There are a lot of LDS churches around here, as you might guess, and a handful of mainstream churches. I have looked at all of them online and wasn’t feeling very hopeful, but I was drawn to check out the Greek Orthodox Church here in Price, Hellenic Orthodox Church of the Assumption. I had once visited an Orthodox church in Los Gatos, CA, when we were Workamping there, and was intrigued.
I was greeted inside the door by a man named Bill Barnes. He converted to Orthodoxy 20 years ago. There was a small congregation this morning, and he introduced me to each of them and told me what position they hold in the church. Everyone seems to have a role to play. He told me he would get his wife, Rose, to sit with me during the service, and he handed me a booklet of what would be happening during the service. Rose and I sat near the front and visited for a few minutes before the choir began to sing. They will be getting a new priest next Sunday, but they did a shortened service today. I tried to follow along in the booklet, but there were times I got lost. It was good to have Rose next to me so that I could try to follow her. Afterwards, they invited me downstairs for coffee (I had water) and we visited some more.
Mark had dropped me off at the church and then drove to what would be his ward in Wellington if we get the house we looked at. Bill and Rose had said they would take me back to the RV after the service, so I called Mark and told him he didn’t have to pick me up. We were going out to get into their car, and I was chatting with them and didn’t see how high the curb was that I was stepping off. It was a long way down, and when my right foot hit the ground, my ankle twisted, and I must have also landed on my left knee. I could tell through my socks that my right foot was swelling up already. Bill asked if I wanted them to call an ambulance, and I asked if they could just drive me, and they graciously agreed. Nothing in Price is very far away, so it only took a couple of minutes to get there. Bill ran in and got a wheelchair and wheeled me in.
The waiting room at Castleview Hospital was empty, so I got right up to the window and got checked in. Then I was immediately taken back to a room, and Bill and Rose came in with me so that they could get my contact information. A nurse came in while they were there, and they greeted him by name. Bill told me I had the best nurse there. The nurse took my vitals and asked me, on a scale of 1 to 10, how bad the pain was. I said it was a 10, and Rose commented, “And she’s still smiling!” I said, “I smiled throughout childbirth, too,” and she said, “That just isn’t right!” We all had a good laugh. It wasn’t more than a few minutes before the doctor came in. The doctor touched all around my foot and my knees and asked some questions. Bill said I got the best doctor, too! He and Rose stayed until the technician came with the X-ray machine, which wasn’t very long at all. I didn’t have to be wheeled to an X-ray room, they brought the machine to me. The nurse had given me a painkiller, but it wasn’t working just yet, so it hurt to have to move my foot for X-rays at various angles, and the technician kept apologizing.
On the way to the ER, I had tried to call Mark, and then I texted him. Mark told me that he had turned his phone off when I tried to call because the service was still going, and he thought I just wanted to know where he was. He got my text during the last hymn, so he left as soon as he read it. Bill took both our phone numbers, and he texted Mark to give him the address of the hospital. Before they left, Bill said they wanted to hear what the results were, which is why he got my phone number. He texted me so that I would have his.
Mark came in with his hands on his hips and said, “What did you do to your foot?” I explained the whole story to him, and while we were waiting for the X-ray results, he texted Bill to thank him for helping me. It might have taken all of 15 minutes for the X-rays to finish processing. The doctor came in and told us that I had chipped my ankle bone and pulled the tendon. He said that as this heals, bone will be built between the chip and my ankle bone, so the chip is still being held by the tendon rather than floating around loose in there. He said that when this all heals, everything will be back in place and no one will know that it was ever chipped. They gave me a boot, some crutches, and a prescription for the painkiller, and before they wheeled me out, they gave me a CD of the X-rays, and the doctor says he wants me to see an orthopedist when we get to Oregon for another set of X-rays. I’m sure glad we have good insurance!
Mark stopped at the pharmacy to turn in my prescriptions, and then he brought me back to the RV. Trying to get up the 4 steps was a challenge!
So the doctor told me I have to elevate my foot. We won’t be able to do any more exploring today. I texted Bill and Rose and said that they are the first friends I’ve made here, so if we get the house, I will already have friends waiting for me. I told them about my blog so that they can keep up with our adventures. Everybody, welcome Bill and Rose Barnes!