Day 55: Bye Bye to Utah - reprise
Thursday, May 25, 2017
Today we packed up and left for Pocatello, ID, which is a good chunk of the way to West Yellowstone, Montana. The idea is to stay there a couple of nights and then go on to West Yellowstone, where we will meet David & Susan McManus.
After having lunch we had an accident where the trailer started fishtailing and we finally lost control. The travel trailer pushed us off the road where the SUV rolled one to two times, but ended on all 4 wheels. UTT was on its side. I remember asking Vicki if she was OK and she said yes. Max seemed to be OK. I on the other hand was having trouble breathing. Vicki got me unbuckled and I was able to breath. The seatbelt was really tight. Two vehicles stopped to help us. One called 911 to get help. I am not sure who helped me, but I was helped out of the car and to the curb. I sat down on the side of the road. The only thing that hurt was my chest. One lady talked with me. I think she was trying to keep me from going into shock.
Vicki on the other hand was talking to State Farm.
To the people who helped stopped and helped us. Thank you thank you thank you!!!
The sheriff was the first official I remember seeing. He was examining my ribs explaining what his concerns were and weren't. He basically did not think I had any broken ribs.
EMS arrived and looked at me. I don't remember much about what happened before I went on the gurney. I think they basically took my vitals. I remember my blood pressure looked really good.
It turns out the one of the EMS people is also a Vet-Tech. She examined Max on the scene and said he was OK. I guess initially he was a little shocky and went to normal. Max was a real trooper through the whole thing. He had different people watching him through the whole event and took it in stride.
I am put on the gurney and into the ambulance. Vicki and Max go along also.
We later heard that 911 had trouble deciding which county to call for the accident. Oneida county won I think because they could respond faster. So, the ambulance takes off going down the road. I hear someone say to slow down this is where we turn. We do a U-turn at that point. The driver did not know which hospital we were going to.
We ended up going to Nell J. Redfield Memorial Hospital in Malad, ID. Malad City has a population of 2,017 people per the 2014 census. It is hard to believe they have an ER.
They take me to an ER room where they take my vitals. Max ends up in the room with me because they ran out of ER rooms and Vicki had to go to one of the surgery prep rooms. No dog hair allowed.
Max just laid down and waited. Once they are finished checking out Vicki, she comes to my room and she starts to figure out where we are going to spend the night. We have T-Mobile but Malad does not. Vicki has to go outside the hospital and stand next to the road to get any phone service. Not the most convenient thing to do.
Eventually, a technician wheels me to x-ray. He had a little trouble getting my feet in the chair. It takes him a while to figure out how I should stand. This is a pretty old machine. The film for the x-ray machine must be something like 2ft x 3ft. He takes the first picture back to develop and I hear someone telling him to take two more pictures at 45 degrees. So I stand at 45 degrees before he comes back. I think I impressed him. He took the next two pictures and came back to take the original again raising the film up about a foot or two.
I go back to my room, which is across the hall. Of course, it take a while to get the results. It turns out there is no one at the hospital that can officially read the x-ray. So they have to digitize the x-ray and email to a doctor in Pocatello, ID. The results are no broken ribs.
Eventually, Nancy, the nurse, comes in and tells me before she can release me she has to admit me. We go through a list of what seems like 50 questions.
From the time the EM's arrived, I tell them that I have Parkinson's and I need my medication. The Onieda sheriff that responded to the accident said he would go back to the accident site and see if he could find the medicine in the trailer. He was able to do this but not until sometime later that evening. He to wait until the trailer what uprighted. They also had to break open a window to get in and then pull off the bathroom door.
It is after 4pm and I am still answering Nancy's questions and the sheriff is still waiting to get into the trailer. Eventually, she finishes checking me in. She says now we can work on releasing me. To do this she needs to pick up a couple of pills from the hospital pharmacy for me, since it is now after 5pm. It is now one hour past the time I should have taken my medication and I start feeling the effects from lack of dopamine. She gets the medication and I take it. She next needs to show me how to use Voldyne 5000. This is a machine to get me to breath deeply even though it is painful to breath because of my chest. The third was to get a prescription for mine and Vicki's medications. She then has to print out all the instructions. I get them in a folder.
It is now almost 6pm and the local pharmacy closes at 6pm. We need to fill the prescription, but wait, we have no vehicle and no place to stay. Nancy now says she will give us a ride to the pharmacy. What ER nurse would do that!
It turns out there are two motels in town. One by the highway and one in town. The one in town is newly remodeled and the other does not come recommended. Vicki makes a reservation at the Malad Hotel; the remodeled one which allows us to bring Max. Nancy drops us (Vicki, Max and I) at the pharmacy. I think they stayed open for us. Vicki goes inside. They fill most of the prescriptions except one, which I do not need until tomorrow sometime. Vicki also gets some items we need like clean underwear, snacks, toothbrushes, and wiring to charge our phones. We only had one set of clothes, the ones we are wearing. Max and I are outside walking around. It is too painful for me to sit down. It is getting cold and I am in shorts and t-shirt.
