Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Book Fair and Bloodied

Last weekend, I attended the Collingswood Book Fair, spent way too much money, and hung out with a ton of amazing authors, like..





Later, I went for a run. I don't know if it was the excitement of meeting such fabulous authors or if it was the brand new inhaler my doctor prescribed that's shaving a minute off my mile time or if it's the new novel I'm brainstorming, but I tripped. And I didn't just stumble a bit, I fell hard. Hard enough for someone to stop their car and ask if I was okay. Hard enough to cut up and bruise four body parts. So hard that four days later, I'm still picking stones out of my gashes. 

In fact, my knees look worse then Amy Winehouse's do in this pic. I tried to laugh it off, but it hurt. Like seriously. And it was embarrassing because I think I tripped over my own feet. And when I returned to the scene I couldn't exactly find anything sticking up or out.  :) 

Did anyone ever wipe out running? Or did anyone ever trip or do something strange because their mind was on something else? 

Pretty Tough Tuesday: Check out Part 3 of Angela Tincher's interview. Today, Angela shares what it's like to play professional softball. 

Have an amazing day, everyone! :) 

37 comments:

Lenore Appelhans said...

I never fell while running (except while doing hurdles) but I did wipeout on slippery stairs once at a movie theater. It was dramatic, painful, and embarrassing. But I lived (a had a huge bruise on my rear and back for weeks).

And YAY for book fairs. The Frankfurt one is NEXT week and I am super duper excited!!!

MySharonAnne said...

I fall while running, walking down stairs, walking down the sidewalk, and in my sleep. Don't know why I'm so clumsy.

Marianne Arkins said...

Wipe out when running? You assume that I run... lol...

I do habitually fall up and down the stairs though, for no apparent reason.

TJ Brown said...

I'm worried about falling while I run. I'm such a clutz. I'm glad you had a good time at the fair. I love them... when I don't have to speak at them of course:)
Teri

Unknown said...

Hehe...I never quit wiping out. Total klutz. Got a broken thumb and a Harry Potter scar to prove it :)

PJ Hoover said...

Glad you're OK! And so cool you got to hang with cool authors!
Screwball came yesterday!

Melissa Walker said...

aw, keri! so sorry you tumbled. it was great to meet you in person, though, so glad i saw you pre-fall.

Keri Mikulski said...

Hi, Lenore! Ugh. I hate hurdles. :) That reminds me of the time I wiped out and smacked my head bowling. Have fun at the book fair.

Hi, Sharon! Me too.

Hi, Marianne! :) I've been known to fall on stairs, too.

Hi, Teri! Be careful! Yes, the fair was a blast. My first one. :)

Keri Mikulski said...

HI, PJ! It was a blast. Enjoy SCREWBALL! :)

Hi, Beth! A Harry Potter scar? Oh, okay, I get it.. I have to go check my copy of HP now. :)

Hi, Melissa! Oh, I would have been complaining. It was so much fun to meet you in person. Hope you had a blast hanging out in South Jersey. :)

Barrie said...

Oh, I hope you feel better soon. At least the Collingswood Book Fair was fun.

Anonymous said...

Have I fallen while thinking of other things? OH YEAH. I should show you my scars. Broken rib (biking and singing), messed up shoulder (skiing and talking), torn back muscle (running with laundry basket)--the list goes on.

Thanks for the shout out about Sam. It was so great to finally meet you!

Heal quickly!

Keri Mikulski said...

Hi, Barrie! Thanks.. Today's better. I can bend my knee again. :)

Hi, Nancy! You broke a rib singing? I'm totally picturing all these accidents. A messed up shoulder from talking? :) Interesting. It's was awesome meeting you too! Can't wait to hang out more. :)

Anonymous said...

{{{{{Keri}}}}}

Oh, ouch, ouch, ouch. I'm sooo sorry you tripped.

I tripped at a friend's house once. Went through the glass in the upper part of their front door. Needed stitches. THAT was the point at which I panicked.

Keri Mikulski said...

Hi, Amy! Thanks.. Urgh.. Stitches. Yikes.

Meredith said...

I am so not a runner. So I never fall doing that, but there have been some other tragic falls...

