If you have luggage do not, DO NOT, take the escalator. Look for the nearest elevator and Wait. A little late for advice but…next time.

Handling one small roll-aboard, a back pack, my purse and a bag with 2 boxes of Lucky Charms (for a friend), I popped on the Metro escalator coming from the airport. Almost home and only one more escalator to go, I tried to catch my little roll-aboard as it teetered on a step. Big mistake. I should have let it go but reactions just take over. Anyway, I managed to slide down about nine steps on my back, bowled over an elderly Portuguese woman, and ended up with my feet on step 19 and my head on step 10. Some Good Samaritan managed to hit the stop button so at least I finally stopped sliding down the steps.

Unbelievably I managed to stand up and start stepping up the now-stopped escalator. The Metro Manager ran over and attended briefly to the Portuguese bowling pin and then saw me with my hand full of blood. I kept trying to cup it so the blood wouldn’t spill over. I had no idea, for about 5 minutes, that I couldn’t walk. A young woman came over and held me up until the Metro Manager could get me to their little cubicle and provide a chair. Of course, I kept telling them I was OK and tried to stem the blood by pinching my thumb pad together. They just were not listening!

Long story short (sort of) the ambulance was called, the EMTs came and attended to me and took me, UP THE ELEVATOR, in a wheelchair to the hospital. Very efficient…the EMTs, not the hospital. Five hours later I had 10 stitches in my hand and xrays to find out nothing was broken. The orthopedist wanted me to have a CT scan to see if there was a fracture but rolled his eyes when I asked how long that would take. I told him “no” since the treatment was the same…RICE.

Luckily I have a friend I could call and he picked me up at the hospital, bought some groceries, and transported me home. I’m not sure what I would have done otherwise…taxi I guess.

So, here I sit catching up on every Netflix series and movie that was ever made and ordering from Uber Eats. Hobbling around on crutches 5 days later but better every day. Shredded hand, bloody suitcase, bloody purse but amazingly, nothing dripped on the Lucky Charms or on my linen jacket. Can’t say the same for the Metro station. Ha!

My fellow injurees…….I got off easy.