Accidents

Not just another day on Bear Lake!

Well, it seems I stay below the radar, unless it has to do with an accident. When I get hurt I really get hurt. I go all the way. If you remember about 8 years ago I decided to take a very common occurrence and make it into a catastrophe! I got thrown off my horse and broke my back. Many times I have been thrown, but never with such severe results.

Well, I was doing something I have done countless times.... water skiing. And I thought I would take crashing to a whole new level......

I am only smiling because I am in shock, I think! Trust me, it was worse than it looks and it bled enough to satisfy many vampires.

It didn't hurt until Matt got done with me. Although he wasn't the cause of the pain, it was the pain killers wearing off.

DR. MATTHEW DAHLMy hero! What doctor do you know that will come in on a Saturday and sew a mess up. But I think he did enjoy it a little. Below he is poking my skull. And yes I could feel it. The ski went right through the muscle to the bone. And let me tell you, when the doctor says, "wow, you have paint from the ski on your skull" it kind of makes your stomach turn.

And yes, I was awake the entire time. I guess I have a pretty high tolerance for pain. And hate when doctors ask, "on a scale of 1-10 how bad is your pain". Why don't they just ask, "how much morphine do you want?"

Dr. Dahl did a great job putting humpty dumpty back together again. But I still feel like the sister of Frankenstein. Harry Potter's scar has nothin on my "T". And if you are wondering how many stitches do I have? Dr. Dahl quit counting! You just get to see the top layer of stitches.

The next day, The bruising on my forehead began to drain into my eye. And for some reason people really think a black eye is a big deal, but trust me the head is a little bit bigger deal.

Funny thing is, I am almost 32 yrs old and I have always wanted a black eye, I changed my mind.

I am drugged!

So, a bit about the head injury. I was water skiing and apparently did an "endo" into my ski. I rarely fall skiing many of you know. So, I was pretty ticked and my back was strained. I pulled the ski off, and saw a few floating stars. As the boat pulled up, everyone on the boat began shouting, "Carlye, are you OK? Carlye?" I said I was fine but done skiing. Their response, "Ah, Carlye, you are bleeding." I reach up to touch my face and looked at my bloody hand. Then I quickly realized that my face was covered in blood as was the water. The boat got to me and everybody started trying to help me. I got really irritated because it made it harder and I didn't feel hurt.

They pulled me in the boat and immediately went to helping me. They handed me my towel to use as a compress. Quickly the towel filled with blood and at this point I was a bit concerned and ask for a mirror. Some of you may think this vain, but I needed to know what I was working with.... Ugh! From a 1st aide kit I found a compress and applied. A very fine young man, Ed, tried to comfort me on the way back across the lake. About 15 minutes to marina. And by then my parents were waiting. I held it together until I saw my mom and dad running down the ramp. Then my eyes began to tear up.

It is really interesting that as soon as my parents appeared I could rely on them for strength. And it felt much much better not having to be strong. Letting my dad's arms surround me and be my support, felt like heaven. It just felt better. Much like relying on the Savior. It just feels better allowing Him to encircling you in His loving arms.

We went to the clinic in Bear Lake, but my mom was not about to have a PA sew my face back together. Not that I am a model or anything, but she does have to look at it for the rest of our lives. :)

So, we began the trek to Salt Lake City, to have Dr. Dahl fix me up.

My favorite comment was from Matt, "Man, Carlye, you are more of a mess than I thought." Way to boost my confidence.

But he did fix me up very well, especially with the assistance of a wonderful Mom. She stayed by my side the entire time, even though she was starving and doesn't like blood. She is a perfect example of what a perfect mom is.

After a couple hours and several packages of suture I was finished. Well, Dr. Dahl was finished. I still have a bit to recover. My face is uglier now than the day it happened, and I still have paralysis above my eye. I am praying that, that will return. Or I will have a seriously sexy eye brow raise!

Even if I have a long road ahead to have my face back, and it might not be back to "normal", I will take my face anyway it comes, as long as it means I get to live another day.... another day with those that loved me enough to help me!

Thank you for all your help. Thank you for all your love. And thank you for your prayers! I have never felt such love and concern.