It felt surreal yesterday, as I was supposed to be picking up a car rental. It wasn’t anything fancy, just a mid-sized SUV that could take my daughter and me cross-country, from Nevada to Illinois.
The route would have been spectacular, a little more rural and remote than some of our previous trips. This would have taken us from Vegas to Flagstaff, Durango, Pueblo, Dodge City, Wichita, Columbia, and Galesburg before landing in Rock Island, where she goes to school. Five of the stops included book signings.
We both love traveling, and we would have loved this trip all the more because we knew it might be the last. Traveling cross-country like this was becoming cost-prohibitive, so we decided we might try flying her back and forth in the future. This would also free me up to plan smaller book tours in other parts of the country, like New England or the South.
All our plans changed a few weeks ago. I was exiting our primary bedroom bath and clipped my foot on the door frame. To prevent a fall, I immediately shifted all my weight to my right leg. Under normal circumstances, this would have saved me. But my circumstances were anything but normal.
My right leg had been bothering me since April. I initially suspected the Vastus Lateralis, until I injured my foot on the last cross-country book tour. Given the exercises I could and couldn’t do, it became clear the issue was more likely the IT band and Gluteus Medius. Turns out, it was and it wasn’t.
When all my weight landed on my right leg, there was no leg to catch me. It folded up and inward in an odd pretzel-like shape that was accompanied by the most pain I’ve ever experienced in my life. It was an 11 on the scale from 1-10. So I rolled to reduce the pain to more of a seven, and somewhere between that roll and the collapse, I broke my femur just below the ball in my hip.
It would take six medics to carry me downstairs and out on a large tarp they frequently refer to as a mega mover. They did a fantastic job, considering I had to give up my position for something significantly less comfortable. At the time, all of us guessed I had dislocated my hip.
One of the ironies about this accident was that it happened two hours after I had just received a battery of X-rays and an MRI in an effort to discover why I could no longer perform a simple leg scissors exercise on my right side (but had no problem squatting with an extra 100 pounds). Of course, breaking my femur made all speculation moot. With the next twenty-four hours, I was destined for surgery, until I almost wasn’t.
MRIs generally take about three days to receive results, but mine came in about an hour before surgery. It turned out I had some lesions on my femur, which explained the pain radiating from my IT band and Gluteus Medius. These muscles and connectors were stressed out from compensating for a more sinister issue, which is likely why my femur snapped when I asked too much of it.
After careful consideration, my surgeon decided to press forward with the surgery despite the lesions. It was the right call, given breaks like mine require surgery within forty-eight hours. From his perspective, the only thing that changed was that he intended to grab a couple of bone biopsies while fixing the more immediate problem.
Knowing all this now, compounded with one of my major clients putting their account on hold just two days ago, made me grateful for the break. The alternative could have been a disaster.
Without the break, I would have likely delayed getting bone biopsies until after driving my daughter to Illinois. And combined with the disappointing client news, the trip would have had a shadow looming over it. At least, that was the best case. The worst case was my leg snapping somewhere between Vegas and Rock Island.
Despite everything, there was a moment we considered continuing on with the trip as planned, but without me as a driver. My wife would join us. A few optimistic physical therapists even suggested I give it a few days before making a decision. Ultimately, car transfers and rides up to four hours seemed more painful than the trip was worth, let alone trying to navigate the flight back.
All of the bookshops on this tour were remarkably gracious when they received the news, and three of them went a little further. Since Barnes & Noble in Pueblo, Colorado, ordered books for the event, we decided to try a virtual signing event of sorts. I signed some bookplates and sent them along with bookmarks.
I’ll also go live on Facebook at 2 p.m. MT (1 p.m. PT) and on TikTok at 4 p.m. MT (3 p.m. PT) on the day of the originally scheduled event, Aug. 27. While I’m hoping to answer questions that any book buyers from the Pueblo area may have, anyone can join. These will be my first live appearances.
Wordsmith Bookshoppe in Galesburg, Illinois, came up with another solution. Instead of a virtual event, we’ll be hosting a preorder promotion for my upcoming novel, “Born on Monday.” They’ll be one of a few stores that will receive signed copies (personalized copies on request) direct from me, arriving shortly after the release date, October 21. “Born on Monday” is a literary thriller and will make for a great holiday gift!
Barnes & Noble Flagstaff opted to accommodate a new signing date that corresponds with another Flagstaff visit on the weekend of Nov. 7. I’ll sign books as part of First Friday with Bright Side Bookshop from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Fri., Nov. 7; and then from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Barnes & Noble Flagstaff on Sat., Nov. 8. I’ll be bringing copies of all three books: “50 States,” “Third Wheel,” and “Born on Monday.”
In the interim, my focus is mainly on recovery. I work out four times a day in an effort to reduce the swelling and regain my range of motion. It isn’t always easy, but I want to walk unassisted again, as soon as possible. My leg is designed for it. The surgeon placed a titanium nail down the entire length of the femur, and then screwed it in at the hip and above the knee.
As the recovery continues, there will be more announcements to follow. If you want to keep up with them all, consider subscribing to my newsletter, Scraps by Rich Becker. Along with book news, I always include short story sneak peeks, sometimes in parts and sometimes as a standalone. Good day and good luck.
