Contusion of the knee

On Tuesday this week, the staff member that had been out with the broken wrist, came back to work. She and we, we very excited. Our full team, back together again. It was a busy day but we were breathing a sigh of relief that things could get back to normal. However, it wouldn't be a normal week. We had our "dreaded sundae bar". Sundae bar is when you buy a lunch, you get a free sundae bar. Sundae bar consists of ice cream and various toppings. You have to make sure you have everything in stock, set it all up, and be ready for a crazy day. The kids love sundae bar. It comes free with your lunch purchase. Remember I said lunch purchase. This is a hard concept for the kids. Everybody wants a sundae but not everybody has money for one. It is another opportunity to set up the lunch lady to be the bad guy. If a child doesn't have money on their card and they don't buy lunch, I can't give them a sundae bar. You have kids coming at you from everywhere on sundae bar day. Some have the extra $1.25 it cost if you don't buy lunch, and some just have their cards, with or without money on the card.

Sundae bar days are the craziest days of the year. We have four of them a year. This time it was every crazier since the day our staff member came back from being off with her wrist, I fell and hurt my knee. YUP, I DID. I thought I would stay late and slice some ham that I would be needing. After I was done slicing, I cleaned the slicer and started cleaning up. I took the parts of the slicer that I had taken off that needed to be run through the dishwasher, and started my way back to the dishwasher with parts in my arms. I walked off of our slip resistant mat and lost my footing. I did that awkward couple of large bumbling steps that happens when you are headed into a free fall. It is amazing how quick the brain can think. Immediately I was thinking that I was going to fall right on top of the equipment I was carrying. Now these are slicer parts. Hard, blunt type parts. I didn't want my face to end up laying on top of the parts so I kind of tossed the parts into the air with outstretched arms so I wouldn't land on them. And, it worked I didn't land on the parts. I did though, land as if I was sliding into homeplate in the bottom of the ninth inning of a tied game in the world series.

Oh the pain! As I laid there all kind of thoughts run through your head. First, did anybody see me? God I hope not. Was I alive? Sure I was, was I hurt, hmmmmm, let's see. My wrist seemed ok except for a small nick with a brush burn. My face seemed ok, thank you Jesus! My knee, oh boy... it hurt. I rolled over and looked for blood, there was none. That had to be a good sign, right? I gingerly got up, everything hurt now. The brush burns were beginning to burn, my chest hurt from the thump onto the concrete floor, my arms hurt. The only thing that didn't hurt was my feet, that always hurt.

I gingerly got up and took a few steps. Ok, I can still walk. I picked up the pieces of the slicer that I had tossed and put them in the dishroom. I knew my knee was injured. So, I figured if the school nurse was still there, I better go see her and report the accident just in case I can't walk in the morning.

The nurse had me sit and looked at my knee which was already swelling up. She gave me ice and bandaged it up and sent me straight to the doctor. The doctor checked me out and told me I had "very loose kneecaps, has anybody ever told you that before?", Hmmm, why the heck would somebody tell me that? I didn't know there was any such thing as loose kneecaps. Whatever they are, I got 'em.

The doctor wanted an X-Ray before I could go back to work to be sure it wasn't fractured. So, the next morning I made an appointment for 8:30 and hoped to be back at work in plenty of time for sundae bar. The hospital that took the X-ray assured me they would be read the X-ray and call the doctor asap with the results. "Go home and wait they said". So, I waited, and waited, and waited. Sundae bar came and gone while I was waiting at home. I was very upset about having someone else (especially a just returning injured staff) do the register on one of the the hardest register day's of the year. But, I had no choice. I was at the mercy of the hospital and their timetable. They don't run on a lunch lady timetable.

The results showed I had a Contusion of the Knee with osteoarthritis. Or, a bad bruise. I could go back to work if I had to but I should be off till Monday. No way. Lunch ladies do not take days off for a "contusion of the knee". Hell NO! So back to work I went the next day. Just in time for Dominos Day, another busy register day.

So, quite a week it was. Glad its over. We are saying we are going to wrap our other staff member in bubble wrap so she doesn't get hurt. Sounds like a good idea.

We have Wednesday off next week. Yeah! And my son is coming home this week for Spring Break. We can't wait to see him. Should be a great week coming up. Barring no "accidents".

Ahhhhh.... All is well.