Day One at Camp

It 9:30 PM on our first full day at camp. The husband and little one are at campfire with all the other overnight campers and staff. The teenager is part of the camp fire entertainment. They do lots of silly songs and skits and it is fun to watch the staff have fun with each other and lose all inhibition. Tonight I would of liked to have watched with my family but after the day I have had I am now somewhat immobile.

I with the help of one of the maintenance guys dug one the two gardens I wanted to create in front of the dinning hall. The ground is very rocky and we could not go very deep even with the rottitler. We worked on the 6feet by 4 feet area for an hour and half. Even at 10:00 am it was hard, hot work.

I left it at 10:30 to wash up so I could help the kitchen staff prepare for two lunch sitting. We were preparing food for 120 campers and staff at the first seating and 60 of the same for the second seating. I finished in the kitchen about 1:30 and went back to my work on the new flower bed.

After we dug it up and went over it numerous times to break up the sod. I racked through top soil and tried to remove as much of the larger rocks as I could. I then add three bags of peat moss to the soil and using a hand trowel and garden fork tried to dig further down were each plant was going to be put, and pulled out more rocks. After about an hour or so of hot, hot, work I got all the plants in the ground. I watered everything including myself.

I then decided to have a real shower (not a garden hose shower) and get all the dirt and sweat off of me. I gathered up my stuff and headed over to the girls showers. When I got to what I thought was the shower I somehow stepped wrong and fell. As I fell I could hear three distinct popping sounds. When I landed I new I was in trouble. I looked at my right ankle and it was already three times its normal size.

I tried to move but the pain was too much and I had to call for help. Once help came and my ankle was gawked at it was determined that a trip to the hospital was in order. The teenager came over and helped me get a few things and then the little one came over. As soon as she saw me sitting on the ground she started to cry. I held her and explained what happened and that I need to go to the hospital so they could take pictures of my ankle and hopefully help me. She cried that first her sister had to go to the hospital last week and now I had to. She wanted to come with me but I told her to stay with her sister and the other campers and try to have fun, that it would be very boring at the hospital.

The Picton hospital is a small county hospital where it felt like everyone new everyone. The nurse that admitted me wore regular street clothes but what made her stand out was her nurse uniform hat. I think I have only seen them in old movies. At first I thought it was kinda strange but you know after a while I liked it. She stood out and was always professional but very friendly. She made me feel like I was in good hands and everything would be just fine.

The whole experience at the hospital was really nice (for being at the hospital) the Xray tech was the same women who xrayed the teenager 10 days ago. And she asked how the teenager was doing. The nurses who came and helped me and talked to me a different times where wonderful and told me she went to Pleasant Bay Camp when she was a young girl. After the doctor looked at the xrays and came and talked to me (another women, I never say a male person the entire time I was at the hospital even the waiting room was only women) she told me that thankfully they could see no break. My ankle was just badly twisted and would be real sore for a few days and just sore for a few weeks. A tenser bandage was wrapped around my ankle, which made it feel better.

I was then wheeled out the doors of the emergency and I waited for my ride to come. I had sent her my ride (Sarah) off to visit her grandparents because I thought it would take a while. But the whole emergency experience was less then three hours! While I was sitting outside waiting for Sarah, a nurse who was finished her shift came out waiting for her husband and we chatted. Also anyone who came in the emergency doors would stop and chat. I meet a retired minister, a grandma visiting her granddaughter, a doctor who was just getting back from Belleville, a couple bringing chocolate cake for a friend.

I at first felt silly sitting in my wheelchair outside the emerg doors but the visitors and nurses who would come check on me where so nice. After about 40 minutes of being the official hospital greeter my ride showed up. I was helped into the car and what felt like all of the hospital came out to say goodbye. I’m sure gona miss my new friends.

Note: I started writing this post last Monday but could not post till I got back home.