I must admit, choosing an old photo of myself was not an easy feat. I had to first find a photo and then find one that had meaning and purpose. What would I talk about? What would I want to share about myself that I haven't discussed or hinted to already? What would I want my audience to know about me?
I've been in kind of a nostalgic mood lately anyway, so it seemed appropriate to find a photo that reflected a piece of my past that was significant to me. I didn't want to use a photo that was too recent, yet I also want to share a cool story or memory.
So, I've found a photo. Well, two photos.
On January 21, 2014, I would experience another one of those moments where my life would be changed forever. While this is not simply one photo and not a photo from my childhood, it is of a significant time in my life. Just five years ago these photos were taken of yours truly. The top is a personal shot of my broken ankle and the bottom is of me in the hospital a few days later trying to recover. The ribbon is a birthday ribbon that was given to me to cheer me up.
You see, I'd broken my right ankle on the way home from work that day in a blizzard. I'd been an out of school time Coordinator at Woodrow Wilson High School through Education Works Inc. in Camden, NJ. A major blizzard had hit the east coast and all after school programs were canceled and schools were dismissing early. I am a Philadelphian and had to worry about traveling back home in the snow. One of my gracious co-workers offered to drop myself and another co-worker off in the city at least so that we could catch local public transportation to our homes. I guess I appreciated the fact that he didn't want to be out in the blizzard himself, but was grateful that he'd at least helped me part of the way. I'd end up waiting over an hour in the snow for a crowded bus. SEPTA... what can I say?
After finally arriving at my bus stop, two blocks away from my house, the snow rose up so high that the bus was having trouble riding past a certain speed, and I could certainly NOT see the sidewalk. I was not fully paying attention to where I was stepping while putting something back into my handbag. I was walking in the street to find the sidewalk... and failed miserably. My right foot bumped into the curb. Life immediately went into slow-motion. My entire bodyweight fell to my right side into however many feet of snow lay there previously untouched and rising. I will never forget the sound of that crack as soon as I hit the ground. The pain.
Now, I already have a deep and raspy voice so whatever scream came out of me was not that of a normal woman's voice. I probably scared the few passersby at that moment because I probably sounded more like some weird animal at first. Once a few people realized that I was actually a human, and had fallen and that I was now making noises because I was in great pain, they'd finally began to come over to investigate.
If my memory serves me correctly, I'd laid there for several minutes without aid. I'd fallen faced down to the ground and could not move but a few inches to a crawl position as the pain crept up my entire body. I'd managed to pull myself together enough to reach for my cell phone from my pocket underneath me. I called home. Both my parents and my brother were there. I can't tell you what they heard on the phone but I wouldn't hang up until someone came to help me.
Strangers finally began to form around me. I heard "Miss, are you okay?", and "Miss, you have to get up!" Awkwardly, somehow I was rolled over to my back. Anguish. A few more people. I distinctly remember a man pulling up in a pickup truck. He had someone with him. They realized I was in so much pain that I could not move. I believe I was crying now. They'd offered to lift me up and put me into the back of his truck to transport me to the nearest hospital. You see, several calls to the police for an ambulance had proven hopeless as we would be waiting for what seemed to be forever. I sharply remember a woman who claimed to be a nurse of some sort urging me to get out of the snow because of the danger of hypothermia. I remember hearing her on the phone to the police claiming I'd been lying there in the snow for almost an hour (when she really wouldn't know how long I'd been there because she'd just come up to me herself). It certainly felt like an hour and the pain wasn't going anywhere and now I was beginning to shiver profusely. I believe with all of my heart that an angel was sent to me that day. An African-American man who seemed like a preacher or minister came to my side. His words exactly I don't remember and how I wish I did. They were so comforting and encouraging. He made me feel ... a bit at ease for a moment. I needed that. I think he'd even said a quick prayer for me. And then, he was gone.
I wouldn't let the men pick me up until I heard from my parents if they were coming. My brother was able to drive around the corner to my aid. I yelled for him and told my little audience that he was indeed my brother. He was my savior and whatever he said to do was what I was going to go with. I told them all to listen to him as if the foreman had come to declare some course of action that would change the world. I'm so dramatic sometimes...lol!
A few of the men who were still there urged my brother to allow them to help him get me into the backseat of his car. Everyone agreed that I needed to get off the ground and out of the snow. I'd been laying there far too long and no help was coming. I can't say who, but they'd warned me. "Miss, you are going to be in pain,...be we are going to help you!" I tried to brace myself. I felt as if I were going to die for a minute. I just wanted it to be over.
And now, I had to pee!
I must've been in so much pain that I lacked out or something because I don't remember actually being placed into the backseat. I just know I was there, stretched out in pain. They were able to shut the doors at my head and my feet. My foot was not...right...or actually... it was...too far right! I'd managed to compose myself enough to take a picture. The top photo that you see above.
Finally, the police had come, but still no ambulance. One cop car arrived with one cop. He'd escorted us to the nearest hospital just a few more blocks away. The ride seemed so long and ridiculously bumpy. I was being punished.
Oh, but my nightmare would continue.
Must now arrive at the hospital, get out of the backseat somehow, onto a stretcher, into a room, and try not to pee on myself.
There are times when we go through so much turmoil and despair that we say silly things like, "I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy!", or "I wouldn't want anyone to go through what I went through!" Let me just make this sidenote here: that's a lie!! There are a few folks who I surely wish could have gone through the nightmare I'd experienced on January 21, 2014!! lol. I digress.
Thankfully, the male nurse at the hospital attempted to pull me out of the car as best he and his partner could. I still wanted to die, though. And all I could see was what looked like my foot dangling off of my leg. It was NOT that serious, but it sure felt like it!
I'd shattered a bone.
They had to cut my boot off of my foot. There goes that $10! No, I was not wearing high heels for all of you haters who make fun of me for always wearing heels everywhere! This was one of the few times that I did NOT have them on. I knew it was gonna be a snowstorm. I will admit that I was tempted to wear the new pair of heels my sister had bought for me for my birthday and presented to me the night before at my birthday dinner during Center City District Restaurant Week! However, I didn't have those on and I was in a flat pair of knee-high boots. I was cute. Purple sweater dress, printed fishnet stockings, and my boots. It'd be a whole six months before I'd feel cute again.
1 metal rod, 1 metal plate, and 9 metal pins surgically replace what once was my right ankle. For the rest of my life, I am now the bionic woman! lol! My scars are super cool though. I hate them. But I love them. They serve as a constant reminder of what these pictures only give a glimpse of...one of the days my life would be changed forever.
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