props to the disabled

so I’ve decided to play for the badminton team again. Two weeks into it, and I’m playing a tournament in Sherbrooke. We’re into our 2nd match of doubles, 2nd game: 5-1, we have a good lead, we’re on a roll, I run forward, and someone smashes the back of my heel with a metal bat. what?

hmmm, apparently the sudden pain I felt, and the crack that my partner L heard, was my achilles tendon snapping (as assessed by L, a promising malaysian med student).

a drive back to montreal the next day, 4.5 hours in the emergency room, a confirmation of L’s diagnosis, an orthopaedist visit, surgery, and 50 tiny little pills with ‘e’ on them (supposedly morphine) later…

I’m going to be spending 8 weeks in total in a cast and on crutches (and later 6 weeks in a special boot, with a cane!). Because of the effort required to move anywhere, my world has shrunk overnight. I now live in a two-dimensional plane of ground-level floors, the realms of upstairs and downstairs just non-accessible (at the very least psychologically).

Not only do I not have the use of my leg, but because of the crutches my hands are effectively gone too. Even standing for more than a minute is a struggle. I can barely get through doors, how do I grab a coffee? Browse the library? What about holding an umbrella? Grocery shopping?

I am healthy, strong, and young. I did not have to consecrate (auparavant au moins) large chunks of time to do the most basic tasks. It takes me at least 3 times as long to transport myself around town. I still haven’t figured out the best way to buy food (I’ve done the online thing, but… I need fresh food at some point). The worst is that I’ve lost so much efficiency; no eating on the go, no reading on the bus/metro (my bundle of backpack, jacket and crutches in rush hour effectively puts an end to that).

This sounds incredibly stupid and obvious, but life is so much more difficult as a disabled person — and I absolutely bow my head down to those who have to do this their whole lives.