While at the pharmacy we meet a gentleman named Mark Thomas, who was hanging around the pharmacy. No he was not a groupie; his wife, Amy, runs the pharmacy. Mark offers to take us to the grocery, since we need a few more items like dog food for Max. He takes us up by the highway where the bad motel is and we tell him we are going to the Malad Hotel. He also forgot we wanted to go to the grocery. Off we go to the grocery. Max and I wait outside in the chilly weather.
Sometime during this we find out that the car has been towed to Pocatello. So now we have to figure out how to get to Pocatello with a dog.
Mark drops us off at the hotel and I all of sudden remember that I left some of the bags we brought from our car (like my computer) outside the pharmacy. Mark calls his wife who goes back to the pharmacy and she brings them to the hotel. We offer to buy them dinner. There is a bar downstairs with some food. However, Max is not allowed in the bar. I wait upstairs, Vicki, Mark and Amy head down to the bar. It seems to take them a while to get back up. When they do there is only food for Vicki and I. It turns out Mark and Amy's food was made first so they ate it. We ate upstairs in the lobby.
The hotel has been newly remodeled with new wood floor, carpets, etc. It has an old pay phone in it but does not work. If you come to the hotel in the evening, the person who works the front desk is actually working in the bar. So there is a sign on the front door that says they are open to call the given number, which is her cell phone number. My sister called the number trying to get hold of us. It turns out the lady was in the lobby talking with us so she handed the phone over to Vicki. The rooms do not have landlines or any phone in them. The cost for the hotel was $60 including all taxes. If you are ever in Malad, we highly recommend Hotel Malad.
We call the sheriff's office about our meds the Sheriff retrieved from UTT. He was on another call and would bring them over when he got back. We wait until 10pm and no meds. Finally we call back and say we'll get them in the morning.
On a whole my ribs did not bother me, but in certain situations it was very painful. It almost always had to do with using the diaphragm. So getting up and down from a chair was one thing. This was partially solved if I used my legs not my diaphragm to get up. Bed was another one. It turns out you use your diaphragm when you rollover or get out of bed. A third situation is when you pick something up off the ground via bending over you need to exhale before going down. Otherwise, your chest expands as you go down and it hurts.
Todo list for tomorrow:
Today we packed up and left for Pocatello, ID, which is a good chunk of the way to West Yellowstone, Montana. The idea is to stay there a couple of nights and then go on to West Yellowstone, where we will meet David & Susan McManus.
After having lunch we had an accident where the trailer started fishtailing and we finally lost control. The travel trailer pushed us off the road where the SUV rolled one to two times, but ended on all 4 wheels. UTT was on its side. I remember asking Vicki if she was OK and she said yes. Max seemed to be OK. I on the other hand was having trouble breathing. Vicki got me unbuckled and I was able to breath. The seatbelt was really tight. Two vehicles stopped to help us. One called 911 to get help. I am not sure who helped me, but I was helped out of the car and to the curb. I sat down on the side of the road. The only thing that hurt was my chest. One lady talked with me. I think she was trying to keep me from going into shock.
Vicki on the other hand was talking to State Farm.
To the people who helped stopped and helped us. Thank you thank you thank you!!!
The sheriff was the first official I remember seeing. He was examining my ribs explaining what his concerns were and weren't. He basically did not think I had any broken ribs.
EMS arrived and looked at me. I don't remember much about what happened before I went on the gurney. I think they basically took my vitals. I remember my blood pressure looked really good.
It turns out the one of the EMS people is also a Vet-Tech. She examined Max on the scene and said he was OK. I guess initially he was a little shocky and went to normal. Max was a real trooper through the whole thing. He had different people watching him through the whole event and took it in stride.
I am put on the gurney and into the ambulance. Vicki and Max go along also.
We later heard that 911 had trouble deciding which county to call for the accident. Oneida county won I think because they could respond faster. So, the ambulance takes off going down the road. I hear someone say to slow down this is where we turn. We do a U-turn at that point. The driver did not know which hospital we were going to.
We ended up going to Nell J. Redfield Memorial Hospital in Malad, ID. Malad City has a population of 2,017 people per the 2014 census. It is hard to believe they have an ER.
They take me to an ER room where they take my vitals. Max ends up in the room with me because they ran out of ER rooms and Vicki had to go to one of the surgery prep rooms. No dog hair allowed.
Max just laid down and waited. Once they are finished checking out Vicki, she comes to my room and she starts to figure out where we are going to spend the night. We have T-Mobile but Malad does not. Vicki has to go outside the hospital and stand next to the road to get any phone service. Not the most convenient thing to do.
Eventually, a technician wheels me to x-ray. He had a little trouble getting my feet in the chair. It takes him a while to figure out how I should stand. This is a pretty old machine. The film for the x-ray machine must be something like 2ft x 3ft. He takes the first picture back to develop and I hear someone telling him to take two more pictures at 45 degrees. So I stand at 45 degrees before he comes back. I think I impressed him. He took the next two pictures and came back to take the original again raising the film up about a foot or two.
