Lessons From a Broken Wrist

January 20th I broke my wrist. Got clocked from behind by a worse ice skater than me. I'm on the mend and the experience has left me just a bit wiser about a few things.

1. Being brave is overrated. For many of us our first reaction to an injury is often "No. I'm fine. I'll be OK." Which is what I was saying while I was unable to get up off of the ice and while I was grimacing in pain at the side of the rink. How dumb was that? You don't get any points for being brave. What you also don't get is help. Fortunately for me a few friends there ignored my words and stepped in to get an ice pack, offered to help me get my son home, and took a quick look at my arms and advised a trip to the ER.
2. Same advice as above goes for deciding to forgo pain medications and tough it out. Failure to get adequate sleep, which is what pain meds can help avoid, will affect your state of mind and therefore your healing. Stay ahead of the pain and get your rest.
3. Glad Press & Seal does a pretty good job of protecting your limb in the shower. Using it you still need to keep the limb out of the direct stream of water, but it will keep your cast from getting wet from the spray.
4. I never realized that pins used to stabilize the bone during healing actually PROTRUDE FROM THE SKIN. Ugh. I can't even put into words how creeped out I was by that whole thing. And I was paralyzed with fear about the removal process, which is done in the office. Turns out it wasn't so bad. Much ado about very little. If it ever happens to you, now you know.
5. Regarding the above, I had a few minutes to wait in the doctor's office and as my anxiety mounted I knew I had to get out of my own head. In those few minutes I texted supportive messages to a number of people that I knew were going through medical or family challenges of their own. As crummy as my situation felt at the time, putting it in perspective helped. I want to remember that in the future.
6. This last one was not a new lesson, but an affirming one. People are truly kind. Folks brought food for me and my family, sent flowers, gave me rides to medical appointments, tied my running shoes, walked with me when I couldn't run, loaned me a really great sling, sent encouraging notes and emails, and gave me hugs -- which was one of the most appreciated things of all.