on the weekend. She was determined to work it out herself, which was what she always did. Maddie was never dependent on anyone. She thought of sliding down the fireman’s pole to her studio, but if she landed hard or bumped her left foot, she was sure that she would faint. No matter how painful it was, she knew she had to take the stairs.
She washed her face with cold water, brushed her teeth, started to brush her hair and decided not to bother. She hopped back to where she had kicked off her right shoe when she went to bed and put it on. The left one had flown off when she fell. She didn’t bother with it since her foot was too swollen to get the shoe on anyway. She made her way to the stairs and went down two flights on the circular metal staircase, inching her way along, on her bottom. It was a painful process. She hopped from there to her office on the main floor, ordered an Uber, grabbed her bag and a jacket, and slowly hopped to the front door, stopping every few feet when she felt dizzy. It seemed to take forever, and she was almost ready to faint by the time she got to the front door, slammed it behind her, and waved to the Uber driver waiting for her at the curb. He lowered the window and she called out and asked him to help her. He got out of the car and came over to her, and she gratefully grabbed his arm as he helped her to the car. She cried out in pain as she got in.
“Why didn’t you call 911?” he asked as he slid behind the wheel to take her to NYU Hospital.
“I’m sure it’s nothing serious. I didn’t have a heart attack or anything,” she said through gritted teeth.
“It looks serious enough to me,” he said sympathetically. “What did you do?”
“I fell off a ladder,” she said, feeling stupid again and fighting back tears.
“Maybe you broke your leg,” he said, glancing at her in the rearview mirror.
“I hope not. I think I just twisted my ankle and sprained it,” she said hopefully.
“It must have been some twist. You look kind of green to me.” She was praying she wouldn’t throw up in his car at that moment.
“It just hurts a lot. They say a sprain hurts more than a break.” He didn’t comment but went to get an attendant in the ER when they got to the hospital. A nurse came out with a wheelchair and got Maddie into it with some difficulty. She gave the Uber driver a big tip, and thanked him. He wished her luck and got back in the car and drove away.
A woman from admissions came to hand her forms to fill out, and a nurse examined her in a cubicle and called the orthopedist on duty. Maddie had to wait another hour for X-rays, and the X-ray technician told her that her ankle was broken before the doctor even saw her. There were tears rolling down her cheeks as he walked into the room. It had been a long, painful night and she felt totally worn out. She was afraid she’d have to have surgery for the break, and maybe even have pins put in.
The doctor checked the X-ray and looked at her. “The good news is it’s a clean break, you don’t need surgery. We’ll put a cast on, which will give you some relief, and send you home with pain medication. You need to keep your weight off it for a week, then you’ll get a walking cast, and six weeks from now, you’ll be as good as new.” He could see how shaken up she was, and obviously in a lot of pain. He called a nurse in to help him, and half an hour later Maddie was in a cast. They adjusted a pair of crutches for her, filled the prescription at the hospital pharmacy, and two hours after that she was ready to go home and ordered another Uber.
“Do you have an elevator where you live?” the nurse asked her and Maddie shook her head. She was trying to figure out how to manage, and how she’d get back up the two flights of stairs to her bedroom, which was going to be a nearly impossible feat without help. She was still determined not to bother Penny, but she was in