Birthday Emergency

Thursday was the birthday of my good friend Jessie. She turned 45 and I was going to take her to her favorite place that night for her birthday. I texted her, Facebooked her, and called her to wish her a happy birthday and that I'd see her later, etc. Then at like a quarter after one, I get a phone call from her son Kenny. Kenny is a "texter" so I was curious as to why he was calling, and any of my Friars I will pick up the phone.

"Hey Kenny, how are you?" "Eh, I'm alright...well, not really. Mom broke her ankle." "WHAT?! But it's her birthday!" as if that was an intellectual reason for this not to happen. "I'll be there in five minutes." Now Jessie works about a half hour away. But she was at an office for the doctor she works for in Union, NJ. She stepped on the curb and the curb broke and she ended up breaking the ankle VERY badly. So her son and I drove down the parkway to 138, found her, found out where the ambulance was taking her, the manager and doctor were very helpful, and we were to go to the other office to get her things.

When I saw her, the first thing I said to her was "You know, there are other ways of getting attention on your birthday!" But she was more concerned about the work she had to get done for her employer, how her son was getting back to school in Rhode Island the next day, but she needed to take care of this ankle, because it looked bad. SO we got her car from the parking lot, the ambulance brought her to the hospital, and Kenny and I went further down the parkway to the other office to get things she needed like her purse, phone charger, and of course most importantly, her birthday cake!

Then Kenny and I ventured back up the parkway to find the hospital she was in, find HER, then when we did, we looked at her x ray. OUCH. She's already making friends with the doctors and nurses, asking them if they can take a picture of it on their phone and send it to her! Then the doctors tried to "reduce" the ankle. Apparently I don't know what this is because I thought it's just making swelling go down, but they do this by having me and Kenny hold her arms in place so she doesn't move while pushing and moving the bone back into place. The first two times it popped out, the last time they got the splint on, but after another X Ray they found it was not stable and had to do surgery that night at 11PM.

She was a real trooper, and everyone is calling her on her cell phone to wish her a happy birthday and then she says thanks but I can't talk I'm in the emergency room with a broken ankle, as if this is an everyday occurrence. Kenny went back to college before the snow hit, and I'll make sure she feels comfortable, but it looks like she is going to have to have another surgery. Was it her idea of the perfect birthday? Definitely not, but she was a true warrior during the whole thing! Send her good thoughts and prayers!

Yours in service,
ANDREW TRENTO