1) you don't know what you miss until it is gone
2) don't take things for granted
Oddly enough, I had a bit of a wake-up call this past 9 days... I tripped on some stairs (ascending) and messed up my ankle and wrist.
I went through a couple days of being unable to tightly grasp things with my right hand, which was a minor issue but still drove me nuts as I was unable to perform some normal activities.
My ankle was a completely different story... for the first 3 days, it hurt badly but I continued to walk on it (stupid) slowly / gingerly, but still walked on it... until of course, I started to feel a very painful "grinding / popping" coming from the ankle, which was accompanied by swelling to about 3x the normal size of the ankle and a feeling like my foot / ankle was on fire!
Went to the Doc's finally, and was told... 'no fractures, but man I haven't seen a sprain this bad in quite a long time' followed by, 'do your shoes even fit anymore? your foot and ankle looks like a block of flesh with no normal foot outline'... then came the real fun: 'I need you to wear an ankle brace, use a crutch and take these NSAIDs, until things normalize'.
Now this is where the fun comes in, did I mention that it was my right ankle / wrist? That essentially means I cannot drive so I have been locked up in my house everyday for the past 10 days.. sweet! .
Ok, long example that kind of proves out the "wisdom" of not taking things for granted, in this case I can now appreciate all the things I was able to do previously and am unable to do now, like running, playing soccer, walking, having unlimited mobility, going where and when I feel like it .
Good thing is.. the swelling is now going down.. and the foot / ankle is finally starting to look like a foot again.. in all likelihood, I may actually be able to start moving around again without the brace and crutches within 3-4 more days (by the looks of it).
Hopefully I can remember those feelings of denial / anger / frustration / hopelessness and ensure that I appreciate everything just a little bit more:
- my interactions with family and friends
- exercise
- astronomical observations / photography
- breathing, walking and just about everything else
Wishing all health and happiness
