What you didn’t know of my accident, and 5 life lessons you can take from it
Last Tuesday, on a bright and shiny day, I went to a beautiful eucalyptus forest in the middle of Quito, where I workout almost everyday. During my hike, me and my boyfriend were making a small getaway plan for the upcoming weekend, and never though that day would’ve ended the way it did.
Some of you who follow me on Instagram, are aware of the small accident I had while working out that day. For better or worse, I am usually an extremely cautious person, and wasn’t practicing any exercise that could be of danger; but, misfortunes sometimes - which is why they are accidents.
I was totally going at it, working out hard and with lots of energy, all of the sudden, I still don’t have much recollection, I remember hitting the ground on my coccyx, I was on the floor, my body was vibrating and it took me what felt like hours, but it was seconds to start screaming. My tremble was like that of a string breaking, and all I could hear were shouts of pain, and yes I was scared.
When a severe pain in my back continued, I couldn’t move and the shaking continued, I knew something was wrong. Everyone in the park ran towards me, I didn’t want to move, and physically couldn’t. With very poor cel reception we managed to call 911, which was no help since there wasn’t any units available. This is one of the consequences of living in a third world country… government services are very scarce.
In any case, we got the number of an ambulance, and 1:30h later of laying on the ground I was rushed to the hospital.
Still scared, with thank God, some painkillers in my system and lots of tests done, the doctor diagnosed a fractured vertebrate and a torn lumbar spine ligament. Diagnosis? Surgical emergency. And this is where it got horrifying.
Never having had a surgery before, specially one so invasive, the risks of the procedure caused an unknown fear in me, specially being away from my family and being in the hands of doctors that I had no idea who they were.
I tend to live by a specific motto: if you can do something about a specific situation, resolve it, if you can’t then don’t stress about it. In this case, I couldn’t no anything except making a decision, so this is where my practical skills and pragmatic self came in. I knew I had to leave fear aside and know the facts, know the risks, and ask for references and second opinions.
When the rational self comes through, even in situations like these, fear goes away.
After lots of consideration, waving pro’s and con’s, and hearing different doctors out, we decided not to operate, and let the magic of youth do the trick. After lots of revision, this option was possible to take since the fracture was not life threatening.
They did warn me of a long recovery process, controlled with an immobility corset for up to three months, followed by physiotherapy and lifestyle changes for up to 8 months, including being a bit dormant and relying on others more than I would like to.
Instead on focusing on the negative aspects of the recovery process, I made the conscious decision to ‘focus on the good’: I have a big support system, I am young, recovery is possible, I didn’t had to put my body through a surgical trauma, and I knew the healing process will be quicker if I stayed positive.
In times like these it’s so easy to spiral on a black hole, in fact I think it's the natural tendency to think of everything that I can’t do and how awful it is that I can’t get out of bed by myself. But, all of the positive aspects above, continue to make me strong and with a smile on my face every morning.
It’s now been two weeks since my fall, and I have at least 10 more weeks to go until I can be a bit self reliant. The exciting part of it? Is knowing that every day that I put all my effort into recovery is a day less that I have to get by with this big uncomfortable and painful situation.
So, what can YOU (and anyone) learn from this accident?
Make decisions with facts and intuition
You, and only you, have the power to dictate how you feel
There is nothing like determination to make yourself successful in what you put your mind into
A support system is important. Feed love to those around you, you will see the results when you most need it
Smiling, will change your day and the day of those around you
Take note of these, they will come in handy in any situation you have! I assure you.
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