Thank Goodness it was my left Hand....

Our Sayulita Beach....

Paradise!

I know it has been a while since I checked in with everyone...It is crazy how busy life is here in the USA...I have been meaning to write about my broken hand and our last month of living in Sayulita...life just sort of got in the way...

Here is the reader digest version of how I broke my hand...(ok, it might be a little longer than a reader digest version)...
I was running from our villa to the tennis court to play tennis...the tennis court is basically a mile from where we were living...down the hill, across town, some of the roads that I had to run on are paved, some are cobblestone, most are plain gravel with random rocks...
I was a little late to meet my tennis partner (Jack)...and I did not want to keep him waiting...so I decided to run to the tennis court...instead of walking...I was running with my tennis racket in my right hand and my cinch bag (with water bottle, towel and phone) in my left hand...just cruising a long, I was probably running a little faster than usual...downtown was full of people to dodge (Samana Santa weekend...and it was Easter Sunday)...so the roads were full of more cars and golf carts than we typically have in town...
Long story short...
A golf cart came up behind me, I glanced over my left shoulder, briefly took my eyes off the road, rolled my right ankle and proceeded to do a home base slide head first and face plant on the gravel road..I fell on my tennis racked (cracked 2 ribs on my right side) and my cinch bag flew down the road about 15 yards...my left hand, left knee and face took the brunt of the fall and slide and my right foot was clearly sprained...
To me, it seemed like it all happened in slow motion and those that witnessed my act of grace, said I looked like I did everything possible to stay upright to no avail...even the Iguana's in the Iguana tree were perched above with the best seat in town to watch this spectacle happen...(I swear I heard them laughing while I was laying there eating dirt)...

Mr. Iguana, he witnessed my fall!

There were several guys walking by just as it happened and they stopped to assist me...it took 4 guys to lift me up and put me in the woman's golf cart...unfortunately, I don't remember too clearly what happened next...I think I was in shock...I do remember saying that I was late to go play tennis and that it would be great if she could give me a ride up to the tennis court (which she did)...my tennis partner (Jack) lives at Villa Amor and was so kind to help me clean up my wounds with tree tea oils and let me sit on his balcony until I had enough strength to move...thank goodness Villa Amor had a golf cart to drive me back to my villa, so that I did not have to walk...

Tennis partner Jack & I

The timing couldn't have been worse...(not that there is ever a good time to break your hand)...however, Mark's oldest brother Tom would be arriving in Sayulita the next day from Seattle and staying for a week...I did not want to ruin their time together...so I put on my brave face and decided that I really did not need to go to the hospital to have my hand looked at...although, I did agree to see the local doctor in Sayulita to see what he thought...of course, he thought it was broken and wrote me a prescription for X-rays that I could get taken in Puerto Vallarta at one of the hospitals...Mark made a home made splint for me and I tried to keep my hand immobile as much as I could the whole week...
Mark and Tom had a great week together...going to the beach, hiking, dining together, getting caught up on life...and I basically laid on the couch all week and tried to keep my mind off the pain...

Mark and Tom getting read to go to the beach

Just another day of going to the beach

Exploring the town of Punta Mita

A great place for dinner in Punta Mita

Tom's last day in Sayulita :(

Finally a week later, Mary (Mark's cousin) offered to drive me to Puerto Vallarta to have X-rays...
The hospital still took X-rays the old fashion way and the emergency room doctor only spoke Spanish (Mary, my translator to the rescue)...although the Orthopedic Doctor on call spoke English and was very nice...
Yep it was broken!  4 small bones in my hand/palm area...(I have lots of pictures of my hand, but I won't share the gory details)...
Two wedding rings cut off my finger (using every day wire cutters was a bit scary), one hand cast, some creams, a shoulder sling and healing instructions and we were out of there...only $1170 pesos...(approx $150 USD)....no insurance needed!

The healing of the open wounds would be slow and painful and would require one more trip to the hospital to see my Ortho doctor, to make sure I was on the road to recovery...I was told that it would take patience & time...a lot of both...to fully heal...(now after seeking hand therapy in the US, I now know that it will take over a year before everything will be fully functional and healed...I hope!)...Thank goodness Sayulita taught me all about patience and laughter...it has really helped my progress...

So goes my last month living in Sayulita...I spent a lot of time in the villa...not running, not swimming in the pool or ocean, not playing tennis, not having much fun... :(

My work had slowed down a bit, so I was able to relax and read a lot...not exactly what I had envisioned my last month to be like, but happy that my hand was not any worse...and thankful for Mark, who is always there for me...

Because most of the last few months is a big blur in my memory and because I am getting old (too many senior moments these days)...I am just going to post some random photos from our last month in Sayulita...so many great memories and great friends...despite breaking my hand...I was thankful to be living in an amazing village, with awesome people and living our dream!

Sayulita has gotten into our souls and we are so looking forward to our return this Fall...We have our one way tickets purchased for the end of September...and we will call Sayulita "Home" for at least 8-9 months...and then who knows?

Sunset in Punta Mita

Sunset from our deck

Just another beautiful sunset

The crazy week of Samana Santa (Easter Holiday)

Surf boards everywhere!

The campgrounds were overflowing during Samana Santa week...

The fresh fruits and veggies markets are the best!

Fresh from the organic farms...

Mark's full time job!

Another great day to SUP...

Looking like a pro already!

Sayulita's beautiful North Beach!

The doctor made me wear my sling full time...

Happy Sayulita couple :)

Ozzy & Ashley...Thank you for all of your advice and friendship!

Mark & Trace....his best Buddy....and Beautiful Alex...

Our favorite guys at El Itacate Restaurant

Fernando, king of the Sayulita Surfers... :)

Manny, the BEST ice cream salesman on the beach!

Motorcycle ice cream man in Punta Mita...

Dinner in San Pancho

Time to fly back to the USA for a few months!

I will update again soon....our Summer in Michigan will surely have some adventures to share too!