But one time at Sunsplash (a water park in Mesa for you non-AZers. But it is featured in one of the Bill and Ted movies. The one with Napoleon.) I was on these lillypad things. They float on the water, but are anchored to the bottom of the pool too.
There is a rope overhead to help get across the row of lillypads. I got onto the first one fine. The second one-not so much. I had had just put my foot down when I felt the bones move in my knee. I knew something was wrong, so I jumped/fell into the water, came up, looked around to see if anyone noticed, and got out of the pool.

My best friend who was with me was laughing becuase of the look on my face when I emerged out of the water. I tend to have this look when I'm embarrassed to see if anyone noticed...
Well, I couldn't put much weight on my leg, because it was killing me. So because we were only 15 and didn't have our licenses yet, we called her mom, waited out front, and went home.
My parents took me to Urgent Care where they told me I had twisted and sprained my knee. I had to have my knee wrapped for at least 3 weeks.
It doesn't exactly help the healing process when about 2 months after that, I was doing a "trick" and my knee gave out and got twisted again. Once again, I could feel each bone move. I was on the floor writhing in pain. Urgent Care, again, said that it was twisted, and I was using my grandmother's walker for at least a month, this time. (I hate crutches!)

And then there was the time that I had dislocated my other knee rollerblading to work on Valentine's Day 2007. I rollerbladed right over some uneven concrete at the school where I work and ran right into the double doors. My mom was coming to open the door for me and heard me crash into them. I was crying it hurt so bad. Again, I felt the bones move, but this time it felt like it took one minute for them to go back into place. Needless to say I didn't work that day. And because of the other times that we had gone to Urgent Care and it was just a twist, we didn't go this time, thinking it was the same. So when I went home (Mom drove) anytime I had to go to the bathroom, which was was less than 50 feet away, I cried I was in soo much pain.
It was still hurting about 2 weeks later, so we had an MRI done, which showed that it was dislocated at one point (apparantly, I had popped it back in myself!) and that I had dented my kneecap and now had little chips floating around in there. I needed surgery to fix it.
Surgery came, they removed the chips, they can't fix a dent, and my knee is pretty much as good as new after the physical therapy.
Plus 3 weeks after surgery I went to Disneyland with my brother and his wife. We had to use a wheelchair for me, because there was no way I was walking all over after having surgery. My knee was still a little sore, I couldn't walk too long without getting tired, so wheelchair was required. Which was great because we got to use the handicapped lines, which were incredibly short!

So the twist and dislocated total: 4. Left knee: 3 twists. Right knee: 1 dislocation

Anyways this is a LOOONG comment. Hahaha. My warning is: be careful when on floating lillypads, doing one-legged tricks, playing volleyball (yeah, I twisted it playing my favorite sport, too. I stopped wierd, felt the bones move, went to Urgent Care, found out it was a twist, got crutches. This was about 4 months before the dislocation, too.) and rollerblading.

I hope this makes you laugh and feel better in comparison!

~Meredtih

Kaitlyn said...

I have fallen while running. Well more like I fell because I ran into someone. But hell I fall walking down the road.

OMG our friend Sophie was in John Green's last video in Berlin.

Doret said...

I don't run but this should make you feel better - In high school I fell down a flight of stairs. No one was around. Once when walking with a friend I wasn't paying attention and ran right into a light post, dead center.

Vanessa Barneveld said...

Oh, sorry about your knees! I'm better at falling than running, myself.

Keri Mikulski said...

Hi, Meredith! Yikes.. I'll stay away from lilly pads. We have some in the water park here in New Jersey, but I've never ventured across. :)

Hi, Kaitlyn! Me too.. That's so awesome about Sophie. I'll have to check it out.

Hi, Doret! How embarrassing. I can totally picture the scene. :)

Hi, Vanessa! :) LOL

Unknown said...

oh man, i totally feel your pain. i'm a total klutz. try wiping out on stairs! it's loads of fun... hope your knees heal soon!

Justin The Teen Librarian said...

I think I was around 8-10 years old when I fell off a ten speed bike and practically ripped my knee off. It still hurts. My knee has this constant click to it.

Hope you're feeling better and that you've picked all the stones out of your knee.

Sheri Perl-Oshins said...

