Kept waking up in pain. Finally got up around 4 a.m. and sat on the berth in the main cabin. Dozed for about an hour. Then washed as best I could, ate breakfast, and struggled into my clothes. I was bound and determined to go to a doctor whether Roy liked it or not, so I planned on leaving before he woke up. Wanted to catch the 6:30 bus, but it took me so long to do the least little thing that I missed it and had to take the 7:30. Just tying my shoelaces was a major task. I don't see how Roy ties his laces at all.
It was cold and windy early in the morning, so I wore my heavy jacket. Even with it on, my teeth started chattering as I was walking the one block from the bus to the hospital. Even inside the hospital, it felt chilly.
They were very nice, and I didn't have to wait long. They x-rayed my elbow, and it was indeed broken. As soon as they put a sling on my arm, it started feeling better. They spent a lot of time phoning around to find an orthopedist who could see me right away. Finally found one in an adjacent building. Went over there with my x-rays. He said the break wasn't bad, but it would take six weeks to heal. In the meantime, I can't lift anything with my right hand or push or pull or exert any pressure on it. Great. Just when we're getting ready to sail across the Atlantic. I won't be able to raise sails or handle dock-lines, or anything. Now I'm even more useless than I was before.
I have to go back to the doctor's May 3rd. If the break is healing properly, we'll be able to leave any time, but if it's not, I'll have to have an operation, and that will set us back another week. I'm so mad at myself for pulling such a stupid stunt.
I was amazed at how easily Medicare works. I didn't have to fill out any forms, and I didn't pay one cent. Just showed them my card and walked out. Wish I'd known that last summer.
It was one o'clock by the time I left the doctor's office. Ate a little lunch at Wendy's and then walked a few blocks to Makita's Service Center to buy the trigger switch Roy needed for his 3/8" electric drill. It was sizzling hot by then, so I stuffed my jacket into my back-pack.
As expected, Rick at Boat/U.S. had not paged me, so I tried to phone him after I left Makita's, but he wasn't in. Boat/U.S. was only about six blocks from where I was, so I strolled down there, hot, tired, and thirsty. Rick had returned by the time I got there. I found a chair and sat in it until Rick had obtained all the information he needed to write up the order and had actually written it up. This took until 4:20, but at last it was a done deal.
Rode the bus back to Cobb's. Was happy to see that Jofian had been returned to her natural element, as promised. Poor Roy had had to dock her all by himself, and it was a windy day. I felt so bad about not being able to help him. He had had quite a struggle, but he finally managed to get her tied up. We're in slip #3. Sure feels good to be back in the water.
The finger docks here are little stubby things, barely ten feet long. They don't begin to reach the center of the boat, so there's a gap of about two to three feet between the boat and the dock. Also, the docks don't float, so at high tide, the deck's several feet above the dock. All this makes getting on and off the boat a little tricky when you only have one hand to hold on with.
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