Thursday Threw Me

Today was one of those days that you just cannot plan for. It was going to be just like any old day at work, followed by an evening at home when I would weigh up whether I could be bothered to do the ironing or not. (Answer: not.) But at about eleven this morning one of my colleagues fell down the stairs.

Brenda is one of the bubbliest and chirpiest people you will ever meet. Seeing anybody you know crumpled at the bottom of the stairs, moaning in agony and unable to get up, is traumatic, but it seemed so much worse because Brenda is one of those people who just seems infallible. She's old enough to have a bus pass (and makes sure she gets full use of it) but she's always out and about, getting things done, going on holidays, buying new clothes, and going to football-club dances with her husband.

So anyway... With the help of the man who runs the Thames Valley Air Ambulance Trust -- to whom we donate a room of our office -- we got her into a taxi and I went with her to the local A&E. After triage and painkillers, her husband arrived and I left to go back the office. He phoned later after they'd finally got to see a doctor and told us that Brenda had dislocated her shoulder. We had all suspected she may have, because when we'd got her back upstairs and sat her down, it looked as if one of her shoulders had disappeared completely, and her upper arm looked concaved. Poor Brenda had to have the shoulder joint manipulated back into place (although apparently she had an anaesthetic, thank God). She'll have a sling for quite a while and be off work for the foreseeable future, which I know she'll hate as she can't bear sitting around and not being able to get on with things. Get well soon, Brenda!

Then, once back at the office, I spent the rest of the afternoon doing interviews with my boss for a vacancy we have going, since the lady who was meant to be doing the interviews had called in sick. I've never interviewed anyone in my life! Still, it wasn't too bad, and I felt quite knowledgeable and responsible.

I've had a long hot bath and taken some Nurofen, and I plan on doing bugger-all tonight because I feel exhausted. It might seem trite but today was another of those shocks that makes you grateful for your health and your happiness. Brenda's fall was bad, but it could have been so much worse. She fell down the last 8-10 steps, but there are actually roughly 40 steps up to our office. I dread to think of the result if she'd fallen from further up... But thankfully she didn't, and the first thing on my agenda for tomorrow morning is to order a big bouquet of spring flowers to be delivered post-haste to her front door.