Slice of Life

The Fall

A sharp jab of pain surged through my body as I hit the concrete underneath me. A scream escaped my lips as I stayed on the ground, unable to move my leg as my whole body put itself into a massively tense state. My legs were bent as I laid on the ground in a sleeping-like position, however it was nowhere near a comfortable position in this very moment at this very place.

It had been a long day at school. One boring subject after another, an hour at a time. First maths, then English, followed by a double lesson of economics. Not exactly my favorite lessons. To make matters worse, my best friend has been away on holiday this week and won't be back until Sunday. Meaning the school days had been both long and lonely. I couldn't wait to get home.

After taking the bus from the school to the station, I had taken the train, and then had to walk home from the station. The sky, which was normally a light shade of a calming blue, was covered with dark-grey fluffy clouds, threatening to cry any minute. It was only a 15-minute walk, but as I began the trip, I had no idea it would take me a few hours before I was home.

I didn't dare look down at my legs as I laid on the ground. I knew what had happened alright. It wasn't the first, second, third, fourth or even fifth time. I was now on my sixth time with this happening. A few passerbys came over and I just said to call an ambulance. Although I was quiet, tears were running down my face, which was twisted with the agony.

It seemed like forever until the ambulance arrived, but in reality it was probably about 30 minutes. I had never been prioritised with this injury, since it wasn't a matter of life and death. The ambulance doctor jumped out the van, that was stopped on the side of the road, causing a slight traffic jam as the cars had to wait to pass the ambulance that blocked half the road. The doctor came over to me, and asked what had happened. I briefly explained the situation. The doctor was seemingly new, and didn't seem to know what to do.
"Just stretch my leg out," I said. I'd been through this enough to almost be more experienced than a doctor would be. It wasn't exactly a case they saw often, but it wasn't rare either. Somewhere in between, perhaps uncommon.

Although I had to repeat myself a few times, the doctor finally did as I had told him to. As he slowly stretched my leg out, I felt like screaming yet I couldn't. The pain was unreal. But it was over after a few seconds, where my knee was in place after the dislocation. Relief flowed through my body as it was in place again. There was a slight ache in my knee, but nothing compared to the pain that had been there moments ago.

I was lifted onto a stretcher and into the ambulance, and as it drove towards the hospital, my pulse and what-no was checked. The trip wasn't too long; the hospital was only about 10 minutes away. The ambulance was driving calmly; no blue lights or sirens were turned on, and the laws of the roads were being obeyed. 

Once arriving at the hospital, I was lifted onto a bed and rolled into an empty room. A new doctor came with some painkillers, but otherwise I was left alone. The room was plain, like any other hospital room. The walls were white, behind the bed on the wall was a machine, that I didn't know what was used for. There was also some kind of monitor next to the bed. All the machines were switched off and quiet. The room was too quiet and dull and there was nothing to do. 

An hour passed. A doctor came in and briefly explained that they wanted to take an x-ray of my knee to make sure the bone wasn't damaged. She rolled the bed I was in out the room and down the hall. It was just like any other hospital hall. Nothing worth seeing, nothing worth mentioning. Some doors into rooms were opened, some were closed. Some had patients, some were empty. All the walls the same dull white color.

After waiting outside the x-ray room for a few minutes, the doors were opened, and the bed rolled into the room, which was made specifically for x-rays. I just had to stay in the bed. They put a metal plate under my knee and took some pictures from above, as well as holding it on the side to take pictures from another angle.

It took about 20 minutes before I was picked up and rolled down the same, simple hall and back into the same lifeless room, where my school bag had been placed on the side. There I was told, it would be a while until the x-rays were analysed, so I waited. And waited. And waited. I stared up at the wall, sat up and looked out the window, and laid down to stare up at the ceiling too.

An hour later I started to get impatient. Two hours later I was ready to go home. It took almost three hours, before a doctor came in, apologising that they didn't have enough staff on duty, hence the waiting time. The doctor said that the x-rays had been clear. So my knee was wrapped up in a bandage, I was given a pair of crutches to borrow, and my bag was carried to the entrance, where my mother was waiting to take me home.

After a short drive I arrived home, almost 6 hours later than planned, and with a set of crutches. Maybe it was time to get that knee operated too, like the last one.