ice, ice, go away

I ventured out this morning to go to the post office (and to turn in the paper b/c the professor said it was still due at 9 a.m. but "don't risk your safety" of getting it in) and after taking just two steps, I slipped and fell, landing really hard on both my knees. Both knees are scraped, one is bleeding a little and a giant bruise is already forming. And I was extra careful to avoid the ice that was visible. I was not, however, aware of the "invisible ice," the kind results from melting snow/ice and making such a thin layer of ice that you can't see it's there.

This incident brought back memories of the snowy days during highschool. It was the first day of snow during my sophmore year in highschool, and we were all lining up to get on the bus to go home. As my friend and I were walking towards our bus, I noticed her flailing her arms as if she was slipping on the slush. In an attempt to brace her fall, I stepped forward and lost my footing on the slush also. My friend was able to compose herself and keep on walking. I, on the other hand, fell down face forward screaming "AHHHHHH!!!!" My friend turns around and starts laughing at me until she realizes that there are tears coming down my face. She keeps pulling me up and I keep telling her that I heard something go "POP" in my knee and my leg is bent at a very weird angle. Other people start trying to pull me up from the ground, telling me to "walk it off" and ignoring my cries that I think I broke my leg. And apparantly, I am quite a bitch when I'm in pain because people said I was cursing like a sailor and just kept yelling at everyone to stop pulling me up.

Eventually, the vice principal and a couple of other teachers came and asked what happened. Two of the male teachers picked me up and as soon as they did, I heard my knee pop again and told them the pain was less now. They called my dad and the ambulance and I spent the day in the emergency room waiting for x-rays to come back. Luckily, I didn't break a bone, but the impact of the fall tore all the tendons holding my kneecap in place and I had to wear a brace for two months to let that heal. Limping around for two months is not fun. Being called "gimp" for two months is not fun. Walking up three flights of stairs in a brace is not fun. Learning how to walk normally again is not fun.

Eck, don't want to think about that anymore.

So until this ice melts away, I am never going outside again. The last thing I need is to walk with crutches for the rest of the semester.