An Unforgettable Exit

My husband and I got married June 28 in Dallas. Because my husband is from Syracuse, New York, and many of his family members and friends could not attend our wedding, my husband's parents threw us a second wedding reception in Syracuse.
As my husband and I were dancing to the last song at our reception (which ironically was to the song "Last Dance") I felt my right knee dislocate. I immediately crumbled to the floor.
Apparently most of the guests thought I was doing some new dance move because everyone, including my husband, didn't react for several seconds. When everyone realized I wasn't getting up, a swarm of people surrounded me.
There I was in my wedding gown lying on the floor, writhing in pain. I tried in vain to pop my knee back into place, but the next thing I knew, an ambulance was on its way.
When the paramedics arrived, it took an entire team of people to dig through the countless layers of dress and petticoat to find the source of my trauma. After finally calming me down, getting my I.V. set up, and strapping me to the stretcher, we were on our way to the hospital.
As I was being loaded into the ambulance, and the morphine had kicked in, all I kept saying was, "Don't forget my shoes and don't let them hurt my dress!"
When we arrived at the ER, my main concern was that my dress wasn't ruined. The nurse actually suggested that they cut off my dress. I looked at my husband, in tears, and said, "They can cut off my leg before they cut off this dress." My husband and the nurse were able to get the dress off without incident, and after some x-rays, some more pain medicine, and a new pair of crutches, I was released.
Now that it's all over, I can truly look back on the incident and laugh. Most girls leave their reception in a limo, or perhaps even a horse-drawn carriage (which we did at our first reception) but I left my reception in an ambulance.


Complete with my husband pushing all the siren buttons.