IMAGINE HAVING YOUR ARMS DUCT TAPED
to your sides and then taking a face-plant onto a wet sidewalk. That's
essentially what happened to me last Tuesday night while loading
equipment after the gig in Mabel, Minnesota.
The
dance itself was a great time. With ace musicians, Keith Zeller and
Erik Berg, we were a-rockin' and a-rollin' to a packed house. It was a
fun show, and a good time was had by all.
But the real show was yet to happen!
When we do a Memory Brothers LARGE Band
gig, there's always a lot of extra gear that needs to be set up and
tore down. So at the end of last Tuesday's performance, I found myself
rushing to get stuff loaded up. I had a 50 lb. amp in my right hand and
something else in my left hand (I don't even remember for sure,) and my
fingers were wrapped tightly around the carrying straps – so when, in my
haste, I stubbed my toe and pitched forward onto the sidewalk, I was
unable to extricate my hands to catch myself.
Ka-BOOM! My face and right arm/shoulder was the first to strike the concrete!
I
had the strangest, slow-motion thought as I was falling and then
hitting the ground: “This reminds me of when I was 9 years old and used
to wipe out on my bicycle!”
The
only difference was, when I was 9 years old, I'd essentially bounce
upon impact. I'd put a couple band aids on my skinned elbows & knees
and then get right back on the bike.
But
Tuesday night after my stumble, my whole right side turned numb; and I
knew I'd probably done some major damage. Keith helped me up.
“Are you all right?!”
I replied, “I don't know.”
I
staggered back into the club and instinctively continued packing up
equipment but soon realized my right arm and hand weren't cooperating. I
remember hearing Erik ask the bartender for an ice pack. And both Keith
and Erik - seeing that I was obviously incapacitated - pitched in like
troopers, and we were out of there a little after 10 pm – my normal
departure time.
With
the ice pack on my right forearm, I drove directly to the ER in
Decorah, Iowa. They cleaned me up, took x-rays and gave me a compression
splint. I was in and out by midnight. (Winneshiek Medical Center's ER
is the best!)
The
ER doc said he didn't see any broken bones but that the radiologist
would review the x-rays the next day and give me a call if he noticed
anything suspicious.
It's
now been a couple days since the fall and no message from the
radiologist, so I figure I'll probably survive. But I do feel like I've
been put through the proverbial “wringer!” My main concern now is
whether I'll be able to pull off this weekend's gigs – time will tell!
A
nagging thought I've had for the past few years has been, “As I'm
getting older, I wonder if and when there'll ever be a time when I'll
stumble or somehow get injured carrying equipment.”
I
guess I found out, and I guess I'm going to have to slow down and be
more careful in the future! I've got to keep reminding myself: Unlike
when I was a kid, at age 68 I don't bounce anymore!
(A
big thanks to all the well-wishers, Erik & Keith, the crew at
Winneshiek Medical Center and to those who've expressed concern via
emails and Facebook.)
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