SO …. we haven’t posted in a few months. And there is a decently funny reason why!
Our unexpected Bus Life Break started while we were in Georgia in March, when I (Nancy) was out riding my e-bike while Zach was on his EUC! We were having fun, I was trying to get used to the throttle being on the handle of the bike instead of the thumb throttle like my scooter, and it was going fairly well.
Until it wasn’t…
I went to turn around and by default my hand cranked the throttle, and I’m telling you … on that e-bike, it took little to no effort to make the bike take off with such force that a wheelie was the norm!
And I sort of lost control .. in the middle of the turn .. in deep sand …
…. went sailing through the air with the greatest of ease …. and folded in half, sideways upon landing …
I felt ok, just really got the wind knocked out of me .. so I got back on the bike and rode home …and was essentially fine!
UNTIL I SNEEZED 😳
I heard something pop loudly .. on my left side, the bottom of my rib cage.
I was in pain, a lot … and that says a lot for me since I have a fairly high pain tolerance! But here I was, in so much pain I couldn’t breathe.
(And if you’re wondering how dramatic sneezes can land you in compression hell, here’s this calm little link that makes it sound like a nap would solve everything. Lies.)
Just keep going….
But we had plans to go see my kids, so off to St Augustine we went! They hugged me, picked me up, and ran around like teenagers do … all while I was nursing some kind of rib injury! We had fun, and no plans were canceled due to rib pain! I refused to let that bike incident get the best of me
So after we left, the pain was still pretty bad. Another week of pain and we headed to the E.R. Where we were treated badly. Apparently, they just thought I wanted a prescription, when in reality all I needed for them to say was that nothing was broken and I’d heal in time. We have TONS of things on board this bus, but an X-Ray machine is not one of them 😂
In the end, they said I had nothing wrong with me. Nothing. They didn’t even give me the satisfaction of saying I bruised my ribs! Come on people, give me something to at least say “Hey, I bruised my ribs and still rode that bike home”.
And the kicker, the doctor then asked ME if I wanted pain meds. Which I declined!
Our Bus Life Break: Rest…Just Rest 😑
About 2 more weeks pass, and my pain is GONE ~ I had finally healed! So the no coughing, sneezing, laughing, and mostly just sitting in bed routine was over! Typing wasn’t an option because my left arm was pretty angry. 😂 So I watched TV… and did a lot of loom knitting … good thing Zach taught me!
So now it’s almost the end of May and I’m ready to get back to our normal routine. We didn’t do much sightseeing because I couldn’t walk for long periods 🙁 So no botanical gardens, parks, trails, museums… so many things were out.
BUT … we were back on track! I was feeling great, and could walk without issues! I was excited to get back to seeing weird things and beautiful flowers 🙂
Then we were roughhousing with the doggos, and Zach went to pick me up and toss me on the bed. He bear-hugged me …
And we heard a POP!
So, I was back in pain 😫 But it gave me some answers. I doubt I broke my rib, but dislocating it is possible! It felt like it popped, but then never popped back in. So maybe Zach finally popped it back in after the initial injury! I felt better more quickly than the first time, but it still took about 3-4 weeks before I could breathe deeply without pain!
On the bright side, Zach did all the cooking, or most of it! Zach put me on bedrest, so I was at his mercy 😂
Breakfast in Bed: The Best Part of a Bus Life Break!
(Yep, I already redid the silverware and knives, because I couldn’t handle the clutter after seeing it in a picture!)
We did some sightseeing, and I’m planning on updating our travels up to now, but I wanted to say something about our posting break! I write all the posts, so without my left arm, typing long posts was not happening! Now that I am feeling better, I have also been working on organizing Pages better! Better menus, and easier navigation. Slowly easing back into long typing sessions!
We are currently in Michigan and have big plans to meet up with my parents on their road trip from Virginia to Alaska! My dad is the ultimate planner, and sightseer!
He has over 600 stops on their route!
Goals!
Even though this chapter was filled with rest, recovery, and rogue rib pops, it didn’t stop us from dreaming about future adventures. If you’re up for some of the quirky places we’ve wandered through in the past, check out:
- 🎡 Stops You May Have Missed – a peek at the oddball, delightful, and “wait, that’s real?” places we’ve loved.
We’ll be updating more soon—from bus life tweaks to our ongoing plant parade. Thanks for riding out the hiatus with us—here’s to fewer pops and more plots!