Bucket list: Break something once in your life

Status: Checked.

Dear BAL Diary,

Well, you did not misread it. I broke a leg.

Not the shiny meaning; the actual leg instead.

Sometimes, shit happens. And the slope in front of your house could cost you way more than all the dangerous-look alike challenges.

What happened?

It all started on a beautiful evening. Around 5pm I guess – a perfect time for a training outdoor. Uni closed already, but you always have to keep fit.

The last thing I remembered was a sound of small rocks – those scattered on the street against slippery ice.

There was no ice. Just me and the rocks. And in the most stupida way possible, I slipped. Having survived for two winters and now falling because of rocks. Feel free to judge my stupidity.

I stayed for a good 10 minutes on the street, swallowed the ocean of pain waving in. It was just too great to bear. By that moment, I knew this wouldn’t turn out so good like before – the times when I could manage to walk normally after a fall.

But anyway, I managed to get back home, take my credentials, and called Ralf – the only friend who lives nearby and has a car. We took off to hospital not long after.

At the hospital

In was peaceful back there in the Center Hospital.

The fact that they have 2 Covid_19 patients in there passed through my mind for some seconds. Even though there is now a tension throughout Finland regarding this pandemic, Lappeenranta has not received any more Covid_19 case for almost a month now.

Only a few patients in the building. A kid who fell on her chin. A lady with a head injury. And an Asian dude, smell like sweat from running, with a shaking leg.

To that point I was hoping to have only a sprain, cause it seemed so: my leg fell inward, got a bit swollen. But it’s never better than having a doctor’s checkup. I live by myself, so risks are too costly to take.

The procedure went quickly. Some x-rays taken. They said nope, this is not a sprain. You broke your leg son. Time for another xray to see if you would need a surgery or just a cast. It depends whether my bones are stabled or not.

The result came soon later: I only need to have a cast, for a six-week period. Check-ups in first and second week. Always keep the broken foot up for the first two weeks.

My right foot at the moment

A change in lifestyle

It was no more than 24 hours from the incident when I wrote this diary. Things seemed to be the same, but more arduous:

  • I have two more legs (crutches) and they are quite easy to use. Especially when I want to turn a switch from far away or to fetch things. I could move around now, and an idea to have a crotch-running competition seems so idiotic and appealing at the same time.
  • In the future I would need help to dump the trash, do the laundry, and to buy groceries. Let’s see how it goes.
  • It’s interesting to have the first sit-down shower: put your ass on one chair and the pink leg on another, to keep it dry. I don’t wanna be a stinky dude who just skip all the basic hygienes.
  • It takes more time for all activities right now, which requires a more strict time-management from me.
  • No more outdoor exercise – I’ve got a perfect reason to stay home and get all those fat. I promise to myself to get my physique all back as soon as possible :))
I still made flan like planned. And this time it wasn’t really good
My culinary skills will be tested for this period

A few thoughts for the first week

Well, it’s gonna be not as easy as before, but c’est la vie – I’ll get used to it.

Sometimes, we tend to open up for negative thoughts to grab our heart and bring us down. Like cocaine, it’s also a type of guilty pleasure. Something like:

  • Why was I so stupid?
  • How am I suppose to abc…?
  • If only this and if only that

Above all, it happened. This won’t be a dream so that you can just wipe it up when you wake up. So, I’d prefer doing something realistic. Like, to keep my mood positive.

Breaking a leg now, somehow, is not so bad.

There is no school, so you don’t have to walk with crutches downhill.

It’s will be more than six weeks before the summer job period starts. Another reason to not be worried.

Less time going around allows my time budget for more studying and reading – which I’m having a long list to accomplish.

So, that’s all for the start of this unexpected chapter. Let’s see how things turns.

Khanh Tr.