HOW AND WHY DID THIS HAPPEN? One minute I had one foot on the dock and the other on the pontoon boat, and the next thing I knew I was laying in a grassy hole on shore with several people around me that were trying to pick me up. The pain was severe. I birthed seven children and did not have that kind of pain, I don’t remember falling at all. My son, daughter-in-law and friends were among those trying to help me. I begged them not to touch me. All I was really aware of was that my right shoulder was immobile and extremely painful. They had already phoned 911 and EMT’s were on the way. It was very soon that they were kneeling by my side. I knew one of the men whom I thought was an EMT person but it turned out that he was just there to help. I was placed on a gurney and put in an ambulance. It would have been a lot less painful if they had not had to lift me. The ride to the small hospital in northern Wisconsin was a blur to me. When I fell, I was told I was partly in the lake. Family and friends picked me out of the water. All this took place on July 9, 2005.
We were joy riding on a pontoon along with other boats and pontoons. We decided to stop at a resort for refreshments before eating dinner. This happened about 7:00 p.m. On our pontoon were myself, two grandsons, son, daughter-in-law, her mother, and her friend. I was used to getting on and off a boat or pontoon because we had a travel trailer parked in a camping park for about thirty-four years. My husband and I were avid fishermen, including fly fishing. That is one of the things I really miss doing now. My children were practically raised there and to this day they come there for the week of July 4 and camp. Two of my daughters and their families drive there every year in their motor homes. They each have children and all the sons enjoy being together that one week. They will not go anywhere else in the summer because they want to be together. They water ski, ride inner tubes, fish, and occasionally get in a little mischief when they were younger. Nothing serious. Now some of them have graduated from college and still won’t give up that week in July. These two daughters live in Pennsylvania. When this fall happened to me I was seventy-five years old. Very active, still working part time and enjoying myself.
The afternoon this happened I opted to not go on the boats with them so I stayed behind and sat outside on a swing and read. Eventually my son and grandsons came for me and insisted I go with them on the pontoon. I did not want to because it was a hot day and I hate hot weather, but I gave in and went. When we tied the boats up at the Resort’s dock I stepped onto the pier and that is all I remember. I spent the weekend in the hospital. Pain meds make me very nauseous. While throwing up on Sunday, there were “coffee grounds” (blood). I was told there were a lot of veins that were cut. On Monday I was scheduled to be transported to a larger city with a larger hospital. I received 2 units of blood before I could go. I spent a week in the hospital, one week in a nursing home where I received physical therapy and then back to the hospital for surgery to repair my shoulder. It was completely crushed. My entire upper body turned completely black which upset me very much. The nurse informed me it was from the internal bleeding. All this time my arm was in a sling and could not move from the elbow to my shoulder. I had no rotator cuff, the muscles and tendons had been cut, the ulna bone broken off between my elbow and shoulder and all sorts of damage there. As a result I have permanent damage in my wrist and thumb. Ever try to feed yourself, dress, shower, and take care of personal hygiene with an arm that you never used before? I had to learn how to do all that with my left hand. No easy task. I still spill and drop food when I eat.
