Love and Light

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London, NW8, United Kingdom
A "recovering academic", I have left the world of research and teaching Psychology. My current focus is on offering hypnotherapy, Reiki, and spiritual support for clients and hospice residents. I like to express myself through the arts, especially drama (the quirky-comic relief part),stand-up comedy, painting, and the fiber arts.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Super-Freak Accident

There I was, walking down Hall Road, minding my own business, when I tripped.
Actually, what happened was that I stubbed my toe on an infinitisimal, imperceptable difference in height between two pavement sections.

I was returning to my home from MomA's house after a pleasant mid-day interlude of knitting and chatting over tea. I had just phoned TeenE to let her know I was on my way home and was still holding my phone in one hand. I passed two women who were having what appeared to be a heated discussion, with gestures and arm-waving and slightly raised voices that are unusual in this part of town. Some of my attention was on them after I passed, i.e. slightly to the back of me. Another part of my attention was in front of me, as there was some roadwork being done just ahead and the sidewalk (pavement) was blocked off. I was in the middle of trying to decide what route I would take to cross the street when BAM! I stubbed my toe, flew forward face down, and reflexively put my arms out to break my fall. I wound up face down on the pavement, sprawled out and feeling very foolish. The nearby road workers exclaimed with surprise as I went down, and the two women were at my side immediately.

It is a good thing that I have been working out at the gym, doing all those press-ups, I must say. If I hadn't built up my arm strength, I think that I would have been seriously injured. As it was, the most painful parts of my body at the time were the palms of my hands. Although they burned with pain, there was no scraping of the skin. The women both cried "Are you alright?" in unison. I assured them I was fine, pushed myself up into a sitting position, and decided to sit there for a moment to gather my wits. They were perturbed that I was not springing up immediately. I told them that the only painful thing was my hands, and one of them said "You can't even sue the Council, as there is no crack in the pavement". I told them I had just stubbed my toe on a seam, even though I was wearing flat sensible shoes. I eventually got up, shook myself off, and was handed my mobile phone by lady #2, who had found and replaced the battery that had popped out when it landed nearby.

My pride was the most injured thing at the moment. I decided to go to Starbucks to pick up a coffee for me and a chai latte for TeenE. After I returned to the flat with the beverages, I discovered that one knee was skinned, although the tights I was wearing under my skirt were completely intact although blood-stained. When Hubster got home, I got him to massage my left bicep, which hurt so much that I couldn't knit.

I felt a little sore later that day and took some Ibuprofen, thinking that would be the last of it.
The next morning I woke up with a stiff neck, back, arms, hands and knees. By that evening, I realized that I had honest-to-goodness whiplash, which lasted over a week and kept me from sleeping comfortably on the whole Knitter's Roadtrip. Being away from home, I did not have access to a microwaveable heat pack for the neck and back. Today, just over a week later, I woke up for the first time and was able to move my neck and upper back without pain.

I wish I had moral to this story or some sort of witty remark, but as NYSis says, "It is what it is".

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