02
Jul
2021

HOLES AND HOPES

I find myself checking my head constantly, without thinking about it. My hands in my hair, sifting through the strands, feeling the lumps and landscape of my skull like an amateur phrenologist. I am trying unconsciously to tell if there is more damage from my fall than I thought, or maybe I’m trying to smooth it out, to make sure there are no actual holes in my skull, as if my fingers could softly and carefully rub the bone back together.

There are 22 bones in the human skull, 14 of which make up your face. The bones of the neurocranium, which support the structure of the face and form a cavity for the brain, also protect it from injury. They are mostly flat bones that are joined by rigid suture joints. I currently have two rather large…dents in my right parietal bone. If not dents, then definite…depressions. Divots, if you will. They don’t hurt anymore, they’re not tender, exactly, but they’re definitely NOT hard bone like the left side.

Googling skull injuries tells me they are most likely minor depressed fractures, which are cracks that cause the skull to indent or extend into the brain cavity *shivers* …sounds worse than I think it is, but still…a little worrying. They are, however, a kind of fracture that have a harder time healing on their own. Mine really don’t seem to be in any way severe. I’ve had little to no pain after the initial fall, and no signs of concussion or brain injury…no nausea, dizziness, or any other kind of neurological symptoms that might indicate trouble. According to Dr. Google, the healing process can take many months, which I guess makes sense since other bone breaks also take a few months or more to fully heal by themselves.

Apart from badly spraining my ankle years ago, I think this is probably the worst I’ve hurt myself. And considering I was trying super hard NOT to sprain my ankle during the excursion where I fell, I find that a little ironic. I guess I just wait it out, and try to keep my hands out of my hair and stop pressing on the sore spots.

***

Karin has been home this evening. She went with me to the grocery store and to pick up sushi for dinner. We brought home strawberries and cream for dessert: very summery! We ate in front of the TV, which I dislike doing, because she and Anders wanted to watch the soccer matches (Spain vs. Switzerland). Then she and I participated in the AIC trivia night which had a good turnout, despite being online. The questions were very random and very hard, but our team (Ekattack) took home the first place spot with just over half right of the 60 questions. We won a bottle of wine which I will give to her, since I don’t drink. 😀 Now, she and Anders are watching Italy vs. Belgium, which is nearing the end of the second half with Italy in the lead 2-1.

Anders gets his second vaccination shot tomorrow afternoon and then he and I are going to his sister’s for dinner. We haven’t seen them for quite a while. And Sunday is the AIC Independence Day picnic, if it doesn’t rain. Very small affair this year, with no real contribution from the club: a social-distancing picnic outside with a limited amount of attendees allowed. Karin is going with us, which will be nice. I’m making a chicken pasta salad and deviled eggs and we’ll hope the strawberries we bought today will still be good in 2 days time to take with us for dessert then, too.

It’s been a while since I had such a fully booked weekend. Feels kinda weird. Almost makes me hope for rain on Sunday, haha!

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