- I have learned to have a little more patience. Like most people in the big city, I'm generally in a rush to get where I'm going. A broken bone will not be rushed to healing. Particularly when you are 40-something.
- I have learned to pay more attention to my surroundings - there is that other saying about smelling the roses. It is easy to point yourself to where you are going and ignore everything in between. When you are one of the people being knocked into when others are on that journey, you appreciate the impact of that attitude on the world around you.
- I have learned that not all mobility issues are visible. People talk to you when you have a cast on your foot. And you learn about their injuries (the lady also recovering from a broken foot but about 4 weeks ahead of me so in shoes but still limping), the lady I used to sing in a choir with who told me after we got to our destination and after she had given me her seat, that she had a knee replacement.
- I have learned that it can be tricky to get around Toronto when you need some degree of accessibility. I am at least mobile on two feet but try to get into a taxi with a cast on your foot when you have to jump over a snowbank to get there. Or, when you are having trouble walking and realize that the elevator is pretty much at the opposite end of the platform from the accessibility car on the train or it is out of order. I'm not sure what someone in a wheelchair does when that happens.
- I have learned how kind people can be. There are the many people who have held doors, the people who have given me seats on the train, the bus driver who got out of the bus to clear away the snow that the city couldn't be bothered to have dealt with and then held my hand to help me out.
- I've been reminded of how much I love being outside. I have been pretty housebound in this snowy, icy winter and am really missing my long, weekend walks. I already appreciated these walks but will now do so even more when I get back to them.
- I have yet another reminder of the benefits of being fit. I don't know how I would have gotten around the first several days with the foot if I hadn't been strong and fit. Never mind leveraging myself in and out of the bathtub. At least the quickly acquired stool installed in our basement shower has made this easier but I still need to do a lot of one-legged squats in my morning routine. This realization has kept me exercising through the injury. Thanks to the Nike Training app for the Ab routines and previous bouts of personal training that have taught me what to do with free weights.
- I appreciate the Canadian medical system. Sure it might take a little longer to get through the process and I wouldn't mind a few more minutes to chat with the doctor than he has had time for, but the system has been really good to me through my injury. Sure I had to wait in the emergency room but the only thing I had to pay for was parking and the removable boot. I could have had a plaster cast for free but really???
- I have learned that you can get a lot of knitting done when you have a broken foot and need to spend a bit of time lounging in chairs with your foot up. Nine projects and counting.
I do miss my car. And curling. I can't wait until I can drive myself around so I'm not so trapped in the house. My husband has been a fantastic chauffeur but he hasn't been here 24/7 so I've had to amuse myself in the house a bit more than I'm used to. Another big contributer to #9, above. It's a good thing there has been a lot of curling on TV. It is a bit harder to watch when not playing but at least I'm hopefully absorbing some strategy I can use when I get back on the ice.
