Saturday, August 30, 2008

Hazards of the trade...

On July 26 (my mother's birthday), while out monitoring Ilinois' endangered purple fringed orchid for the Chicago Botanic Garden, I stepped in a low spot. My knee went one way, my ankle the opposite, and my left fibula was broken just above the ankle. Fortunately I had other monitors with cellphones nearby and they called EMS for me. It took them ten minutes to find our location on their map and they ended up sending out four ambulances for the one of me. Even though I ended up as afternoon snack for a horde of mosquitoes, it could have been a lot worse. I didn't need surgery, I didn't end up sitting in a patch of poison ivy (I'm very allergic) and I was able to get home that evening after the leg being put in a cast at the hospital. (Chorus of Beatles' "I'll get by with a little help from my friends!") Five weeks later, I'm more or less back on my feet and tomorrow will start painting again. My son says, "No more hiking in the woods for you, mom!" Hah! We'll see about that, but he's right for the moment. I have to be good for a few more weeks. I have a lot of catching up to do with my artwork! My exhibit is home for now and I'm researching other venues. Any suggestions?