It is so ironic that both Renee and I have suffered foot injuries this year.  In both cases, the injuries were non-compensable (otherwise that really would be ironic!).   Renee suffered a stress fracture.  Although my injury was only soft tissue, it was agonising.  I wondered whether I would need an ambulance to come and take me to the hospital because I couldn’t work out a way to safely get down only 10 stairs from our house so I could get some crutches.

During a sleepless night this week, I thought about the beginning of Pollyanna’s “glad game”.  Pollyanna goes to the charity bin looking for a doll.  She finds there is nothing there but a pair of crutches so she and her father start a game where they try to find something to be glad about with anything that happens.  In this case, she decided to be glad that she didn’t need the crutches.

So here it is – my reasons to be glad I sprained my foot this week:-

  1. I am glad I have a sedentary job which was largely uninterrupted by my injury.  For many of our clients in more manual jobs, an injury like this could stop them working for weeks.  Apart from a few hours at the hospital, I did not miss any time off work.
  2. I am glad I managed to make it into my 40s without ever using crutches.  The look of surprise on the nurse’s face when I told her that I was a newbie reminded me that I’ve been lucky to have avoided injury for most of my life.
  3. I am glad my workaholic husband could work from home for one day to drive me to and from hospital and help me around the house.  It was actually so lovely to have him home that it almost made the injury worthwhile.
  4. I am glad we live in a country and a city with such easy access to medical services.
  5. I am glad my injury happened just before the new season of the Crown landed on Netflix so I could justify a binge watching session this week.
  6. I am glad that I had almost finished my Christmas shopping.  The last few might be getting IOUs under the Christmas tree but luckily none of them are kids so they should be able to cope with that.
  7. I am glad it is only a sprain and that it is getting better quickly.

It has also been a useful professional development experience.  Many of our clients see us after their initial struggles are over and no one has told me about some of the practical difficulties immediately after an accident.  The first one I really struggled with was how to actually get to help – the logistics seemed overwhelming when I was in pain.  It must be frightening to be immobilised for people who live alone.   The costs mount up pretty quickly too, between hospital parking, x-rays, anti-inflammatories, crutches hire, doctor’s visits and physio appointments.

Although I have tried to have clients tell me how much help they needed when they were on crutches, I think that is also difficult for people to remember once they are back on their feet.  No one has ever told me about how it is near impossible to carry anything significant when you are using crutches.  That means absolutely no housework is feasible or even getting a glass of water.

Many of our clients have far more severe injuries than mine.  They have always inspired me by how resilient they are but even more so now that I realise how much they were not complaining about even when I pressed the point.  The human ability to adapt is amazing.