In the middle of February, I was on my way to teach the second class of the semester. I had been late already for the first class and was determined not to be late for this class. I was doing well for time and noticed that it was icy out. It was between 7 and 8 am, so the sun wasn't out yet and so it was still cold and the ice was firm. I arrived at my stop on the underground and as I got to street level, I noticed that the sidewalk was pure ice. I thought to myself, no worries, I have done this many times before, I just have to be careful. As, I was walking though, I suddenly slipped and felt myself in the air. My thoughts, "I am in the air and I am going to land soon." It all happened in slow motion for me but in a split second, I was walking then suddenly, on my left side. I had landed on my left wrist and thigh, to help break the fall. I was wearing a heavy backpack and so luckily that prevented a head injury. I got up and a passerby asked if I was alright (in German). I said, I was fine because as far as I could tell, nothing was broken. My fingers worked fine, I could walk and knew that I was going to have a huge bruise on my thigh. My left wrist was okay, I didn't feel any pain and I could move everything yet as I walked further towards the school the mobility in my wrist lessened. Okay, so it's a sprain then, I thought and knew that not much could be done for it, and I could make it through both classes and if needed, see a doctor after 1pm. No worries.
As, I got to class though, I had to wrap my wrist with my scarf and put my knitted sleeved glove over it to act as a compress and stop any movement. Throughout the class, one of my students suggested that I go to the doctor immediately but due to my experience in Canada, when this happened before, the doctor said, "it's a sprain, you will have to go the pharmacy and buy a bandage and make sure you ice it." I was a little cynical and figured they would do the same thing to me here. By the end of my second class, my wrist was twice it's size and so I contacted my friend, Kevin, who lived nearby and asked for him to come to the Emergency with me.
I never wanted to go to an Emergency room in a foreign country. I buy the travel insurance that makes sure that I am covered in all instances but that is also to ensure that nothing happens to me...you know, Murphy's Law. I wanted to make sure that nothing was broken as a precaution and the hospital was the only way, plus the private clinic, didn't want to deal with my type of Medical Insurance. Kevin was great, he met me at the station and we headed to the Emergency together, where he was able to explain the situation in German. My German vocabulary did not include injuries. There were a few people in the waiting room but it had only taken about 30 min. after registering, to be seen by a doctor. He saw my wrist and proceeded to poke and press to see where it hurt, he ended up making it more swollen, which both Kevin and I noticed as I was waiting for an X-Ray. I was able to see my X-ray results a few minutes afterwards and the doctor again, poked and pressed my wrist, this time it hurt even more and I yelped in pain. The other doctor in the room that was on a computer had looked up to see what was happening. Kevin, then spoke to the doctor in German and apparently asked him, what he thinks it is, is it a sprain? and the Doctor replied, I am not too sure. Anyway, I did get a wonderful cooling lotion on the swollen area and then they wrapped my wrist, wrote me a prescription for painkillers and sent me on my way. It was done in 1.5 hours, not bad in my opinion. I treated Kevin to a Doner and was thankful that he was willing to help me. He was also studying for a test and so I really appreciated his sacrifice. I ended up wearing the bandage for a few days but once the wrist was feeling a little better, I switched to an elastic bandage compress that Saria had brought with her. She had also given me some very good tips, as she is a nurse and was very willing to share her knowledge. We didn't have proper ice packs in my house, so I didn't ice it as often as I should have but I did sleep and rest with it raised as often as possible. I would compare the mobility with my right hand often and exercise my left until one day, it was just normal again :) Gradually over time it healed and the only time I remember my wrist injury is when I talk about it or have to do anything requiring heavy lifting with it.
Here are some pics:
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| My prize!! The amount of bandage made it look far worse. |
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| lump |
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| my wrist and hand were the same width |
My sprained wrist was a blessing because it helped me to remember God and the Priesthood. I was asked twice if I had gotten a Priesthood Blessing, and the first time, I said, no, and then forgot about it. Yet, the next time when I was asked a few days later, I immediately asked Kevin and my German Brother, Matthias, for one. I had some things that were weighing on my mind before this whole wrist injury happened and in that blessing, it focussed on my injury for a short time and then I was given the answers that I had been praying for. Sometimes, the Lord works in ways that are not easy to comprehend but I know that it is for a purpose and in this case, it was to remember and rely on the Priesthood. He is there for me and loves me. I am surrounded by many friends and I am so glad that they are in a position to help and be instruments of the Lord.
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