I wanted a break. However, broken bones is not the kind of break I expected. My interpretation of a break is nature walking through beautiful Yellowstone Park or an exotic adventure where I can ride the rapids, then hike up mountain trails. From this day forward, I need to be precise, make clear intentions, do not simply ask for a break because, take it from me, you get what you ask for.
I have recently broken my right wrist, fracture in each bone, and I fractured my right foot. Boy! When I break, I break it up right, literally speaking. I’m typing with my left hand; it might become my dominant hand by the time my right wrist heals. I saw a surgeon who thinks I need surgery on my wrist, and from the looks of my x-rays and her description of one fracture, I agree.
Due to my injuries, I cannot work, so there is no money coming in. Thank God my job is waiting for me. I do not have health insurance, too expensive. The surgeon’s office manager is trying to get me on an indigent (God knows I hate that word) program through our hospital. If I’m accepted, the surgeon will operate. She won’t be paid. I told her that I will paint her a beach scene if she does operate. I saw the surgeon on Wednesday, June 3, 2020. It was Sunday, May 31, 2020, at 8:00 A. M. when my injuries occurred. I got up out of bed to walk out a cramp in my right foot. I stepped on my left foot first. I went to step with my right foot and fell, hard! For some odd reason my right leg wasn’t around to support me.
My son, Chad, heard my excruciating cries, and came to my rescue. I managed to get up. And by golly, my right leg decided to show up! I felt pain in my right foot, but not due to the cramp that seemed to disappear to only GOD knows where. I didn’t understand the trade-off from having a cramp, to not having a leg to stand on, and then to having an injured foot (Doesn’t make sense). I felt sick to my stomach and didn’t remember how I landed. I do know that my right arm tried to take on the weight my leg was supposed to, (eye roll) my dominant wrist was injured.
I put ice on my wrist. The swelling got worse and the pain didn’t feel like a twisted or sprain wrist, so Chad drove me to the hospital. They took x-rays. They put my wrist in a splint and my foot in a boot. The splint is temporary because the doctor looked at my x-rays and saw my larger bone, Radius, on the side of my thumb, cracked, more like a split going up and down not across. The surgeon said the split part was pushed down and over, going towards the top of my wrist, and my Radius broke clean through. My other bone, the Ulnar bone near the wrist joint, is also fractured. I may need screws in both bones. All I can say is, OUCH! And, right leg, where were you, sleeping on the job? (Another eye roll).
If I do not get on an (I hate to say it) indigent program, I will not be able to afford surgery and therefore won’t have surgery, no screws. Without surgery, my right wrist won’t ever be the same. I think to myself, ‘I’m screwed with or without surgery.’ Then I think. ‘My God has not forsaken me and things could be worse. I need to be content in my, in all situations. Good things always come and good can come out of what is seemingly bad. Thank God I did not hurt myself worse than I did.’
I have my left hand. I’ll get better at using it. I have always been able to throw a ball with my left hand, and although my handwriting looks like a kindergartener learning to write, it’s legible. I’ve been able to catch up on some writing by typing. Not fast, yet, but with practice, I will type faster. I’ve also been practicing a little drawing. I bet I can paint, maybe not as well as I do, or did, with my right hand, but again, with practice I will get better. Guess I’m not as screwed as I thought. Heck, I still have a job to return to. And for my leg or legs, before I stand, I will be sure they are on duty, at their post. (One more eye roll). Brushing my teeth isn’t as awkward as it was, and investing in a bidet is no longer a need. I salute my left hand.
A few days later…
I received calls from different people at the hospital and one from my surgeon’s office telling me I was approved through the hospital’s We Care Program to have surgery. God knows I like the sound of that much better than “Indigent Program.” (Smile). On June 9, 2020, I had surgery. I was given a pain blocker and anesthesia. After surgery and the anesthesia wore off, the pain blocker was still hiding my right arm from my brain. It was weird. I couldn’t feel my right arm, almost like the morning of my injuries when I didn’t feel my right leg (UGH!).
My surgeon said that during surgery, she had to move tendons, ligaments, and muscles out of the way until she secured the two broken parts of my Radius bone together with a plate and a couple of screws. My Ulnar bone did not need pins, screws, or plates. One might say I have a mechanical wrist. My surgeon, an artist in surgical procedure, cut a straight incision under my right wrist (I doubt I’ll have a scar, at least not a noticeable one).
The following week I started hand therapy. My surgeon showed me what I had to do. It’s painful, but needs to be done so that my tendons, ligaments, and muscles remember how to work. A week later, which was today, June 26, 2020, the nurse removed my stitches and my surgeon was impressed with my therapy progress. She did a couple other things that literally exhausted me. Phew whee! (Tongue hanging out). She added two more stretches to my exercise regimen. I gotta do what I gotta do. (OUCH!)
After I heal, I might write, draw, paint, and type faster than the speed of light. Bionic Woman might need my assistance in fighting crime. (Grin). While my wrist and foot are healing and I am unable to work, I am making use of what I got. My time is productive due to the fact that my left non-dominant hand is getting stronger, feeling more equivalent to my dominant right hand. I’m amazed at the things my left hand can draw and how well it is writing. If it’s true that right-handed people use more of their left brain and left-handed people use more of their right brain, scoot over Mr. Einstein, Tesla, Leonardo DaVinci, Michelangelo, Rembrandt…because Constance Faith Koehler will be using both sides of her brain.
About the Author
Constance Faith Koehler, also known as Connie, is an award-winning artist, photographer, and an influential asset on the subject of addiction recovery.
Connie graduated with high honors and holds an Associates of Science degree in Graphic Design Technology and an Administrative Assistant Certificate from Indian River State College.
She has two adult children and two grandchildren who encourage and inspire her to become the best she can become.
When Connie isn’t spending time with family and friends, or helping someone in sobriety or Computer Science, she is writing, nature walking, painting artwork for gifts, donations for worthy causes, or for commissions.
Her art has been featured in several galleries, (Vero Beach Art Club-VS Gallery-Old Opera House Gallery-Duvall Gallery). A few stories like, Luckily, I Didn’t Get The Beak, Green Lynx Provides Natural Pest Control, Painted Buntings, and Honeybees Provide an Interesting Interlude, were printed in TCPalm.com.
You can view her art and writings on her website: https://artbyfaith.weebly.com/
Thank you for sharing my story! And the way you presented it!
But, dang it, dag nab It!
I spelled Ulnar wrong. My misspelling is written “Ulna” instead of the correct spelling “Ulnar.” I must have revised it, at least, ten times, and it still needs revising and not just to correct “Ulnar.”
Thank you, again.
Whoopsy! I think that was my fault actually. I changed it to Ulnar!