I find it hard to talk about my injuries because the ones that concern me the most are the ones that are the hardest to describe. Bones and ligaments heal, eventually. It is the deep tissue and nerve damage that is the hardest to explain. I’ve gone from a pain-free life to not being able to get through the day without some sort of pain medication. No one can tell me if I’ll ever be pain-free again, because it is all unknown. The nerves may heal, they may not. Like all trauma, as I begin to move for longer periods of time more injuries are being found. I favored my left arm until a couple weeks ago. Now that I’m not doing that so much my left shoulder is becoming an issue…and so on with my left knee, hip and who knows what else.
I’d have to say, though, the most challenging part of all this has been finding that I’m just not myself anymore when it comes to being able to handle day-to-day things. My life used to run at warp speed…now I have a hard time when it is faster than idle. This is getting better as time goes on, but again it will take time. Friends and family now smile and point out when I’m asking the same question for the 3rd time.
Here in Saskatchewan, under our “wonderful” no-fault insurance, long-term pain is not recognized or even acknowledged. To be compensated for any “pain and suffering” I must sue the person that hit me. I am only able to do that once they have been found guilty (either by pleading or thru trial). None of this is quick, or easy. There are also not a lot of lawyers in Saskatchewan that deal with SGI Personal Injury Suits anymore, due to no-fault insurance.
So now, while I’m healing, I’m doing the only work I can do. Typing. So I can pay bills, keep my son’s life unchanged, and save for the lawsuit.
My house is still in various stages of “fixing” and my yard is a disaster. I was getting ready to sell my house before the accident, and that all came to a halt. I wanted to wait until I’d saved some money and was able to do some of the work before I asked for help. So, in another week I’ll be calling on friends to come help with my yard. Then it will be all about fixing the house quickly so I can sell it. Family and friends have been amazing through all of this. I am so blessed to have so many great people in my life.
I can really say that I take nothing for granted anymore. Each day with my son is a gift.
I also am finding that my life is much simpler now. The stuff that really doesn’t matter…doesn’t matter. I am simply riding a different path now.
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