Enjoying Fall Until a Fall

October in Pennsylvania this year was beautiful and we enjoyed being out and about with family and friends; until I had a fall while enjoying a waterfall in a national park. I guess I should backup and tell you about the fun part of the trip before I talk about the bad.

October started off with beautiful warm and sunny days. Since the weather was so nice, Tim and I planned a short trip to Ohio and celebrate our anniversary a week early. We were going to Ohio for our friends’ sons wedding so decided to leave 2 days early and visit Salt Fork State Park and Cuyahoga Valley National Park. These parks were only a 2 hour drive away and while they were on our bucket list, we hadn’t visited yet. The wedding venue wasn’t too far from either park so worked out perfectly; or so we thought.

On our way there, Tim wanted to do some shopping for a cargo trailer. As you know, we bought the van to use in our travels, but since we can’t stand up in it, it isn’t working out so well for camping. He now decided he wants to build a small cargo trailer as a camper and pull it with the van. More on that later.

After perusing some trailers, we headed into Ohio and a nights’ stay at Salt Fork Lodge. Friends had told us about this lodge in Salt Fork State Park that is quite nice with a great senior rate during the week, so we thought it was a good place to go to celebrate our anniversary. It is a beautiful lodge in a beautiful setting with a nice restaurant where we enjoyed dinner and breakfast. There were a couple drawbacks: very slow service in the restaurant and no soap available for the bathroom sink. It seemed they had minimal staff during the week but we still enjoyed the lodge and would stay again.

the view of the lake from our balcony at salt fork lodge

We left Salt Fork on Friday morning and headed to the national park. It was a beautiful day and the park was quite busy with lots of people and bicycles. We managed to get a parking spot near the visitors center so we started our visit there. We enjoyed the visitor’s center and walking around the old canal town and hiked some on the canal trail. It was a 2 mile hike on that trail to Brandywine Falls and Tim did not feel up to a 4 mile hike so we didn’t do the full hike and decided to drive up to the falls.

the bridge from the visitors center to the old canal town

Unfortunately, that parking lot was full, so Tim dropped me off and he kept circling until a spot opened up. I headed down the raised boardwalk trail to the viewing platform to see the falls. Since I was waiting on Tim to join me, I decided to head down the steps to the next platform at the top of the falls. That was probably a mistake. After taking a few pictures, I started up the steps and somehow managed to catch my foot on the edge of a step, lost my balance and fell. I tried to catch myself by grabbing the railing to my left but missed it and landed on my left shoulder on the stone surface. I heard a pop and then my head hit the metal pole holding the railing.

Luckily, I didn’t knock myself out and was able to sit up. I knew I either dislocated or broke my shoulder. After a few minutes, I was able to stand up, and call Tim. He had parked and was on the trail above me. I managed to get back up the trail, meet Tim and file an accident report with the ranger that Tim had called. Needless to say, we spent the rest of the afternoon in an emergency room instead of touring the rest of the park.

my head really swelled up after the fall

They initially thought I had dislocated my shoulder but unfortunately, the X-rays showed a break. On the positive side, the CT Scan of my head was negative so no brain bleed. They gave me a sling and pain medication and said to see an Orthopedic doctor on Monday. Tim wanted to head back home but I just wanted to get a hotel and rest. Luckily, there was a hotel just down the street from the hospital.

Believe it or not, we went to the wedding on Saturday. I figured I would be in pain whether we did that or went home. At least the wedding was a distraction. We stayed for the ceremony and dinner then headed to the hotel when the dancing started. I actually enjoyed myself at the wedding and it was good to see some of our friends. Definitely an eventful little trip!

I lucked out getting an appointment Monday afternoon with Ortho and learned that I broke the top of the humerus where it connects to the shoulder in two places. The bone also moved down slightly. The doctor recommended letting the break heal, then physical therapy to see if I can get full movement back. With the bone moved, I may not be able to lift my arm higher than my shoulder. If I don’t get the movement back, the only option is a shoulder replacement. I'm really hoping I don’t have to go that route.

Needless to say this has delayed our trip to Florida for the winter. My head and arm were very bruised and went through lovely shades of blue, green and yellow as it all heals. I am in a sling for 6 weeks for the bone to heal. I see the doctor on 11/16 and I am praying the breaks have healed by then and he says I can travel.

I spent the second half of October hanging out in the apartment letting my arm heal. I have gotten outside a little bit to enjoy sometime with the family. Katie, Nova Rose, and I joined Whitney, Ian and Alexander the weekend before Halloween for a couple fall festivals with trick or treat for the kids. It was fun to see them in costume and good to be out and enjoy the fall leaves in the parks. Katie drove and we ended the day with a visit to Narcisi Winery, This winery has a beautiful outdoor area with a creek for Rosie to splash around in. I also enjoyed seeing her in the Halloween parade on Halloween itself. Definitely a good way to end October.

our little halloween parade is pretty much just a firetruck, the high school band and all the kids in costume. it is small but always fun1

both Rosie and aleczander were very focused on decorating their pumpkins

Look for more on Tim’s new project in the next post.

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