I broke my elbow last week.
Funny story, really. I was already at the hospital for a doctor’s appointment, his office is in the adjacent medical offices. While walking out of the parking garage, I tripped on one of those cement wheel stops and hit the pavement. Landed on my left side, all my weight on my arm.
My first thought was “not again.” Less than a year ago, I was walking down a sidewalk and stepped into a tree well (that circular cutout around the base of a tree). That time I landed on my right side, resulting in some bruised ribs. So I was already familiar with that feeling when the ground leaves you and you’re in that half-second free-fall ending in the inevitable crash landing.
I’m in my mid-50’s, people. Way too early to be falling this much.
I knew something was wrong immediately, I could barely move my arm. After I gathered myself, I knew I had a choice to make. This doctor visit was just a yearly check-in with a specialist that would take all of five minutes. Or I could (probably should) go straight to the ER, and reschedule with the doc.
I kept my appointment. I expect my Purple Heart will arrive imminently.
A few hours, several x-rays, and an arm splint later, I headed back to the office (I’m right-handed, so I could still drive) to pick up my stuff and call it a day.
But the day wasn’t done with me yet.
Before I even got to my desk, our HR person stopped me. Was I heading home?
Well, yes, actually. I just broke my arm, figured I’d take the afternoon off.
Well, the company was making some cuts, which included one person in my department. We had to negotiate who it would be. Right now.
Excuse me?
You know, most days, you pretty much know what to expect when you work in an office. You drive in, spend the majority of your eight hours at your desk, putting out one fire after another, then you drive home. Occasionally, if you’re lucky, you might have lunch brought in. Or maybe it’s Wacky Shirt Day. Otherwise, not a whole lot of variation.
Breaking a limb and firing an employee? Nope, NOT on my office bingo card.
So I’d already lost a battle with gravity and concrete. NOW I had to fight to save someone’s job with one arm tied behind my back (strapped in a sling, actually).
But, even wounded, I fought valiantly. All looked lost, but at the last moment we rallied. We were able to find cuts elsewhere, and my department (if not myself) remained intact.
Battered, bruised (I now have bruised ribs on my LEFT side), and exhausted, I returned home to nurse my wounds and reflect on the tragedies and triumphs of a VERY surreal day.
At least next week we’re getting burritos. Easy to eat with one hand.
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