5 Life Lessons from a Broken Leg
26th December, 1997. On a chilly winter evening in Meerut, I was all charged up and engrossed in a game of roadside cricket — an activity I had hardly ever involved myself with until this school break. So, when nine year old me, egged on by teenaged teammates, saw a catch for the taking, he did the obvious — run hard and dive.
Cut to the chase, I had a broken right femur. And as Murphy would have had it, the doctors bungled up and, after an excruciating 2 months of lying in bed, they announced that the bone had joined back incorrectly. Appalled by the nonchalance of the doctors at this outcome, we took off for Chandigarh where I underwent a major surgery in which the bone was broken again, and ‘screwed’ back together. Consequently, I was in bed for another 4 months.
Apart from being a lesson in enduring pain, that experience lent me a few learnings that have stuck with me through the years.
Expect the unexpected
I was blissfully enjoying my winter break in grade IV when this incident occurred. Though my school was gracious enough to let me move to the next grade, it could have led to far worse consequences. It did upset a lot of plans for me as well as for the people around me.
However, on the flip side, I learnt that one should not take medium to long term plans too seriously. In most cases, the disappointment from wrecked plans is more disheartening than the impact of the change itself.
Don’t lose your head to praise
It had been a very successful day in the game for me. All those long hours of throwing crazy rubber balls at imaginary stumps at home had remarkably paid off in a couple of run outs I had affected.
I remember someone saying, “We have our own Jonty today.”
And that was it. Of course, I had to live up to this epithet bequeathed upon me.
Ah! The brazen idiocy of childhood.
Nurture and value the support system around you
Fortunately or otherwise, it is mostly in times of trouble that the value of family and friends becomes super evident to you.
Be it my parents and sisters being pillars of support, cousins coming over to keep me entertained, or my old grandmother being by my side and helping me recover, an able support system can make the toughest of situations bearable.
And this can never be a one-way street. One must appreciate as well as reciprocate, when required.
Know how to live with boredom
With free time at your disposal, people advise you to pick up a hobby. Very reasonable. I remember filling up one drawing book after the other with sketches, carefully marking them with the dates so that, some day, I can look back at them fondly.
However, if you are rooted to the bed for over 6 months, there will be numerous hours with nothing to do but stare at the ceiling fan. It can be pretty annoying to begin with.
But then you teach yourself to cherish the silent mulling. Entertainment doesn’t need to be derived from external sources only and, more importantly, you don’t need to be necessarily entertained always.
Appreciate the little things
When I set my foot on the ground after half a year, it took my body a couple of days to bear my own weight while standing. And over a couple of months before I could walk, unaided, in a straight line. I still remember how pleasantly surprised I was when I climbed up a few stairs without carefully placing both feet on each step.
I realised how good it felt to be back in school and sit with friends.
When things go smoothly, we take so much for granted. Of course, we know how to walk and speak and hear, we think. But what we forget is how much of a miracle is it that we are able to make hundreds of muscles move in sync to achieve these routine tasks. And how blissful it can feel to breathe in fresh air outside the four walls of our rooms.
So, as we move watch the earth complete another trip around the sun and enter 2018 with festivities all around, let’s pause for a bit, look around a little, and count our blessings a lot more.
