Well folks, if you haven’t yet heard, I hurt my leg. When we got our new team changes, we were told to spend the afternoon together and “go make a memory”. My new team and I headed to the nearby restaurant to grab a drink and hang out. We discussed quite a bit, including a team name, which was to be revealed later on. We then decided to jump off the pier into the ocean to really make a memory with each other. Im sure you can tell where this story is headed. Anyway, we got to the end of the pier and looked around to make sure it was deep enough. About half way down the pier there was a guy standing in water up to his chest, so we assumed we were good to go. We kicked off our shoes, counted to 3, and jumped.
As soon as I landed, I knew something was wrong. I felt a pop in both my knee and ankle and immediately felt nauseous. My team looked at me and just knew something was up. I filled them in and they carried me to the beach to assess the situation. There was swelling starting in my knee and so we decided to call a car and go to the hospital. The “car” turned out to be an ambulance driven by Red Cross volunteers. They took me to the hospital where I received X-rays, a pain med injection, and a cast. They didn’t have any crutches, so we would have to wait until the next day.
We arrived back to the house and immediately I could feel the love from my squad. At every meal, I had at least 20 people asking if I needed food. I had people offering up their beds and asking to carry me around. It was truly an amazing feeling.
Then came travel days. I still had no crutches and had 60+ hours of travel ahead of me. I had to be wheeled around in a wheelchair. I had to ask people to carry my things. I had to plead with people to trade me seats on the plane so I could get my leg up. I even had to have help getting into bathroom stalls.
I had been immobilized before, but this was way worse for some reason. When we finally got to Atlanta for our long layover, my family was there ready to surprise me!! Little did they know, we would have to spend part of our time together at the ER. Luckily the ER nurses heard my story and pushed me along so I could get out of there quicker. More X-rays and the doc told me it was probably ligament and tendon damage/tear in both my knee and ankle. Crutches for the time being and remain off of it. Great.
As I was headed into a new country, I was completely unable to help carry my stuff. I felt like a burden to my new team. I was not able to go help get groceries or water. I couldn’t go explore the city and try and find other ministry options. I felt useless.
Upon feeling this way, I began to pray and seek out why I was in the situation I was in. What did the Lord have for me?
Yesterday, we were finally able to meet our host. When we were headed to the ATM in the car to pay for lodging, he tells me that he wanted to tell me and the team that this place and center is a place of rest. That the Lord told him it was a refuge for anyone who comes to rest in physical body and spirit.
Last night it really hit me. Being immobilized is teaching me a huge lesson. I need to learn to ask for help. Whether it be something small that I am asking my teammates/friends/family or something I’m asking from God. I need to rely on Him more. I need to stop letting my stubbornness get in the way and be willing to cry out in times of need. To tell people when I am struggling. But also to rejoice when things are going well. I also learned that I need to take time for rest. The body and mind need rest and I haven’t been doing that very well.
Although it quite stinks being in this situation, I have learned a lot. In tough times, I challenge those reading this to ask God what He is trying to show you.
As always, thank you for reading!! I am on the mend and will be walking in no time! Thank you for continuous love and support!
Xoxo,
Kaitlin
