Finally, I could roll up the bandages which held the back slab prescribed for my fractured knee cap.
It's been nearly eight weeks of pain, frustration, adjustment and simply "obedience" to the doctor's advice not to move around too much. In these two months, I've read "Bridge to Haven", a NYT bestseller by Francine Rivers, and the entire book of Job in the Bible.
I've also watched a documentary on the life of Charles Spurgeon, the prince of preachers. They've all done good to my soul in this trying time.
I seemed to have gone to hell and came back. The overcompensation of weight on my right leg had triggered an acute back pain that lasted for a month. By today, I could at least go to bed without painkillers or medical aids. Earlier, the hospital had drowned me in oxycodone, diclofenac and paracetamol to not much relief to my back. I couldn't sit, lie down or turn without pain. I couldn't even take a breath without feeling pain. A reminder by a physiotherapist friend to use a cold pack helped significantly in giving me confidence to go to bed. A visit to a recommended foot reflexologist also regulated my sleep rhythm so I can say I have a new life - I'm now able to go to bed earlier and rise early too without struggle.
Talking about sleep, my husband and I decided to get rid of our matrimonial waterbed, and bought a conventional spring mattress bed so there's less pain and strain for me to get in and out of bed. The good that came out of it is the $800 bed is all paid for as I received $800 compensation from the insurance company for being downgraded to B class as no beds was available in the A ward. I also ear-witnessed the agony of a patient sleeping in a bed next to mine. On the second day I mustered enough courage and strength to crawl out of bed and hobbled over to talk to her. Her daughter flipped her bed cover to reveal a mangled thigh stump on her aged body. Suddenly, my own pain diminished. My heart went out to her. I offered a prayer to calm her spirit and for the gangrene to settle. Perhaps, that was the divine reason why I wasn't given another bed in a different ward.
In a little bit, I should be up and swimming and climbing stairs. Things are coming up roses. And I hope that goes for that elderly ward neighbour too.
A page from my journal in June 2019
P.S. Thank God my knee cap fracture has fused and I have since recovered from the back pain. Not only time heals, but also patience, perseverance, and diligence to work with my physiotherapist went some way to strengthen the weakened muscles during the time of handicap.
"The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delights in his way. Though he falls, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholds him with his hand. I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." Psalm 37:23-25
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