Thursday, February 25, 2010

Face plant

It was classic slapstick. I went up to the street to put the garbage cans out, and after I finished the job, I turned to go back in the house and tripped over my own feet. Down I went on the asphalt, face first. I rolled over on my back and thought, "This isn't good."

Back in the house in front of the mirror, I've got a banged up nose, a fat lip, and a big Hitler-mustache abrasion on my upper lip - quite fetching. I've also got two scraped palms and a banged-up elbow. After mopping the grit out of my abrasions, I've decided to stay home from work.

Facial wounds are unpleasant enough, especially if it's serious. It's particularly embarrassing when, even if not serious, it looks gory. A few years ago in New York City on vacation, I tripped on a sidewalk and, because my hands were full, I landed on the sidewalk on my face. As my scrapes and bruises healed, it looked even worse, and my poor husband received several stern sidelong glances from passersby as we sat together in restaurants.

And can I just ask the gods - What is it with me and garbage cans? Back in my twenties I slid down my very steep Seattle driveway on my elbows after my recycling bin ran away from me. Of course, on that occasion I'd had a couple of glasses of wine.

And last year my mother's life was changed when she rode her garbage bin down her driveway on trash day.

There is an up side, though. At least I didn't break my teeth.

How about you, have you ever done a face plant? How long did it take for your wounds to heal, and how did you cope?

11 comments:

  1. Wow...that was quite a spill. I'm sorry. You are probably going to be in a lot of pain. Maybe you should be checked out for fractures. (Dr. Mom here!)

    xoxo
    Jane

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  3. Oh my goodness. I am glad you had an unexpected day off. I am sorry you were injured though! Ouch!

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  4. owwwwwwwwwwww

    I've taken a few trips and falls myself. Never broken anything - but had my share of abrasions and scraped up elbows and knees. My mother used to say it was because my feet were too big for my body. My dad said it was because I didn't look where I was going. I think I was just clumsy.

    Hope you heal up nicely! Be sure to use Scar Zone on your lip so you don't scar!

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  5. Dang it - ouch!
    I was stunned to see an image of garbage can on this post. Last night on my neighborhood walk, I wanted to take a picture of a blue bin in front of a house of hoarders. It was ironic.

    As for face plants...I have this weird fear that I will break my front teeth. I do hope it remains weird and not reality.

    Please take care and enjoy your time off.

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  6. Oh, yes, I've done a face plant. Not too long ago, I was visiting a job site where we were finishing a basement for the clients. The subdivision developer had not yet put the final surface on the street, so there was a bit of a step up between the street and the driveway. I tripped on that and took the brunt of the fall on my chin. I was terribly afraid I had broken my jaw or loosened some teeth. I never got very bruised, but it took a couple of weeks before my jaw felt normal.

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  7. you poor dear!

    Hope you`re better soon...stop by Waikiki to relax...just saying :)


    Aloha, Friend!


    Comfort Spiral

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  8. So far, not entirely on my face. But I have a weird balance issue that seems to pop up when I'm wearing flat shoes on utterly flat surfaces. High heels, uphill on cobblestones, I'm good. Tennis shoes on the court, boots in the barn, bam! In front of lots of people, invariably.

    The question is - are YOU okay?

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  9. Ouch!!

    A month ago I choked on a big gulp of coffee & passed out, face first. Fell on the bed though, & only split my forehead.

    Also fell on my face (still have the chin scar) when in high school, & took four days off to heal. (Big assignment was due.)

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  10. Ouch! I've done the face plant a few times, myself. So far no scars, but I have plenty for all the other falls I've taken. Let's just say, I'm not exactly known for my grace.
    Hope you heal fast, and to minimize scarring, I've found Bandaids and antibiotic ointment works wonders!

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  11. I've landed on my hands and knees, and my last fall was in the bathroom on the wet tile...that one landed on my hip and hit my head. No face plants for me. Hope you heal soon.

    Sue

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