Ridiculously, that's how! I was staying in a hotel room (i.e. unfamiliar territory) with a bed that had a bed frame that was larger than the mattresses above it. I tripped over the bed frame and fell awkwardly, landing on my arm in such a way that my elbow bent 90 degrees in the wrong direction.

I grabbed my arm, wrenched it back towards my body, and crawled to the phone, where I placed a call to the front desk that was far too polite. After I hung up, I had to call again. "I just spoke with you a moment ago, asking for some help in room xxx" I said. "I should have said that I need an ambulance and may pass out at any moment. Please send someone RIGHT NOW."

Then I proceed to send the ambulance away and got someone to drive me to the hospital. It was Christmas Eve and very quiet. I waited for more than an hour before someone got my x-ray and came running into the room where I was waiting. "Oh my god," he said. "This is really bad! Why didn't we give you some pain killers earlier?"

*sigh* I'm not always my best advocate.

But it all turned out fine in the long run! I have an amazing x-ray showing the 22 plates and pins in my elbow, and I can still swim. :) M.