I knew as soon as my foot hit the ground that something had gone wrong; I felt- in fact, I swear I even heard, a popping noise, felt something go bad around my right knee, before agony enveloped me and I fell to the ground, rotating so that knee wouldn't take the hit.
Outwardly, I screamed, lying there, grasping at my leg in the intense, gentle and cautious way you do when you know you've seriously messed yourself up, but are afraid that touching it will make it worse.
"That's not right," I remember exclaiming between the stream of profanity as my mind raced to process all the signals my body was sending me, the internal damage assessment. "That's wrong- that shouldn't be like that."
Facedown on the cool floor of the parking garage, I waited, trying to breathe, for the ambulance my friends called to come.
They checked my leg for telltale signs that usually show up in a break almost immediately- mainly, swelling and bruising- but neither were there. Still, when they moved my leg, I shouted out.
Even as I struggled with the pain, I scolded myself for the reaction- after all, all I'd done was stepped off a curb. My foot had landed normally, more or less- just the position of my knee was wonky (poor timing, bad judgement as far as the height of the curb); it had locked straight when it should have been bending. It was a move I'd made before and, while uncomfortable, had never resulted in damage. So, I figured, I couldn't have done anything too serious. Perhaps I tore something, perhaps I tweaked a nerve or- popped my knee partially out and back in wrong. I don't have a lot of knowledge as far as the anatomy of my limbs, but I was mad at myself because I kept thinking 'You couldn't have done anything that bad, and yet here you are, handling what seriously isn't even the worst pain you've experienced so poorly. You're being a wimp about this. Get a hold of yourself. Calm down.'
The paramedics gently and carefully loaded me into the ambulance and set off. Every time my leg jolted or moved, it continued to send signals- not just of pain, but of wrongness. Things weren't moving together as they should be. There was a sense that one part was moving out of sync with everything else. It was an extremely disconcerting feeling.
That was two days ago, and now I know that that feeling probably means that something is actually broken.
When I had stepped off that curb, the pop I felt/heard had been me fracturing the tibia of my right leg. Not a standard fracture, either. It's called a compression fracture, and it basically means that my bone broke- but also kind of crunched inwards on itself.
Because of the type of fracture, I'm going to need surgery. More specifically, I'm going to have at least 1 metal plate and a few screws put into my leg. It's possible that I will need a plate on either side. From what I understand, the surgeon won't know precisely until he opens me up.
So basically, I stepped off of a curb- that's literally all - and managed to break myself in such a way that I'll actually need reconstructive surgery that will add hardware to me which will be there for the rest of my life. I stepped off of a curb, and ensured that for the next six months, my life will stop.
I won't be able to have a job that requires any regular commitment.
I won't be able to even put weight on my leg for the first 3 weeks, at least.
It will be 6 months before I will be able to walk without a cane again.
I won't be able to have classes.
I can't finally learn to drive.
I can't go many places.
I won't be able to spend any real time without my leg elevated.
I'm trying really really hard to find a good outcome, but it's still early and all pretty overwhelming. But sitting here in my hospital bed in this sweltering room, I have little else to do but think...So this is probably far from the last post on this topic.
It's a big change; a huge change, a kick in the teeth when there's already so much to fight.
But I guess for now, I'll just have to see what happens next.
I have a feeling that my posts aren't going to be particularly well written over the next few weeks...So, sorry, reader, if you are out there, but as always, feel free to stay if you'd like.
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