Enjoy the Moment

I flew in from Portland ME last Wednesday evening from a relatively short business trip. I won’t tell you what happened in the Atlanta airport when I landed about 9PM but I will tell you it has been safely placed in my IBS toolbox to be used at the appointed time.

My sweet wife was awake when I finally arrived home about midnight. She laughed at my latest story. She hears all my stories before they go public.

Well, at least most of them.

I had noticed when I was driving home the indicator “indicated” I had low tire pressure in my right front tire. My plan was to stop on the way to the office Thursday morning to get the tire checked.

My plans got changed.

As usual, I had several phone conversations before I left the house that morning. In fact, I kept talking and listening on my cell phone as I was getting ready to walk out of the house. When I let our little dog out the back door, I noticed a stray dog on our back porch. My first thought was our gate could be open so I followed our “Lucy” and the stray dog out onto the deck. Just wanted to make sure Lucy was safe and secure in our fenced in backyard before I left for the office.

A few seconds later I was dazed, lying on the deck in agony having trouble getting my breath and looking for my cell phone so I could call 911.

My goodness things can change in a moment.

When we moved into this house in 2003, there was a tree in the middle of our deck. We eventually had the tree removed and had planned eventually on having the hole in our deck covered. For some stupid reason, we never did.

But we will now.

I was not texting and driving (that is illegal) but I was talking and walking and looking ahead at the gate where the two dogs were headed so I could see if it was open. I stepped right into the hole on the deck that is about 4 feet off the ground.

Not a smart thing for a 56 year old gray headed fellow to do. Or anybody else for that matter.

Since Thursday I have been to a Med Stop and an Orthopedist and have attempted to sleep in a reclining chair at night. My travel has been limited to going to the restroom for the past four days and those trips have been an ordeal. My wife stayed home from school to look after me. When you cannot pull your pants up by yourself, you need a little help from a trustworthy source.

Bottom line I have bruised ribs on my right side and a damaged left knee. I learned when you are hurting on both sides of your body, your compensators do not compensate very well.

The good news is I am on the mend. (I am writing this). Although I still moan and groan when I try to get out of the chair, I can do it on my own. I can even put my pants on by myself - although it takes a few minutes to do so. I went from two crutches, to one crutch and now I just keep them in sight just in case.

I have a MRI scheduled in a couple of days to see how much damage I did to my knee but whatever the outcome, I’ll be fine.

I was reminded again that my present circumstances can change in an instant. I am one of the fortunate ones. I will soon be back to normal or very close to where I was on Thursday morning before I walked out on the deck. Some never get back to the circumstances they once enjoyed.

We just never know what the next day will bring.

And that is why, my friend, we should enjoy the moment.