"Fall seven times, stand up eight."

Welcome to my new life.  I have Skier's thumb.  In case just like me until about 9:15 this morning, you have no idea what that is, "Skier's thumb is an acute injury to a ligament of the thumb. The ligament is located on the inner aspect of the thumb’s first knuckle and its role is to provide stability for the thumb at that location. The condition is called Skier’s Thumb because injury to this ligament is often seen among skiers who fall with the ski pole still in hand."

I fell yesterday (with my ski poles still in hand.)  It was the last run of a day in which I had been feeling kinda cocky, and I was going faster than usual.  I've fallen before, obviously, but this time, even after brushing off and getting myself together, my right thumb hurt like hell.

We picked the kids up from ski school and made an inaugural visit to the Keystone Medical Center.  Which was packed.  A triage nurse was walking by as I approached the front desk and recommended I come back first thing this morning if I thought I could wait.  So I took 3 advil, prayed it'd feel better quickly, and wondered if I'd lost my mind engaging my klutzy-ass-self in an activity with such an apparently high injury rate.

It still hurt this morning.  A lot.  So one X-ray and one splinted right hand later, I am one very bummed out Rocky Mountain skiing newbie.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm trying to keep my spirits up.  The doctor in Keystone doesn't think I'll need surgery, and in two weeks, I'll probably even be able to put this ridiculous contraption over my ski gloves and get back on the slopes.  But visiting an orthopedic hand specialist was not on this week's to-do list.  And Larry, I'm sorry, but its not a "badge of courage."  More like an "emblem of slow down you fool before you fall and hurt yourself."

Please stay tuned for some sort of life lesson I learn from this that fits into the otherwise upbeat nature of this blog.  In the meantime, I will simply enjoy this silver lining: tonight, Larry did the laundry, made dinner, washed and put away the dishes, and put the kids to bed.