On March 28th, about three weeks ago, at about 11:00 at night, I fell off my skateboard; which is something I have done plenty of times before. However, this time was different. When I hit the ground, I slammed my phone face down and rolled about four times before stopping on my back. I checked my phone; no cracks. Checked the knees of my jeans; no rips. Then I felt it. The pain coming from my right hand. I looked and my pinkie was twice the size it normally is and bent out of shape. Thanks to a kind friend who was still awake, I was taken to the ER and they ran some x-rays. The doctor said “I have good news and bad news. Good news is that it is not dislocated, so we do not have to just yank it back into place. Bad news is you broke it in three places”. Great. They set it as best as they could that late at night and ran more x-rays. Before letting me go, the doctor said I needed to see an orthopedic surgeon within the next week to see if I would need surgery or not. Great. We finally got to leave at 1:30am. I was devastated and upset with myself. I have a leadership role in the theatre for our next show, but I need all my fingers for that. I have final projects, but I can’t write left handed. I have design homework, but I need my right hand to do it. All these thoughts and limitations raced through my mind on the way back to campus. When we got back to campus my friend kept my board, because he knew I would probably still ride it, even with a broken finger.
Here is a picture of the x-rays before they reset it, and the splint they first put me in.
Friday morning, after about two hours of sleep, my alarm goes off at 8:00am. I climbed out of my bed and began the task of getting ready. Something that is usually so easy became incredibly difficult. Now if you know me well, you know I do not like asking for help because I do not want to burden others, so asking my roommate for help was not something I was thrilled about. I was finally ready after 45 minutes (it usually takes me 13 minutes…and yes I have timed it). As the day went on, I became increasingly more frustrated with myself. What were usually normal tasks became 10 times harder and more painful. However, my friends and theatre family were there for me.
One week after I fell, I had my appointment with the orthopedic surgeon to see if I would need surgery. After looking at the previous x-rays, he determined I did not need surgery! Woo hoo! After taking another set of x-rays, he put a new and less bulky splint on and we left.
Here is a picture of the x-rays after they reset it and the second splint they put me in.
So where have I seen God? Well, first there are my friends and family. I realized that when you have people who care so much about you, they will help and you will not be a burden. They love you and want to help you in your time of need. Without them, I would not have been able to get through the past three weeks. Second would be modern medicine and technology. Without them, I would not know the seriousness of the breaks or be able to cope with the pain. They took many x-rays in the ER to ensure my finger would go back to normal and I am forever grateful for that! Third would be not having to need surgery! The surgeon said the pins would come out at six weeks, but that would be very close to my trip to Haiti at the beginning of June, so I was relieved that this wouldn’t prevent me from going. Fourth would be that I only broke my pinkie and nothing else. I fell hard and it could have been a lot worse. Even when it didn’t feel like it, God was walking right alongside me through it all.
Now it is three weeks since, and I have learned a lot. I have learned it is ok to ask for help when you need it and to say when you can’t do something. Sometimes, you have to step back and be the teacher, rather than the doer. Finding pockets of sunshine in the storm, like figuring out how to write legibly with half your fingers, can make the bad days good again. Most importantly, it is extremely vital to have a group of people who will weather the storm with you. Thank you to everyone who has been beside me and helped me over the past few weeks. I know God has been with me through every storm in life, including my broken finger.
To the King!
