Tuesday, September 04, 2007

How I broke my ankle in Jakarta

I had a full, fun day planned for last Saturday; quick trip to the shops for a new mattress for GJ and I, meet my girlfriends for their last ball gown fitting, quick lunch with them followed by a trip to the Roberts furniture to help them choose a new coffee table.
The day was going to finish with on a high note at Lia and Edo's Indonesian wedding.

Well I got as far as The American Mattress shop on JL Fatmawati......I did find a super, dopper, divine King Koil mattress, but it is WAY out of our price range.......

There is no OHS standards or standards of any type in regards to buildings and/or safety. There is also no liability here, so I bear all the costs associated with my injury (I hope I get a discount on a mattress though!LOL)

Out the back of the shop the floor level drops down about 1.5", I missed seeing it and tripped rolling over on to my left ankle before crashing to the floor in a very undignified heap. I knew instantly that I had done some major damage......
It took me a few minutes to regain the ability to breath, stay conscious and not vomit (I am a big woosy girl...)

I could not move my leg at all, it looked like something was sticking out my ankle under the skin and my foot was crooked. I was alone with people that spoke very limited English....... And GJ's phone network was down.....

I thought I made some good decisions...I got the driver in, calmed him down over his shock at my ankle and sent him for GJ. I got the shop assistants to call SOS (medical clinic) and arrange a pick up for me. I though that this was the best as I could not move let alone drag my self to our car and get in it to go to Emergency...GJ would be waiting for me and all would be fine in the world......

After 40 minutes one guy in a jeep arrives from SOS (only located 7-10 mins away) hands me a pair of crutches and asks the two sales girls to help me up and out to the car. The two sweet sales girls were both the size of a 10 yr old Aussie girls. I asked him to politely get over his sensibilities towards touching women and get me off the floor.... which to his credit he did, but I still had to crutch it out of the shops dodging steps and beds.

Luckily GJ turned up before I was half way there after a VERY exciting dash in the car with Yadi. This is where I lost it, falling to pieces about it all.....GJ was very nice and held off on the jokes for a good hour or two!

The emergency section of the clinic was great but very different to Australia. I was put into a wheel chair and they all wanted to push it but kept banging my foot or the chair into walls and doors..........I lost it again when I was pushed into another corner for another wait.....

The Xray was bearable, as was the exam but what really got me a bit hot and bothered was that there was NO BLOODY PAIN RELIEF.........not even a tiny panadol....... I wanted Morphine, general anesthetic, happy gas, what ever just something ( I am a VERY big woose).

The wheel chair would not fit into the consultation room so GJ got all the details from the team of DR's (my fat ankle was very popular). We finally made it home to discover that our medicine cabinet had panadol in it and nothing stronger......

So here I am confined to the upstairs of our house.....The stairs are too hard unless I go up and down on my bum which jars the ankle....

My saviour is my office chair, its on wheels, so I slide around upstairs with ease. My other knee is still too sore to use the crutches.

It was not too bad today, a mixture of reading, catching up on some blog reading and TV when the power went out for nearly two hours......

Tomorrow I am going to go through the girls jewels and hair accessories to find something to jazz up my cast for the Ball on Saturday night. I had found the cutest high heels for a ridiculously cheap price that would of looked great......., one will look nice on a foot.LOL






Unrecognizable as my foot....

7 comments:

brad said...

It would be funny if it didn't hurt so much, like the part about banging your foot or the chair. Funny picture that brings, but ouch. You're not one to rest. Hope you make the best of it.

simon said...

i had a salivary gland removed the other day. that hurt like h*** :-((
http://nastypredator.blogspot.com

Jenn @ Knee-Deep in Munchkin Land said...

Oh Jen! Your foot! Oh my! Poor thing... I will be thinking of you and praying that all heals quickly! Hang in there friend!

Unknown said...

nice foot...

hope you get well soon!

Lori said...

Oh my goodness I just ache for you!!!! I am so sorry. I would want STRONG drugs also. Maybe some STRONG drink also =) I hope it heals quickly.

Jakartass said...

Whoops. Only 1.5"? Good job you weren't wearing those high heels, eh?

One thing you don't mention in your interview is how most people in Jakarta keep their eyes glued to the floor or pavement. It may keep communication down, but, hey, it's better for your health.

Anyway, maybe meet up in the fall? ;-)

PS. I've given you an acknowledgment in Culture Shock-Jakarta due in the shops any day soon.

Anonymous said...

you are lucky that you got a correct diagnosis on your ankle, my husband didn't. they told him the mark in the x-ray was just a scratch and that the bone wasn't broken. until we saw a doctor in europe who said why are you walking around with a broken ankle??? so now it might never heal properly thanks to complete incompetence!!!