safety first, always.

[This was on the ceiling tile in my room.]

During the pandemic, the general consensus is that the last place you want to be is in a hospital. From everything that the media constantly generates about the lack of hospital beds and ventilators as well as photos or videos of exhausted front line workers in make shift PPE, it’s no wonder why everyone is absolutely terrified of potentially catching COVID-19 from exposure to a hospital environment. However on April 28, I self admitted myself due to sustaining the worst injury I’ve pretty much had my entire life.

Everyone who knows me on a personal level knows that I love my adrenaline rushes through action sports and doing things that get my heart rate up. If you’re a first time visitor to my website, you’ll see the common theme of snowboarding which happens to be my number one passion. Since we’ve been in this worldwide lockdown, ski resorts have shutdown across the nation ending what could’ve been an incredible 19/20 season. So naturally, I tried to find an alternative that I could do “safely” in the current environment — skateboarding.

I’ve owned my own skateboard since I lived in Santa Monica circa 2011. Did I ever learn properly? No. Did I try to learn by riding in the empty parking lots of the pier? Absolutely, but it never stuck because the snow is much more forgiving than pavement and I grew up in the era of snowboarders that didn’t wear helmets or other protective gear. Fast forward to Monday, April 27, I went out for an evening ride with my daughter. There’s an elementary school less than five minutes from our house which I’ve been taking her to ride her scooter around in the empty parking lot. This specific day was different. She was going at a pace with her dad that was much quicker, which pushed me to get out of my comfort zone.

I picked up speed since I was lagging behind. I ended up going down a decline and thinking, “Holy shit, I need to stop before I hurt myself…” Granted, I am very accident prone and have broken my tailbone eating it on a kicker and split my chin open on a box all while snowboarding. And I did just that — tried to brake, lost my balance, and fell directly onto the back of my head and scraped up the right side of my body. I didn’t lose consciousness, but I definitely felt dazed and my head was throbbing. My husband didn’t see it happen but he said he heard the impact, which turned out to be a lot more severe than we initially thought. I tried to shake it off but the pain in my head was pounding on the backside and the front which was strange since I didn’t hit the front...

We ended up going home shortly after since I was feeling disoriented. I jumped into the shower, took some ibuprofen and put an ice pack on the back of my head to try to alleviate the pain. In retrospect, I should’ve went to the hospital that evening, but chose to sleep the night to see if there was any improvement in the morning. The night was horrid. The pain on both sides of my head kept me tossing and turning. I couldn’t lay on the back of my head because of the throbbing and swelling. The pain in the front was equivalent to the worst migraine - the type that debilitates you when you’re exposed to any type of light.

I ended up going to the new stand alone emergency room by my house. Their COVID-19 safety precautions were immediate. Upon arrival, there was a staff member waiting under the porte cochere that only permitted patients to enter the facility. It made me nervous but glad that they had such strict protocols in place. I entered and checked in. Was greeted by friendly staff and admitted immediately. Standard questions were asked but also COVID related ones that were asked throughout my entire hospital stay:

• Have you been exposed to anyone who has COVID?

• Have you traveled outside of the state in the last 30 days?

• Have you tested for COVID?

I was really the only patient in the ER which was comforting. I talked to the staff and they said it’s been relatively slow throughout the pandemic due to the media generated fear. The nurse took my vitals and then the doctor came over to examine. Since it was trauma to the head, they ordered a CAT scan to be done. All of that took place within 15 minutes of being admitted and I received the results of my scan shortly after. The scans showed internal bleeding on my right frontal lobe. Apparently the impact of the back of my skull hitting the ground was so severe that it made my brain bounce from the back to the front causing contusions on both sides but also bleeding on the front. That would explain the migraine like pain.

The doctor informed me that I needed to be transported to the main hospital to see the neurologist. The bleeding was minimal but it was a cause for concern and they didn’t have the specialists at the facility that I was at. He told me that I would be transported via ambulance. I asked if my husband could take me but he strongly recommended that I take the ambulance due to the potential risk associated. Also that if I took a personal vehicle, I would have to wait to be admitted versus arriving at the ER and having a room waiting for me.

I’d rather be safe than sorry in most scenarios these days so I opted to take the ambulance. The EMTs were kind and the trip was quick to Spring Valley Hospital. All I could l think about were the people who were in much worse condition that had to take the ambulance prior to me. I was conscious and fully alert even though I had an IV with pain medication being administered already. When I arrived at Spring Valley, they admitted me immediately to the ER. The vibe was different - felt a little bit frantic and definitely more populated but not overly in any sense like the media portrayed.

I don’t think I came across any COVID patients and the nurses informed me that they were on their own floor. I stayed overnight as they insisted that it would be pointless if I went home the same evening because they wanted to observe and ensure that my conditions stabilized. I was also heavily medicated with two IV’s consisting of pain and anti seizure medication. They did two more CAT scans and an MRI to assess the damage but I was fortunate that they didn’t show any additional bleeding. They also ran a neurological test and had their occupational therapists visit me to ensure that mobility was not an issue even though I had a bunch of abrasions that I didn’t take notice of really until I was officially discharged.

Mind you, no visitors were allowed in any part of the hospital due to the COVID safety precautions. Everyone I dealt with was generally kind and caring. I’m glad to say that I’m almost fully recovered. Things could’ve been a lot worse, but they weren’t. My takeaway from this is that safety is a priority for everyone but you shouldn’t be afraid of going to get medical help if you need it. In my case, I am ever so thankful that I went. Otherwise, the bleeding would’ve never been surfaced.

I felt safe and secure the entire time I was hospitalized. I really have to take a moment to recognize the first responders and front line workers. They are constantly putting their own lives on the line to save others. We should make their jobs easier by staying healthy with social distancing and abiding by the recommended standards. Stay safe, healthy, and sane my friends.