An unnerving text in the middle of the afternoon.

YOUR MOM'S IN AN AMBULANCE HER HIP HURTS PRETTY BAD.

Her fingers trembling, she tried to call her uncle back immediately, no answer. She tried again three times. Then her sister, voicemail. Her aunt, nope. A barrage of images and snippets of thought flooded her mind. Her mom lying in on the floor of the kitchen, her leg at an unnatural angle. Fragility fracture. A hospital. Slowly walking with a walker. 27% one-year mortality.(1)  An old woman stooped over in a wheelchair. Thin, wrinkled skin, eyes unseeing. She sucked in a breath and her first coherent thought wasn't nice. 

Damn it, I'm going to get osteoporosis.(2) 

The realization of her own selfishness stung. The groan she uttered when her mother was diagnosed with diabetes echoed in her mind. 40% lifetime risk in offspring, greater if the mother is affected.(3) She sat at her desk stewing in her unsettled mind, unable to work.

An eternity seemed to elapse until the phone rang.

"What happened?" she demanded.

"Sorry it took so long to call. We were coming down the canyon and there wasn't any reception," replied her uncle. "We're at the hospital now. They're taking her to surgery in a few minutes." 

Tears welled up. Stretcher. IV pole. Beeping things. Canyon. Wait canyon? Not the kitchen floor? A mix of emotions surged. "Can I talk to her?" Her voice quivered.

"Sure," said her uncle. "But they gave her some morphine and valium because her leg wouldn't stop spasming, so she's kind of loopy." She heard rustling from the other end of the phone.

"Hello," came a hoarse croak.

"I love you Mommy!" she was crying now. "Are you ok?"

"I'll be ok." The weakness in her mother's voice suggested otherwise, but hearing the words still irrationally made her feel better.

"How did you break your hip?"

"My ski fell off when I was getting on the chair lift."

"And THAT broke your hip?" Her voice rose again. T-scores. Z-scores. Aldendrone. Silence. More silence. "Mom?"

"No, I fell when I tried to get off." Her emotions, roiled like a stormy sea and the ship, abruptly listed starboard. 

"You tried to ski off on one ski! You're kidding me? You're 72, even I wouldn't try to do that!" Stupidity, not fragility. 

"Don't make me laugh it really hurts." 

That made her smile and her shoulders relaxed, some.

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(1) Panula J, et al. Mortality and cause of death in hip fracture patients aged 65 or older - a population-based study. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders. 2011;12(1):105-110. 

(2) Groop L, et al Metabolic consequences of a family history of NIDDM: evidence for sex-specific parental effects. Diabetes 1996;45:1585–1593.R 

(3) Cummings, et al. Risk factors for hip fracture in white women. N Engl J Med, 332 (1995), pp. 767-773.   (Interestingly this study indicates that having a parent with a history of hip fracture increases your risk of hip fracture two-fold regardless of your bone mineral density**.)

~.~.~.~

**Despite the orthopedist's verification her mother's strong bones, perhaps their shared love of moguls would better predict her destiny.  

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Word count = 500 (with references)