14:00, Coming down from Gaisalpe along the asphalted road, I suddenly slip on an icy patch and fall hard onto the upper left-side of my ribcage, my left arm stretched above my head. While my arm probably prevented my head from hitting the road, it also pulled up my coat's pocket in which I'd stowed my glasses hard-case and mobile phone, one of which got between my ribs and the road, inflicting a rather painful jab that literally knocks all the air out of my lungs. Unable to move, for a moment I'm afraid I might have broken some ribs, needing several minutes to recover my restricted breath. But once the shock has subsided, I'm able to get up again, breathing in & out deeply without problems and even being able to squeeze my ribcage without feeling any hurt. I look like a green ghost though and forced coughing does indicate a tender spot.
16:00, Back home, I immediately check my ribcage once more, but no trauma whatsoever is visible. As preventive action I swallow five micro-pills of arsenicum twice with one hour interval and take it easy. Inactivity however doesn't really help matters, the contact point feeling more & more bruised as, I guess, my body's natural painkillers wear off. I can now also feel that my left hip-leg joint-bone absorbed some of the impact too, but not much.
18:00, A hot bath seems to relax and do some good, until something suddenly locks up in my left collar bone hole and in my left rib cage, preventing easy breathing. Lying down in bed does not bring much relief, but by now I'm too exhausted to move.
19:00, Two Ipren pills (2x 200mg Ibuprofen) and a cold quark treatment alleviate the pain enough for me to get up again and have some dinner. I can't help but worry about my upcoming trip, hoping I will have recovered enough by then. In order to be able to lift 30+kg of cave diving gear onto your back, walk around with it on rocky paths through the sweaty jungle, climb down steep ladders or wriggle yourself through cracks in the earth's crust, just to reach a cenote's entrance pool, before doing a relatively demanding dive, well, some healthy fitness level is indeed kind of required.
20:00, I can feel the impact actually got some repercussions on my entire frame, e.g. that my spine got rattled, more specifically between my shoulder blades and in my lower back.
23:00, One more Ipren pill before going to bed plus some local Nifluril treatment, as lying is clearly less comfortable than sitting or standing, especially for my left shoulder, but I soon fall asleep anyway.
