Expect The Unexpected

chronicles of a big injury, recovery, and how life is going

The Injury

It was a Thursday morning at 10:45. I just finished a great meet up with my health coach and was making breakfast. I wanted to try this exotic fruit called a yucca root, but knew that I needed to cut the exterior. The problem was: I didn’t have a peeler.

Desperately, I tried to cut the fruit with a knife. I knew it was risky, but I have done dangerous things before. It was a bad idea from the start. I saw the knife going very close to my hand twice. Somehow, I didn’t stop there. I kept going until…

BAM! A pool of blood was coming right out of my left hand. I was SCREAMING and WRITHING in pain. I didn’t know what to do!!!

My first course of action was to walk to the nearest convenience store and get a first aid kit. I tried my best to solve the issue myself, but that wasn’t quite enough.

I knew my next course of action.

With nobody nearby, I called 9-1-1, knowing that I had to stop the bleeding ASAP. A few minutes later, an ambulance came, armed with four men ready to solve whatever is at hand.

Soon after, I went on the gurney, and went on my way to Templeton hospital. All I brought was my phone to talk to my parents. During this time, I got my vitals checked and had a dressing put on my arm.

After 10 arduous minutes in the gurney. I finally arrived at Adventist Health Twin cities. I was desperate to get helped. My body hurt and ached. It told me, “please help me now!!!”

Once I got to the hospital, there were still a couple more hurdles to clear. The first was waiting for an appointment. The second was scrambling for a way to charge my near dying phone. If that wasn’t bad enough, I was anxious to make it back to my job considering that I didn’t get sick leave.

Minutes and minutes passed by as I was still waiting for my appointment. My hand was still in tons of pain from the incident. And my phone was dead, rendering me impatient.

Eventually, I was able to get my vitals done again. All of that just to be sent back.

And the waiting continued. It went on and on and on.

Around an hour after I arrived, I finally got a call to my appointment. Who is a huge sigh of relief after a long agonising wait.

The doctor, an intelligent middle aged man, came in with a plan. He said to himself, “how can I solve this?”

After a long deliberation, he started off by checking my vitals and asked me a bunch of questions. Then he looked at the wound. Next up numbing medication. After that, he cleaned the wound. Finally, it was time for the real deal.

STITCHES!!!

Like a knitter crocheting a fabric, he intricately pooped through my wounds finding all the nooks and crannies. All I could do was hope and pray, as the needles were extremely uncomfortable.

At a little before two, I was finally released from the hospital. Phew. Yeah, I was still extremely anxious. I didn’t know what my next step should be. Could I make it to my job? Or should I head right home?

I decided on the former. I couldn’t contact my boss about getting paid time off, so I wanted to talk to her face-to-face. A $30 Uber in 20 minutes later. I made it to the workplace.

After a short talk with my boss, I made my decision. Despite not getting any compensation, I took the day off as I was too rattled to perform my job duties.

Yet there were still questions, the biggest one being about whether I should keep my planned visit with my friend or not.

After a long exhausting walk home, a lot of self doubt and guilt started to hit my head. How would I play with the kids? How would I get around? Could I even make food for myself? What would the cost of this all be? Would insurance cover it? Am I doomed to just be an idiot? Should I quit my NBA draft project I’ve been working super hard on? Should I delay my visit with my friend?

Even though it was hard at first, I decided to keep visiting with my friend.

That was a great decision.

He did an outstanding job accommodating me over the weekend. He cooked for me. He helped clean my apartment. He did laundry with me. He checked on my injury constantly. He helped me process the emotional part of the injury. He got me out of the house.

On top of that, I told myself that I wouldn’t be using this as a way to quit. I WANT to play the piano. I WANT to cook again. I WANT to play sports with the kids. I WANT to work out. I WANT to continue writing about the NBA draft. I WANT to ride my ebike without issue. I NEEDED to do what was possible to get me back to where I was before my injury.

A week after the incident happened, I am lucky to say that I have gotten my stitches off. It was a quick and easy process, which was unlike my stitches being put on.

THANK GOODNESS!!!

The Aftermath

It’s been 3 days since my stitches, and 10 days since the injury. My friend has been gone for 6 days. I have a lot to reflect on, and will share it a bit down here.

I am now riding my ebike. I can cook basic meals. I can clean my apartment. I can actually do(some) exercise. Slowly but surely, I am regaining my independence back.

Yet, things haven’t been the same since my injury. I haven’t been able to go on long bike rides, as riding the e-bike is physically painful. This has severely limited my ability to get around, and I have spent

I have also struggled with anxiety and exhaustion. I’ve been overwhelmed by my job. Rejection from an interview. Going to bed too late. I am still struggling with body image thanks to bloating related issues, which makes it difficult for me to want to eat.. I can get lonely, as I am far from friends and family.

Finances have been another struggle for me. With my job being only part time, I’ve been pretty much living paycheck to paycheck. I am stressed about spending money on anything. I haven’t been able to travel as much as I want. I feel guilty for moving to somewhere smaller due to the lack of job opportunity, even though I knew that I needed to do so after a tough college experience.

No matter how my life is going, one of the most important things to do is to be able to move on and stay present. Some days will always be better than others. But it is important to find some things that give you purpose and meaning in life. It will be different for everyone, but there is always something important for someone.

One thing that has helped is reaching out to my favorite English teacher. Long after I was in school, I still trust her for career and life advice. I miss her a ton and wish I saw her more often.

I have also been busy with my NBA draft model. Even though it has been MUCH slower than expected(which is annoying), it has given me purpose and meaning. I can’t wait to show it to everyone when I’m finished soon!

The biggest lesson I learned from this was to expect the unexpected. You never know what will happen in the future. All you can do is enjoy the present.

Things will never be as good or bad as you think they are.