On Crutches for a Month

As some of you may have heard, after sustaining some battle damage in Cambodia, I wound up with a broken foot and, as such, have been relegated to hobbling around on a pair of crutches for the past three weeks. I got the crutches in Japan, so all my hobbling has been done around town here. In fact, last weekend was the first time I even left my town in almost a month, so it was really exciting for me. Like, really. I was like a kid at the carnival. You'd have thought it must've been my first time ever on a train I was so excited. Anyways, although it's really not that bad, it's definitely been a huge pain. But, of course, the experience has taught me valuable life lessons...

First, using crutches is a MAJOR PAIN. Simple things that you do every day without ever noticing like walking, opening doors, using stairs and elevators, and carrying a bottle of coke to the counter of the convenience store become huge, involved tasks. Although crutching around has gotten much easier for me (actually I've gotten pretty good, doing things like crutch-sprinting, long crutch-jumps, the one-crutch 180, and other awesome tricks) the first couple of days were not fun. I could only go about a block before I needed to take a breather. Then, I'd hobble down another block before I needed to stop again. What used to be a 10 minute walk from my place to work turned into a 30 minute upper-body workout. I'd get home to burning shoulders and arms and aching hands. On the bright side, my hands are looking totally buff now.

As far as the life lesson... I've simply come to a deeper appreciation of what its like to be on crutches. It's not something I ever recall thinking about. I mean, I've seen people on crutches before. I was aware that it probably is not much fun. But it was never anything that I really thought that much into. Well now I know and will most likely be extremely aware of anyone who isn't walking around on two feet or can't use both arms and will definitely go out of my way to be more considerate to them.  I talked about it with a student of mine who had broken an arm and a leg (on two separate occasions) and we both had come to this same conclusion. It's like you've suddenly joined this secret club, and your eyes have been opened to this world you never knew existed before.  I feel like I've got to look out for my brothers and sisters in crutches from now on. I'm not talking about anything too serious here.  Just things like opening a door or moving out of the way. When every little thing has become a task, even those little things people do really make your life a lot easier.

Which brings me to my next life lesson, take care of your body. Eat enough, exercise, get sleep, don't jump off of things and break your foot. This is one of the fundamental rules of traveling that Navid and I came up with on our trip to Thailand, and it has only been further impressed upon me by this experience. When traveling, or really any time (but especially traveling), your body is your most important tool. You need it for everything you do, and if it's not functioning properly, you're going to have problems. Although the power of human will has proven to do amazing things, it is totally useless without the body's support.