Parrotheader.com

You can always tell by the tone of the voice. Sometimes the tone on the other end of the phone is so pronounced, you can even tell by the first words uttered that something's wrong.

Today was one of those days. In the grand scheme or things it could have been a lot worse. But it always makes your heart rate skyrocket whenever you hear that tone.

My mother was in the back yard doing some gardening this afternoon when she tripped and fell backwards onto a large rock. She knew she was falling toward the rock so she twisted and minimized the damage to her head and face. But unfortunately she broke her wrist (as well as banged up her toe pretty badly) in the process. Luckily her next door neighbor was also outside and was able to call an ambulance.

Holly called to inform me. She didn't act upset or overly emotional, but as soon as she said my name (the fact that she rarely starts a conversation with my name was another red flag) I knew something was wrong.

We were eventually able to track down the destination hospital for my mom. And since this hospital was right next to my office I was the first arrive. She was in a lot of pain, but I was amazed that she still had enough concern to feel embarrassed by the fact she was a bit grungy from being outside working (even in agonizing pain we want to maintain a certain level of dignity.) After the x-ray and doctor's examination they set my mother in a temporary cast and will be sending her to an orthopedist on Monday. In retrospect I wish they had been a bit more thorough in their attending to the cuts on her chin and toe, but hopefully those more superficial wounds will heal well. She's definitely going to be in for some pain for the next several days though. And while it's easy for me to say, we all know it could have been a lot worse.