While meandering along the lighted path, a girl I'd just met but had known about me (always scary!) asked the very familiar question: "You broke your hip....pelvis, right? How are you doing?"
First of all, for all those thinking the same thing: yes, hip sure sounds better than that awkwardly named pelvic bone! I don't know how many friends and I have laughed over that silly name! After I found out it had healed crookedly someone texted me saying, "I'm sorry about your crooked pelvis ; ) It does sound kind of funny though! Let me know if I can do anything!" I'm pretty sure I saved that text just to laugh!
Anyway her brother, Mason was with us and upon hearing I'd broken my pelvis in a ski accident he quietly stated that's how he was paralyzed. I looked down at this man I'd been following who'd, unbeknownst to him, had reminded me of the days several months ago when I was bound to the wheelchair. Fourteen years ago he was going over a jump at Breckenridge and landed on his back, thus paralyzing him.
Talk about sobering.
How many times did the trauma team in the hospital, the orthopedic team, my various physical therapists, massage therapist, chiropractors, naturopaths, and basically anyone I meet remind me that
1.) I could have died.
2.) I could have been paralyzed.
3.) I could have broken every bone in my body.
Mason and I talked. He was 18 when his accident occurred. I asked him how life has been since. Like, he had been very active, I couldn't imagine how difficult that would be. His response: "Yes and no. It's been hard, but then again, not really. I'm not in pain. There are so many people in pain every day and I'm not in pain."
Wow. What an amazing man.
Pain. Yeah, I've got that for sure! But it's dissipating for the most part. My current "best friends" are special insoles and a velcro belt I wear snug around my hips. Apparently you don't only need a walker to feel like a 90 year old! A belt around your hips that makes every single pair of your pants slip down will do the trick! Seems now I've graduated from being the person who randomly starts massaging her backside in the middle of grocery stores (I'm sorry, but when YOU break your pelvis tell me what you'd do to make it through an errand!) to the gal who slips my hands under my coat to pull up those darn pants that keep slipping down! I sure hope no one's taken a secret picture and sent it to the People of Wal-Mart authors.
So yep, definitely have deducted that one does not need a wheelchair to feel like a granny. Just put a velcro belt around your waist, try to squeeze into anything that is not leggings after nearly 11 months of not doing anything, and I've definitely got the mixture of 90 year old or pregnant woman feeling much of the time for sure! Let me just give a quick props to both 90 year olds and expectant mothers here! Ya'll are incredible!
Anyway, Mason so touched me with his positive response and I am thankful for meeting this man whom I hope to see again. I got to thinking about that pain comment. I'm still believing to have complete healing and not always be in pain. But you know what? I realized I don't mind the pain as much. I mean, ask me the next time I'm in a ton of pain and maybe I'll say differently, but I've gotten used to the normal day to day pain.
Thanks to helpful tools like the belt and insoles as well as a team of uniquely gifted and knowledgeable care professionals I WILL be able to ski again as well as climb those mountains and - more importantly for right now! - get back to a normal life being able to work full-time, do errands whenever, fill my schedule up with activities, and simply do life.
For now, I cannot even begin to fully express how wonderful it was to WALK around the zoo with little help and little sitting for two hours. Even better, was although I've gotten smarter about this stuff and planned to not do anything at all the next day I was able to do a couple small errands by the evening. SO COOL!!!!
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