Being a Buyers Agent Can Be Hazardous to Your Health!
Well, at least mine! Two weeks ago today, I had planned to take the day off. Then, one of my favorite clients phoned me to ask if I could take them out for an hour to show them 4 homes. OF COURSE--I just adore this family and have a wonderful time looking at homes with them--and, naturally, this is one of my favorite things to do--so, it's not really like work to me at all!
So, we headed out and saw two, simply gorgeous homes then headed for our third. As it happened, the third home that we were scheduled to show was having an Open House. Here in Charlotte, Open Houses are generally very quiet and this one was no different. We were greeted at the door by the agent who is listing the property and we said we'd let him know if we had any questions.
We proceeded to check the first, and most important thing to these buyers, the back yard and returned from the beautiful tiled patio overlooking the backyard, into the kitchen to see this lovely new construction home that had simply everything that my clients could want. We were exploring the kitchen, adjacent to the 'drop zone' and the garage; the kitchen had gleaming hardwoods for which we were admiring.
I stepped towards the drop zone, not realizing that this area was about 4 inches lower than the kitchen until it was too late--I missed the step and tried to catch myself with my left (dominant) arm but, it was too late. My momentum was too much weight for my arm to hold and my arm wound up in a horrific contorted position. As I lay in the floor, in a DRESS, mind you, I yanked my arm back to my side to avoid my clients seeing me in that position. I was in absolute agony but, did not want my wonderful clients to see me that way! The other agent and my clients put their heads together and decided what to do, which was to call 911. The wife rode with me in the ambulance and phoned my hubby to meet us at the hospital.
I don't remember much of the rest of the evening except that I had been told by the ER physician and the Orthopedic physician on-call that I would need surgery as I had a couple of fractures that would need repair. I was sent home to seek the expert advice of a shoulder specialist the following day and would go from there.
My hubby took my camera out of my purse and began snapping photos at the hospital while I was completely OUT! He's shown everyone my 'fly-catching' photos and laughs hysterically saying that's the first time he's seen me speechless in years!!
The following day, my hubby took me to see the specialist, who told me that I would be in a sling for 6 months and that he would see me back in 3 weeks--no surgery was required! WooHoo! I was still a bit loopy from the medication that I was given the night before at the hospital but, I only knew that I was thrilled that surgery was not required.
Wait a minute--SIX MONTHS in a sling? That didn't sound right. After 3 days of agony and assigning my buyers out to my team members and having them manage my listings for me, I was very frustrated. At 10:00 on Wednesday evening, one of my physician clients that had been shown homes by one of my team members for me on Monday and Tuesday, phoned me to say that she just didn't think that my diagnosis was correct & that she and her staff recommend another shoulder specialist and instructed me to phone his office the next morning.
With reluctance and after three begging, pleading phone calls to the physician's nurse, I got them to agree to review my X-Rays and see what this second-opinion physician's thoughts were. On Friday, I was told not to eat or drink anything and come into his office, where I was promptly informed that I HAD to have surgery. I pleaded for 45 more minutes so that I could go photograph a new listing so that while I was in surgery, the listing could be pre-marketed by my assistant and I would not have to wait for the photographer's shots 3 days later! Luckily, he said okay and the last thing I did was hand my camera disc over to my hubby to tweak the photos and get them ready for MLS! 
As it turned out, I had to spend 4 days in the hospital--I had extensive surgery including plates and screws to my fractured humerous (arm) and shoulder, muscle and tendon repairs, a bone graft to fill in the ball of my shoulder which was shattered so badly, it could not be repaired and a rotator cuff repair. They told me that literally, my arm was only 'attached' by skin!
I think the worst part has been learning a dictation system and typing one-handed for two weeks! I've missed commenting on AR but, I've been able to keep up with everyone else--just reading when I have a moment that I'm alert enough to do so!!
I began my out-patient rehab yesterday and feel like this should soon be over. I'm only allowed passive range-of-motion to my dominant arm for the first month until the bone graft 'takes' but, hopefully I'll be able to breeze through therapy and get back in the swing of things by the end of September! Thanks to all for your well-wishes and I do apologize for not returning each and every email as it takes FOREVER to type with one-hand!
My voice recognition service does not translate well and that takes just about as long!! My hubby has been awesome and I am most grateful for he and my family, friends and clients who have been giving up their time to help with meals and general household duties--I don't know what I'd do without each and every one of them.
So, the next time you're showing homes, remember to be confident in where you're stepping and avoid those sunken rooms! (They should be OUTLAWED anyway!!)
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