A Friend's Story

A friend of mine sent me an email detailing what happened on his recent trip to Vegas. I haven't seen him in a few years but I think he shared this story with me, and several others, because...well, if you read, you'll know why:

I have been fielding several questions about what really happened down in Vegas. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas - including my wallet, but I'm still going to tell the whole story. Well, this email will try and give you the long drawn out real-deal of what happened two weeks ago. Of course I have learned by now not to do anything with Paul, as bad things happen when we get together. I’m sure everyone remembers the story of me knocking out his two front teeth with an oar while shrimping last year, but on to the story at hand. Two weeks ago, Paul and I went down to Vegas to watch a UFC fight. Friday night we stayed up late playing Blackjack and drinking red bulls and Vodka. At around 3 he decided to hit the hay and I decided that I was way too awake for that. So, unfortunately I went for a walk on the strip. Also unfortunate was how comfortable I felt since it was still 75 degrees, well lit, and lots of people out and about. Paul and I had been at the pool earlier in the day, so I was wearing swimming shorts. So, when I had “cashed out” I put my money in my zipper pocket, but carried my stupidly big phone and wallet in my hand. As I was walking in front of Balley’s Casino a black guy walked straight up to my face and hit my wallet out of my hand. He bent over, picked it up and ran. Not even thinking (poor, key words there) I ran after him. He ran down some stairs in front of Balley’s and I followed. Unfortunately, I fell down the stairs trying to follow him. I did manage to catch up with him at the bottom, where he threw my wallet to the side. An accomplice of his showed up and ran away with my wallet as the first guy and I exchanged punches. I still don’t know if there was a third one or not, but I got rocked on the temple hard enough to stop the fight, especially since my wallet was long gone. I hurt my leg pretty badly in the fall down the stairs. So, I limped my way into the Casino and found two Security Guards. These less-than-helpful blokes did not call the police nor the ambulance for me, but they did call me a cab to get to the hospital. The hospital got me somewhat patched up and I called the police myself. Balley’s told the police that despite the fact that every inch of the inside of the casino was being taped, they didn’t happen to have a camera in that location outside. So, needless to say Balley’s really doesn’t impress me much. Unfortunately, I wish that was the end of the story, but it’s not. I got on an airplane 36 hours later. By the time I got home my leg was killing me; I do mean excruciating pain worse than when I hurt my leg at Balley’s, so back to the ER I went. When I got to the ER my blood pressure was 190/110 (It’s normally 120/80) because I was in so much pain. Somehow with my continued bad luck I got the worst ER doctor on the planet that told me the pain was from swelling from my knee continuing downward. Four days later after being in a lot of pain, I went back to the doctor (Thanks to my wife) and found out I had a life-threatening blood clot in my calf. The blood clot had been causing the pain and continued swelling and bruising down into my ankles. Had it been knocked loose I may not have been writing this letter to all of you. This could have easily happened, as my wife and I massaged the heck out of my calf because it was hurting so bad. So, I spent the next five days giving myself shots in the stomach and taking rat poison. Skip ahead a week to my surgical consult. My ACL is torn in half, and my is MCL partially torn. Due to the fact that I will be on Coumadin for the next 3-6 months, I won’t be able to have surgery until I’m off it. So, I am hobbling around the office on crutches in the meantime. I will of course have to undergo a couple of months of Physical Therapy after surgery, so hopefully I will be back to myself in less than a year! Anybody know a good personal injury attorney in Vegas? ;) I have been a health care provider now for six years and I can't say that I have enjoyed a single bit of being on the receiving end of it. Perhaps it's because I know how things should work, but I have very unimpressed with the quality of care that I have received. The radiology place hadn't even sent over the copies of MRI to my orthopedist, let alone the fact that the ER doc completely missed the fact that I had a blood clot despite me specifically asking about it. I hope this email finds you well...