I go back to my room, which is across the hall. Of course, it take a while to get the results. It turns out there is no one at the hospital that can officially read the x-ray. So they have to digitize the x-ray and email to a doctor in Pocatello, ID. The results are no broken ribs.
Eventually, Nancy, the nurse, comes in and tells me before she can release me she has to admit me. We go through a list of what seems like 50 questions.
From the time the EM's arrived, I tell them that I have Parkinson's and I need my medication. The Onieda sheriff that responded to the accident said he would go back to the accident site and see if he could find the medicine in the trailer. He was able to do this but not until sometime later that evening. He to wait until the trailer what uprighted. They also had to break open a window to get in and then pull off the bathroom door.
It is after 4pm and I am still answering Nancy's questions and the sheriff is still waiting to get into the trailer. Eventually, she finishes checking me in. She says now we can work on releasing me. To do this she needs to pick up a couple of pills from the hospital pharmacy for me, since it is now after 5pm. It is now one hour past the time I should have taken my medication and I start feeling the effects from lack of dopamine. She gets the medication and I take it. She next needs to show me how to use Voldyne 5000. This is a machine to get me to breath deeply even though it is painful to breath because of my chest. The third was to get a prescription for mine and Vicki's medications. She then has to print out all the instructions. I get them in a folder.
It is now almost 6pm and the local pharmacy closes at 6pm. We need to fill the prescription, but wait, we have no vehicle and no place to stay. Nancy now says she will give us a ride to the pharmacy. What ER nurse would do that!
It turns out there are two motels in town. One by the highway and one in town. The one in town is newly remodeled and the other does not come recommended. Vicki makes a reservation at the Malad Hotel; the remodeled one which allows us to bring Max. Nancy drops us (Vicki, Max and I) at the pharmacy. I think they stayed open for us. Vicki goes inside. They fill most of the prescriptions except one, which I do not need until tomorrow sometime. Vicki also gets some items we need like clean underwear, snacks, toothbrushes, and wiring to charge our phones. We only had one set of clothes, the ones we are wearing. Max and I are outside walking around. It is too painful for me to sit down. It is getting cold and I am in shorts and t-shirt.
While at the pharmacy we meet a gentleman named Mark Thomas, who was hanging around the pharmacy. No he was not a groupie; his wife, Amy, runs the pharmacy. Mark offers to take us to the grocery, since we need a few more items like dog food for Max. He takes us up by the highway where the bad motel is and we tell him we are going to the Malad Hotel. He also forgot we wanted to go to the grocery. Off we go to the grocery. Max and I wait outside in the chilly weather.
Sometime during this we find out that the car has been towed to Pocatello. So now we have to figure out how to get to Pocatello with a dog.
Mark drops us off at the hotel and I all of sudden remember that I left some of the bags we brought from our car (like my computer) outside the pharmacy. Mark calls his wife who goes back to the pharmacy and she brings them to the hotel. We offer to buy them dinner. There is a bar downstairs with some food. However, Max is not allowed in the bar. I wait upstairs, Vicki, Mark and Amy head down to the bar. It seems to take them a while to get back up. When they do there is only food for Vicki and I. It turns out Mark and Amy's food was made first so they ate it. We ate upstairs in the lobby.
The hotel has been newly remodeled with new wood floor, carpets, etc. It has an old pay phone in it but does not work. If you come to the hotel in the evening, the person who works the front desk is actually working in the bar. So there is a sign on the front door that says they are open to call the given number, which is her cell phone number. My sister called the number trying to get hold of us. It turns out the lady was in the lobby talking with us so she handed the phone over to Vicki. The rooms do not have landlines or any phone in them. The cost for the hotel was $60 including all taxes. If you are ever in Malad, we highly recommend Hotel Malad.
We call the sheriff's office about our meds the Sheriff retrieved from UTT. He was on another call and would bring them over when he got back. We wait until 10pm and no meds. Finally we call back and say we'll get them in the morning.
On a whole my ribs did not bother me, but in certain situations it was very painful. It almost always had to do with using the diaphragm. So getting up and down from a chair was one thing. This was partially solved if I used my legs not my diaphragm to get up. Bed was another one. It turns out you use your diaphragm when you rollover or get out of bed. A third situation is when you pick something up off the ground via bending over you need to exhale before going down. Otherwise, your chest expands as you go down and it hurts.
Todo list for tomorrow:
- Get the drugs
- Find a ride to Pocatello for the 3 of us.
- find a place to stay in Pocatello
- rent a car when we get to Pocatello
Places visited:
Paul and Vicki Kristoff
photo@kristoffs.com
PaulKristoffPhotography.com
paulkristoff.blogspot.com/
- Big Bend National Park
- Grand Canyon National Park
- Upper Antelope Canyon
- Horseshoe Bend
- Arches National Park
- Canyonlands National Park
- Bryce Canyon National Park
- Zion National Park
- Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
- Utah Lake State Park
Paul and Vicki Kristoff
photo@kristoffs.com
PaulKristoffPhotography.com
paulkristoff.blogspot.com/
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