On February 2nd it was Groundhog Day. This is a day in the USA where, if a groundhog comes out of its den and sees its shadow, tradition says that there will be six weeks more of Winter. If it doesn’t, there will be an early Spring. Almost one month earlier, on January 7th, I had what I now refer to as ‘Ground Hug Day’. I had been to see the pantomime at our local theatre with my husband and son. Afterwards, we decided to go to a local pub for something to eat. On the way, I tripped on the bit of pavement shown in the photo accompanying this blog, which resulted in me falling to the ground. After a few moments of processing what had happened, I got up and we went to have our meal. There were a few things that I learnt that day…
I can really inflict damage on myself!
Over recent years, I’ve had a few falls, often as the result of damaged paving. Each one has caused injury and some pain, but this time I seemed to do more serious injury to my body. I had a cut knee, bruised face, bruised ribs and a damaged little finger. I would later find out that I had damaged tendons in my finger. Although the rest of my body has healed fairly well, my finger still hurts (especially when I try to bend it), is swollen, and is no longer straight. The doctor is now deciding what the next step should be so that I get back full use of the little finger. There’s a possibility that I will need to be referred to a plastic surgeon at one of the London hospitals. Although I’m not particularly looking forward to what may be needed in the future to correct the injury, I’m grateful that the doctor thinks it’s fixable.
People are kind
If you watch the news or read a newspaper, you may end up believing that humans are generally unkind to each other. Whilst some may be, I believe the majority aren’t. This was proved to me after my fall. Immediately afterwards, I could hear someone asking if I was okay and if any assistance was needed. When I mentioned on Facebook about my injuries, I had many messages from friends and family sending their love, virtual hugs, and saying that they were praying for me. I’ve had people at church checking in with me on a Sunday about how my recovery is going. Although it’s been painful since the fall, it’s also been lovely to realise how much people care.
I use my little finger a lot more than I thought!
If you had asked me before my fall, I would have said that I don’t use my little finger much. Since injuring it, I’ve learnt that I use it far more than I thought! I’ve had difficulties using a fork at mealtimes as I find it difficult to grip the fork. As someone who wears trainers, I’ve found tying shoelaces far more difficult recently. When cleaning the bathroom, wringing the cloth out is a struggle, and I’ve given up trying to take the childproof lid off a jar of Omega 3 supplements (they look like chewy sweets, hence the childproof lid). I’ve learnt ways to cope, but I’m hoping that one day it will become easier again.
Physical pain can impact mental health
Maybe I was just being naive, but I had never realised how much being in physical pain can impact your mental health. Initially, my mental health saw little impact from being in pain. However, as the pain has continued, I’ve noticed a definite dip in it. I’m sure some of it is down to being less able to do hobbies that I enjoy, like card making, due to the lack of mobility with my hand. It’s definitely frustrating! There has also been disturbed sleep as I tend to turn over and knock my finger, which causes pain. There’s also some anxiety about walking outside, as well as anxiety linked to what will need to happen to fix my hand. A mix of pain, poor sleep, anxiety, and frustration all add up to an attack on my mental health. I’m grateful to have good friends and family around willing to listen, support me, and pray for me – it definitely helps!
God knew and planned ahead
God knew that I would have this fall. I’ll be honest, I wish that He had stopped me falling, but for some reason, he didn’t. Maybe He knew it was the only way He could get me to rest! However, He did plan for it. Back in December, we swapped our January date for being on the Welcome Team at church. Usually, we are on the Welcome rota for the 3rd Sunday morning of the month, but a friend came up and asked if we could swap and do the 1st Sunday in January instead. Being on the Welcome Team involves putting the chairs out in the church as well as welcoming people to church. If we had not swapped, I would have been in no fit state to move the chairs as my body was still in a lot of pain at that point. We’re due to be on Welcome Team again this week. Most of the pain has subsided, but only time will tell how easy moving the chairs will be with my damaged hand. What I do know though is that God will be ready and prepared to help me!
So, it’s six weeks on from my fall and it’s taught me a lot. There’s still more medical help needed to get my body back to what it was, or as near as possible to how it used to be. I don’t know what that will entail yet, but God does and I’m trusting Him to be with me every step of the way. For now though, I’m taking extra notice of any damage to the pavements!
Lynnette
All text and images © Lynnette Peckett
Lynnette's Life 