OUCH! Once, when I was in HS, I was walking down the hall.. Ok I was kind of running down the hall.. I know, no running in school, anyway, this is why... Like I said, I was walking at a brisk pace down the hall when someone, from inside a classroom, opened the door, and I collided full body with it so hard, that it literally sent me flying backwards, landing flat on my back.

A friend of mine fell while running on a treadmill and couldn't right herself, so her knees just kept scraping on the tread until someone in the gym rescued her. She was sore and very badly cut up with deep burns.

siobhan melanie vivian said...

it was so nice meeting you!!!

Angela said...

Keri;
I hope you're feeling better. My friend wiped out on her bike...she had road burn it stung like crazy. She was crying for water and her boyfriend poured a sports drink on her wounds instead. PAIN!!!!

Beth said...

ugh! u guys all have me wincing in pain...i've had my fair share of wipte-outs, luckily none of them being hospital-inducing...
when on the track team in 4th grade (hated it, quickly quit),they made us run backwards in our warm-up. one day i fell over backwards, did a backwards somer-sault, landed on my feet, and kept going. all completely on accident.
another time, i think during the same year, i was walking down the hall w/ the class and we stopped, and i went to lean back on the wall. i didnt notice i had stopped right in front of the alcove that was in front of the library door, and fell flat on my butt (imagine how stupid that looked.)
there was also a phase i went through involving falling up and down stairs...usually up. the only time i had an excuse was when i was choking...on water.
there was also the time i was playing with my dog, and the other one was laying near us. the other one had a furry tail, n the fur was spread out where i was running, n i managed to wipe out by sliding on her tail.
its also rather unfortunate that my prefered way of getting off a couch or bed that im laying on involves rolling and letting myself drop heavily onto the floor. everyone thinks its an accident and i hurt myself, but its usually safe. i usually look first, but i have fallen onto the aforementioned dogs once or twice. i always feel so bad about it.
all this klutzyness and yet ive never had to go to the ER, not once. that's skill.

Keri Mikulski said...

Hi, Virginia! Ouch.

Hi, Justin! Yikes. I think they're all out. :)

Hi, Sheri! OMG.. Horrible accidents. The door thing must have killed and the treadmill.. Yikes.

Hi, Angela! That's the worst.. When you have to clean it out. Especially with alcohol.

Hi, Beth! Wow, I'm picturing the backwards somersault.. You should be a gymnast. :) Great fall stories.

Keri Mikulski said...

Hi, Siobhan!! I had a blast meeting you too!

Anonymous said...

Heal up soon. Get some arnica cream and use that -- it'll take down the bruising in a matter of hours.

Alea said...

Yay for fun times at the book fair! I'd love to go to something like that someday.

That really sucks about your fall. I hate when that happens. One of the many reasons I refuse to run (unless i'm about to miss my bus). I slip at least once a year on the ice in the winter. Once in front of the high school as a bus full of kids were riding away and another time in the middle of my college campus. ;P

Keri Mikulski said...

Hi, Devon! Thanks. :)

Hi, Alea! Ouch. Ice is tough.

Carrie Harris said...

I feel your pain. And it's not just the rocks-imbedded-in-flesh thing that hurts, it's also the PRIDE thing. I fall up stairs. I fell just the other day while towing my twins through some mud. In front of an entire school's worth of parents no less. And of course, there's the cliff. Can't forget the cliff.

Hope you're feeling better.

Shari Green said...

Ouch! I've never gone down hard like that (not yet, anyway). Your poor knees! I hope you're feeling better soon.

Keri Mikulski said...

Hi, Carrie! A cliff? Yikes.. :)

Hi, Shari! Thanks. :)

Kelly (Lynn) Parra said...

I always spend too much money at book events! haha

Kaitlyn said...

We found paper towns. hehehe the book store messed up.

Anonymous said...

Oh, no! I'm sorry that you fell. That sounds awful. And to answer your question, my last wipeout was last winter on the sidewalk outside the building where I work. Although it looked clear, it had a thin layer of ice on it, so down I went. It probably embarrassed me more than it actually hurt me, though.

Keri Mikulski said...

Hi, Kelly! Me too!

Hi, Kaitlyn! Let me know what you think. :) Enjoy!

Hi, Caryn! That sucks.