At Six Weeks
Originally uploaded by katzeye
Today I walked a little bit, wearing just a neoprene support on the ankle/foot, and, imagine this, a pair of matching hiking sandals!
Healing is a miraculous thing! It's not just that over the past six weeks the foot went through all those stages starting out as a big, purple box, and gradually, very gradually, changing ever so slightly. I went from having to crawl, to walking with crutches, to limping and then finally, to being able to bear weight.
It's not just that torn ligaments and tendons began to slowly, and carefully, heal and grow every so slightly stronger a little bit at a time.
It's a whole lot more than that.
I know it was just a sprained ankle, and even if it's a third degree one, the worst kind, in the whole scheme of things, I realize it's just a minor and temporary injury.
But it has been six weeks of my not being able to do what I am used to doing. It has been six weeks of often feeling frustrated, and sometimes depressed, and feeling as if for the rest of my life I will be limping in unmatched footwear.
It was six weeks to slow down, be humble, be teachable, and to think about what I could learn from this enforced period of such.
It was people praying for me, including random surfers on the beach, kind people checking on me and my progress, people with experience with such things giving me much appreciated advice, and it was kind of amazing.
Faith, our connections to each other, love, and all those good things were the silver lining.
One neighbor has seen me walk to the beach nearly each day, at first, in a giant boot, and then in a little white inflatable one, and then my hinged sports model, and he has acknowledged my progress each time I have passed his house and been greeted by his dog.
I am grateful for all of those kinds of things. I probably have a few more weeks before I actually move "normally" again, and a few months before things are totally healed, but for now, I am just so very grateful for the things I have learned and experienced while being the "gimp."
Thank you people,
kc
4 comments:
So glad I decided to surf a bit tonight. This blog cheered me up due to some things I am dealing with. Yes, I think you are right that there are silver linings to our experiences in life. And your attitudes attract kind people into your life to bless you.
Love this post. Two years ago I broke my left wrist. I am left-handed and I could swear the neural pathways in my brain were affected. It did force me to slow down and acknowledge the generosity of others.
Thanks, JW, that's sweet of you. Need anything?
Thanks, Stacey. That must have been really, really hard to deal with, in just about every way! And I totally believe it about the neural pathways. That kind of stuff is pretty fascinating. We could talk.
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