Becca Update

So during the race, Becca got on a bike, went up a hill, along a ridge, and then down a hill.  Only the down hill part was more like a slalom with big and little rocks and massive potholes and bumps.  It may have only been 20 feet long but all it took was a split second of losing control and down she went. 

She left the bike and helmet and walked herself back to the starting line.  Nearly there, the organizer of the event saw her and asked if she needed anything.  She said something along the lines of "I need a medic.  I think I need stitches."  So he asked her for who?  Someone on the path?  "No, for me."

And that's when he noticed the blood pouring down her legs.

Shock and adrenaline make people able to do some crazy stuff.

So the first aide team starting pouring water all over her legs.  She was filthy, as a wipe-out on dirt and gravel will make you, and they said stitches were needed.

She walked back up the first hill with Ian and Nicholas in tow to get driven to the hospital.  I'm not sure where the ambulance was, but they made it there anyway in a civil defense truck, to the local Sharhabil Bin Hassneh town hospital where thoughts go more to Gettysburg than to INOVA Fairfax.

[Nicholas had to step out as he told Ian that he was starting to see spots... we all know where that leads.]

There was painkiller, so that's good.  Antibiotics, not so much.  Doctor that looked like a doctor and not like a teenager in a bright plaid shirt?  Well...  Paper and sanitary steps in the exam room, not really available. A door that stayed shut without people wandering in or just popping by to say hi to the doc?  Um... This was a local hospital doing the best they could for all their patients, and for my kid they did a great job.  The gash is stitched well and healing.  I couldn't ask for more.

She was fine the ride home (the ECO Park for the triathlon is 2 hours away from Amman).  We even stopped at McDonalds.  Maybe we were all in shock.

That night around 1 a.m. I got a phone call from my daughter two doors down the hall.  She was in pain.  A lot of pain.  I got and and took a look and it dawned on me then that the lack of antibiotics at the hospital also came with a lack of script for any antibiotics at all.  As much as I wanted to believe that the wound was spotlessly clean I wasn't comforted.

I called the duty nurse.  Should I have called 6 hours earlier and avoided waking her up?  Absolutely.  Sometimes clarity comes at 1 a.m. though.  She felt that the bandaging and all could wait for examination until the next day, but the lack of antibiotics was concerning.

I woke up Ian and asked him to take Becca to the emergency room at Arab Medical.  In less than 2 hours they were back after getting all re-bandaged, with prescriptions for antibiotic meds and cream, a new pain killer in the backside, and a tetanus shot just in case.  Total cost: 39JD (right around $55).

The next day (Monday) Becca was in the health unit cleaning her own wounds and getting her dressings changed once more.

Today (Tuesday), we were back and she did her own cleaning again, and was re-bandaged.

We'll go again Wednesday and Thursday, and by Friday she should be healed enough to let the legs air out, and have minimal dressing to worry about.  She even made it to school today.

Seriously, this kid is a rock star when it comes to handling pain, but more than that I'm impressed by her positive attitude through the whole thing.  She's bummed she didn't finish the triathlon.  She's bummed she can't run the Dead Sea 10K this coming weekend.  But she wants to do them next year and that is awesome.