That Loud Noise You Heard was my Body Hitting the Pavement

Yesterday when coming home from the office I took a major spill on the street.  I was pulling my rolling briefcase full of stuff, and had my purse (also full of stuff) as well as a bag with some birthday cards for my mom and wrapping paper for her present.

Then all at once - blammo! - I was face down, spread all over the sidewalk like some suit wearing starfish.  All of my stuff was scattered over the sidewalk, and I fell directly on my purse and bag of cards.  I don't appear to have destroyed my suit, but I did bust the heck out of my knees and hand, as shown below:

Of course, one only falls before having to go somewhere else, which in my case was my mother's birthday dinner at a fancy restaurant.  So the Nerd helped me get home, with my left knee in particular getting tighter with every step.  Then, it was time for a quick change to get into clothes that I had not been rolling around on the ground in, and then we went back out to walk to the subway for the trip up to midtown. 

Walking actually felt ok, but stairs were an absolute killer - - my left knee could barely bend when we left my place, and the scrapes on my hand were very raw.  When we got to midtown, the Nerd and I went to a bookstore to pick up the Jamie Oliver Meals in Minutes cookbook for my mom's present (ed. note: she loved it), and then walked the 4 blocks north to the restaurant. 

I was a little concerned because the left knee (middle picture, above) was getting worse with every step.  By the time that dinner was done, my knee was almost completely frozen, and excruciatingly painful to bend. 

We spent a couple of hours icing the knee last night, first with a ziplock bag full of ice cubes (until it leaked all over the bed) and then with the athlete's staple, frozen peas.  And you know what?  This morning, although my knee was still sore, I could bend it - - a huge improvement over last night when I went to bed, when I could only bend my left knee by pushing it with my other leg.

All in all, it could have been much worse.  I did not break any bones, which is surprising given the way I fell on my hand.  And I can use both knees, albeit with discomfort.  But I should be able to go for a short walk this afternoon to keep the knees moving, and tomorrow I should be able to hop back on the elliptical as per my usual schedule. 

So at this point my only real concern is that I did not stick the landing.