my last year ever at school, and ever since Year 7, I have wanted to lie in the medical room bed. My expectations were exceeded, and the nurse gave me a blanket and put the radio on, and my friends sat with me and chatted, so it was actually quite a nice little time minus the pain.
We sat there for about 20 minutes before it was time for Lena and I to go and donate. She helped me up and propped me up whilst I hopped all the way from my school to the local community centre where donations were taking place. It took so much effort, I'm surprised my good leg isn't not toned to body builder perfection! When we got to the donation centre, we went to sign in and was asked a few questions, when bad luck round 2 of the day occurred. Despite my Doctor, and the lady who took my blood earlier on stating otherwise, unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to donate on this occasion until I received the results from my blood test. To say I was gutted was an understatement, because not only did I really want to help such a good cause, but it also meant that I was letting Lena down, as it was her first time and we wanted to do it together. Regardless, I sat with Lena as she donated, and she put me to shame! She took it so well and was laughing and joking throughout the whole thing! She even looked at the massive needle hanging out of her arm and held her bag of blood afterwards! She definitely deserved the sticker and biscuit at the end! We had such a laugh and it took my mind of my pain.
We both went back home, and I rested my ankle, but the pain was getting worse and worse. My Dad got home from work and took a look, and by this point, my ankle had swollen to the size of a tennis ball and whether it was up in the air or resting on a cushion, the pain was excruciating. My mum ended up taking me to the Hospital to get it checked at A&E. She was pushing me around in the noisiest wheelchair ever and we actually had quite a laugh considering we was stuck in hospital and was repeatedly getting lost! After waiting for about 3 hours, I was finally seen by a Doctor, where he was concerned that I may have broken my ankle. I was sent down for an X-Ray and left to wait for even longer (you can probably tell that I am such a fan of hospitals). It got to about 12pm after my X-Ray, and I was seen by the Doctor again where the damage was revealed. My clumsy fall had resulted in a sprained ligament and a little fracture somewhere in my ankle. The x-ray showed that part of my bone was supposed to look like this: ( but it now looked like this: ). The Doctor said that as the fracture was small and in an awkward place (which is so typical for me; fractures a bone and is still awkward), there wasn't much that could be done. I was given some painkillers and had my ankle bandaged up for support, with the advice to keep it rested and still until the swelling has gone, and then to gradually start to move it and walk on it. We got home in the early hours of the morning, and I went straight to bed where I have remained pretty much since.
So there we have it; probably one of the most eventful days of my life. I would be quite happy to stay away from any sort of medical area for a lifetime now. And remember the lessons we have learned from this experience; never take the stairs.
