My Motorcycle Injuries

I believe that time can either be a useful friend or a subtle enemy. This past week I saw a news story about a teenage girl in North Carolina that lost a leg along with some fingers in a shark attack. During the interview she displayed a truly brave and uplifting spirit when talking about the attack and consequent injuries to her body. She stated, in essence, that she didn’t want to be pitied or viewed as a defeated victim. I thought to myself “good for her!” with a sense of assurance that she was going to successfully move past the initial trauma of the shark attack. I truly wish her well and hope that her spirit will endure in the coming years. Although I do not feel that my injuries could possibly compare to hers, I do wish that I could warn her concerning the issue of time. I sincerely hope that time does not wear down her spirit and her sense of inner strength. If I could warn her, I would let her know that time can be a harsh opponent that relentlessly causes subtle challenges as...

I went for my two week post-op appointment today with the surgeon. He said that everything is fine and that I will be able to function normally after another two weeks. He said that he removed a small tumor during the surgery, and I must have looked a little shocked as he spoke because he immediately told me not to worry because it was a common thing with this type of surgery, and said that the tests came back as benign. Whew! The weird thing is that when I told my wife about this later today she said that the surgeon told her about it immediately after the surgery and she told me later that day at home. I don’t remember the conversation at all, but I’ve always been a little goofy with the process of recovering from anesthesia. Good thing there wasn’t a swampland salesman at the surgical center. I really hope that this is my last accident related surgery for, I don’t know; let’s say the next thirty years or so. I’m feeling much better now with only a hint of discomfort, and the pain is...

I’ve made a lot of progress in healing from my latest surgery. Things are nowhere near 100%, but I am much better. I’ve been told that I’ll be free to resume normal living after another three weeks.  I noticed something unusual last week about my accident injuries. The thing is that I couldn’t feel them. All day. The pain from this latest surgery was so pronounced that it eclipsed the “normal” pain that I feel daily. It’s all back now, but it was pretty much gone for a few days. I still feel a degree of pain from the surgery now, but not enough to make the other pains seem nonexistent. I guess the lesson to be learned is that things could always be worse and that I should be in no hurry when reacting to pain. It’s just there, and it doesn’t mean all that much. If my mind is stronger than my body, I really don’t need to consider the need for further surgery on my leg or arm quite so much. I think that the same lesson guides me to relax a little, live life, and endure the annoyance o...

I finally had the surgery this past Wednesday. It was performed early in the morning and I was home before noon. The surgeon told my wife that everything went well. I expected to be past the worst of any pain or discomfort within a couple of days, but that hasn’t been the case. I was in some fairly debilitating pain for the first two days, and I’ve experienced really annoying pain since then. I didn’t attend church services yesterday, and I’m trying to lay low today. My wife and daughter were home all last week, but they are both back to work today. I promised that I would behave while they’re gone today, so here I am behaving. It frustrates me to some extent that I have to go through all of this. I honestly believed that my recovery would be simpler and quicker (recovery was far simpler the last time that I had an incisional hernia). The last one was higher on my waist, but I thought that this one would be the same nonetheless. I was wrong. The pain has been severe at times, but not s...