Don't Paint That Railing

Proverbs 3:6 reads: "Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take." I am not sure I followed that verse on Thursday, December 30th ... or just maybe our Heavenly Father wanted to teach me some new things. Nevertheless that day dawned as a beautiful warm, sunny day in Oklahoma City. Cathy was out of town and Larry and I were sitting with the "Granddogs!"

Cathy has four steep steps to her front door ... with a wrought iron railing on one side. The railing needed painting and it seemed a good day to do it. When Larry and I were about half through, I was standing on the second step and either slipped, lost my balance, or who knows, and took a hard fall ... I landed on my left leg. Larry was just a few feet away but it happened so quickly there was no way he could prevent my fall. When I tried to turn over, I knew I was in trouble. I just said, "Larry, get me a pillow to prop my head and call EMSA." I can personally say that the Warr Acres Fire Department personnel and EMSA EMTs are professional, compassionate and on that day they were very prompt! They also tried to help me think positively ... saying, "Well, maybe you just sprained it!" I am sure they knew that wasn't the case, but thought we will just let the doctors at Mercy ER give her the "good news!"

Fortunately God was with me (even if I hadn't asked Him if Larry and I should paint that railing). I didn't break an arm and I didn't hit my head. I began to count my blessings. First, Larry was right there to call 911. Then it was a warm sunny day - I wasn't in the rain, snow, or extreme weather. Mercy ER had one available place where they could immediately get me into one of their ER rooms. The Mercy ER doctor did a quick exam and said, "Yes, you have broken your leg!" Next came the X-Ray and they also were professional and compassionate. The next question ... "Do you have a preference for an Orthopedic Surgeon?" Well, no ... I had never had a broken bone before in all my 75 years!. God was once again looking out for me ... the surgeon on call was most capable. His news was .. "You have broken your femur in four places and will either need a rod from hip to knee or a metal plate and I won't know which until surgery." This had happened about noon and the surgeon really wanted to do the surgery that day but couldn't pull together a team. The surgery the next morning was successful ... and the surgeon assured me I would walk again, however I couldn't put weight on the left leg for eight weeks (because of osteoporosis) ... and it was a rod from hip to knee instead of a plate.

The EMSA EMTs had made the statement, "No good deed goes unpunished." There may be truth in that statement, but my philosophy is that we can learn from every one of life's situations ... and that is what I have chosen to do. One of the first things I learned is we can count our blessings in any situation. Here are some of the ones I began to enumerate: (1) A great support group of my family and many, many friends. (2) Mercy Hospital, Mercy Rehab, Doctors, Nurses, Physical and Occupational Therapists. (3) I did not break my arm or hit my head and I have good strength in my arms. I would need this for weeks to come. (4) My home was made wheelchair friendly with just a few modifications. (5) God has blessed me with trying to look on the positive side.

It has now been five weeks since my surgery ... the surgeon allowed me to begin 50% weight bearing on my left leg two weeks ago. The physical therapist told me I am ahead of the curve. Since it is a general rule that recovery is 85% therapy, I faithfully do my "at home" exercises every day. I know that I am the one who will determine my progress and I want to live up to the prediction of my Physical Therapist that "you will be walking without a cane by May 1st." And who knows, since he said I am ahead of the curve, it may be sooner than that!

Stormie Omartian once said, "Sometimes what seems like the darkest step we've ever been on comes just before the brightest light we've ever experienced." I have learned to appreciate the little blessings of life that I once took so much for granted. I never want to do that again. There is a quote from "Holiness Today" that reads, "Find joy in the little things today and make an effort to look for them." That's one of my new goals ... that I learned from "attempting to paint the railing!"