A humbling experience

My series of bad luck is visiting again - and all this probably to punish me for winning some small amount of $$ during the recent chinese new year break.  During the first week fo chinese new year, on two occasions, the two visits to open houses has resulted in fair to good luck for me on the gambling table, albeit small amount of winnings only.  This led me to believe.. wow, this is going to be my good luck year (fyi, I never win any money or get any free rides - all my gains has been really tough hard work - this over every aspect too!).

Yesterday morning, I had a bad fall, I slipped on a step in front of the client's back door entrance enroute to a contract negotiation meeting!  On hindsight I blamed it on my shoes - this was a new pair of heels and the heels were smaller than the ones I was previously used to, perhaps it was just that, things on my mind or just forces preventing me from closing the deal!

Regardless, the moment I fell, it was excruciating pain on my right ankle.  I really could not stand up, even with help, it took me a few minutes to edge my way to sit down on the ledge near the wall.  This was early morning, when there were many people nearby.  The kind souls who helped me onto the wall must've been surprised at my pained look. 

I sprained my ankle - badly too.  I sat down for a few minutes, the guard looking concerned and kept mumbling to me in Tagalog whether I wanted to go to the clinic, he was going to call the emergency medical services.  I said, no, let me sit down first.  I tried to get up, but I definitely had almost no feeling on my right ankle.  I called my Filipino colleague who was at the nego meeting.  Thankfully she answered, and she wisely asked the client's EA Rhoda to come down to look for me and bring me to the clinic.

I somehow magically managed to shuffle to the clinic which was 20 m away, on another client building, clutching to Rhoda's hands, whilst she carried my handbag and laptop bag.  I had heard of this clinic, the client actually owns Makati Medical Center and was famous for employee care, they had a properly equipped clinic on the office building with even a small operating theatre.  At the clinic, amazingly, Rhoda told me that the docter can see me even though I am not an employee. 

After waiting for 5 mins, I limped into Dr Limjoco's office - he had an office, and was not in white like a docter.  I showed him the golfball at my right ankle, and he promptly (smart docter!) asked an orderly to bring me to an xray room, in a wheelchair!  That started my wheelchair experience.  The orderly wheeled me to a xray place, the xray dude immediately xrayed my right ankle (err, where is my protecting sheet?)  and then wheeled me to a operating theatre?  Before I started to think the worst, the docter came in and applied some anti infection on my left scraped knee (which was fortunately not bleeding).  Phew (I thought I was going to go into some big examination...) - the operating room was a small place anyway..

Anyway, there I go back to the good docter's room, and then he pronounced me ok "no fractures" smiled at me, and gave me cerebrex (I remember mum takes this for anti-inflammation), and a small prescription sheet and ok, sayonara.  I was wondering - huh?  The guy is not going to even bandage up my golf ball ankle and how the heck am I going to get home from Philippines to KL when I still could not feel my ankle ?

What then ensued was a series of getting back to my hotel, getting a wheelchair from the hotel to my room, making requests for wheelchair assistance for my flight back, and then wheelchair to taxi, shuffled in pain for 20 feet, wheelchair from entrance of airport to aircraft door.  Kind help from kind strangers to get me food, and wheelchair from KLIA airport from aircraft door to the exit before I got on my transport home. 

Safely back at my parent's home in KL, suffice to say I had indeed a humbling experience yesterday.  God was telling me to slow down, and I am still going about in my bullet train speed.  One day life stops and you wonder whether all you are doing on the side was living.  I have not learnt that lesson still, and yet, it was indeed a humbling experience for me.  During the race at putrajaya, I never wondered what would've happened if my knees were wiped out - I would be in a wheelchair for months - it is not a joke to have the ability to walk or run taken away from you in one instance, and with the same thought I really got to appreciate the courage of the disabled to be in such a situation all their lives.  How thankful I am that I had not broken my ankle, my knee or anything. 

When you have difficulty walking, you wonder why everything seems so far away, why people stared when you limp for a few steps, and why people just could not understand how difficult it was to walk two steps, but when you are seated, everyone could not prejudice you against your disabilities, because in the mind of the walking disabled, they are the same powerful individuals as all of us. 

The ankle is swollen like a real hard puffy piece now, and walking is more inconvenient but at least the swelling is subsiding along. 

I cannot wait to run again, but indeed I will look at wheelchair bound people with a different level of admiration the next time for their grittiness to tackle the challenges put in their way.