It was a dark and stormy night. Isn’t this how Snoopy starts all his stories? Do you have dark stormy nights, days, or weeks?
This has been a trying week. I started out in Oklahoma City at the World Championship Quarter Horse Show. My friend, Tina, was showing on Monday in two classes. She entered the ring in her Equitation Over Fences class got to the second fence and her horse saw something and stopped. She has Rheumatoid Arthritis, so she doesn’t have the strength to stay on when she gets off balance that she used to. She kind of slowly fell to the ground and the announcer called for a medic. She walked out of the arena and back to the stalls. Her next class was a few hours away and I was doubtful that she’d be able to ride.
Then I got a call from an unknown local number. Normally I won’t answer these calls, this time something told me to. It was a friend of my son’s mother. They had called the ambulance and he had been taken to the Emergency Room. Now what do I do? I’m in Oklahoma City without a car to drive and my heart was torn apart. As I got more details on his condition, I was trying to find a way to get home. To travel to Oakley, KS is not an easy feat unless you have something to drive. The closest regional airports are 80-90 miles away. There is no place to turn in a rental car which didn’t matter as I couldn’t find a one-way rental anyway. I could get a flight into Garden City for a reasonable cost but didn’t book it.
Tina was readying her horse for her second class, the Jumping class, her forte. I helped her get ready and went to the stands with apprehension and my camera. She came into the ring and had a clear round. There were two more clear rounds so there would be a jump-off. The horse and rider with the fewest number of faults and the fastest time would win. She was last in the order, had a clear round, and was three seconds faster than the other clear round. She’d won the Select Amateur Jumping for the second year in a row. Now we needed to figure out how to get me to my son.
I got a call from his friend’s mother who said they were going to send him to a larger hospital in Salina. I called and talked to the Physician’s Assistant who was handling his case. I’d prefer he go to KU Med Center he is already established with a couple of physicians there. We can send him there at your request and you’ll have to pay the difference. OK, I know how to navigate the medical stuff and I sent him the name of the doctor my son was established with.
When he called back, he said he hadn’t been able to get in touch with the doctor at KU, so they had sent him on to Salina. I was disappointed however this worked out.
After we took care of the horse Tina drove me to Salina where my son’s girlfriend, her dad, and the friend who had called the ambulance were meeting me with my car. I assumed they would keep him in the hospital, so I’d be in Salina for a few days. On the way, I got a call from the doctor in Salina. When would I be there to pick him up? He said they had put his shoulder back into place and put him on some medicine and he needed to follow up with an orthopedist and neurologist in a few days.
The next day I got on the phone and had an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon at KU Med Center for him on Friday. Could his neurologist see him that day as well? They made special arrangements for him to see the neurologist in clinic even though he was on call that week. This is one of the things I love about KU Med Center. The doctors there have been very accommodating since they know that we live 350 miles away. He saw the doctors on Friday and is scheduled for surgery on Tuesday to fix his shoulder.
Sometimes life comes at you fast and you are left hunting for answers. Where do you look for answers? I go to the horses. Come join us to see how Gestalt can help you find your answers.
Sometimes you gotta have Faith.
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Onward!
