I was a manager at a major multinational corporation. I had a future, a career, big salary, stock, bonuses, business associates, accolades and all the ingredients for moving up the corporate ladder.
In a flash it was over. Just like that. I had an industrial accident that destroyed my back and changed my life. From that day forward I was disabled. It took a while for all of it to become clear to me, but in looking back I realize that was where it started and has been with me ever since. My old life was ‘press clippings;’ my new life was a whole new world.
At the beginning I had no idea I was permanently disabled. I thought I was injured and would get better. When I first got tangled up with that piece of machinery I thought I would be fine in a few weeks. I’ve been injured before – it’s part of life. I’ve played sports since I was a kid and getting hurt was always part of the deal. When I got hurt people came running because I was unable to get up from the floor. I remember the blinding pain and going down to the floor, seeing the whole world from ankle level and the look of concern on the faces of everyone who gathered quickly around, but I thought it was just another one of those injury things. This time it was different, as I was about to find out how much so.
The first inkling came when I was at the doctor and he started making those noises and faces that always mean there’s something more going on here than just a sprain. When it’s something easy they make jokes and tell you it’ll be all right. This time there was none of that. This time there was a stern face and no jokes. That’s never a good sign. After x-rays and setting appointments for MRIs and a laundry list of painkillers I had no idea it was going to be more than just a few days off and back to work.
I could use a few days off to rest up and get ready for the big push. It was Peak Season, after all, and I was starting to wear thin like all of us did every year around that time. As I was walking out of the office I asked the doctor how soon I could get back to work. I wanted to know for me and I knew my boss and associates were going to want to know as well. “We’ll know more after you come back in a couple weeks,” he said.
A couple weeks? That long? Am I supposed to stay home for a couple weeks? I had not stayed home for a couple weeks when I broke bones. Are you kidding me?
“A couple weeks before we can start assessing where we are. It’s probably going to be a lot longer than that.” Honesty can suck.
Even though I was in excruciating pain as I walked out – and ‘walked’ is a loose description of what I was doing, I was devastated. I stopped by the pharmacy on the way home, but I don’t remember the first thing about it. I was so lost in my own world of pain and fear the whole experience was lost on me.
It was after that, on my way home in the cold New York City afternoon, it started to dawn on me how seriously I was hurt. My body was busy telling me there was something wrong here – something REALLY bad. Since the injury I had been so caught up in my own thoughts of getting through the next few days of pain and getting back to work it never occurred to me I was in REAL physical trouble. That was about to come crashing down like a ton of bricks.
In a flash it was over. Just like that. I had an industrial accident that destroyed my back and changed my life. From that day forward I was disabled. It took a while for all of it to become clear to me, but in looking back I realize that was where it started and has been with me ever since. My old life was ‘press clippings;’ my new life was a whole new world.
At the beginning I had no idea I was permanently disabled. I thought I was injured and would get better. When I first got tangled up with that piece of machinery I thought I would be fine in a few weeks. I’ve been injured before – it’s part of life. I’ve played sports since I was a kid and getting hurt was always part of the deal. When I got hurt people came running because I was unable to get up from the floor. I remember the blinding pain and going down to the floor, seeing the whole world from ankle level and the look of concern on the faces of everyone who gathered quickly around, but I thought it was just another one of those injury things. This time it was different, as I was about to find out how much so.
The first inkling came when I was at the doctor and he started making those noises and faces that always mean there’s something more going on here than just a sprain. When it’s something easy they make jokes and tell you it’ll be all right. This time there was none of that. This time there was a stern face and no jokes. That’s never a good sign. After x-rays and setting appointments for MRIs and a laundry list of painkillers I had no idea it was going to be more than just a few days off and back to work.
I could use a few days off to rest up and get ready for the big push. It was Peak Season, after all, and I was starting to wear thin like all of us did every year around that time. As I was walking out of the office I asked the doctor how soon I could get back to work. I wanted to know for me and I knew my boss and associates were going to want to know as well. “We’ll know more after you come back in a couple weeks,” he said.
A couple weeks? That long? Am I supposed to stay home for a couple weeks? I had not stayed home for a couple weeks when I broke bones. Are you kidding me?
“A couple weeks before we can start assessing where we are. It’s probably going to be a lot longer than that.” Honesty can suck.
Even though I was in excruciating pain as I walked out – and ‘walked’ is a loose description of what I was doing, I was devastated. I stopped by the pharmacy on the way home, but I don’t remember the first thing about it. I was so lost in my own world of pain and fear the whole experience was lost on me.
It was after that, on my way home in the cold New York City afternoon, it started to dawn on me how seriously I was hurt. My body was busy telling me there was something wrong here – something REALLY bad. Since the injury I had been so caught up in my own thoughts of getting through the next few days of pain and getting back to work it never occurred to me I was in REAL physical trouble. That was about to come crashing down like a ton of bricks.
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