Inertia
325 years after Sir Isaac Newton wrote about the laws of motion in his Principia Mathematica, I got a hard lesson in the subject of inertia. I will say that I have done a lot of stupid things over the years, but I am proud to say that this was not one of those times. No, rather a simple crack in the sidewalk is to blame for my recent wheelchair-to-asphalt dive. This past Wednesday, while in my manual chair, my front tires caught a crack in the sidewalk. The chair stopped moving. I didn’t. Instead, in a little under a second I was lying in a parking lot convinced my right leg had cracked. Don’t worry, it didnt, but it hurt like hell. Your body’s reflexes become accustomed to certain movements of your arms and legs. I guess I need to re-learn how to fall since I can only describe the feeling as tripping down stairs with your arms tied behind your back. Pretty crappy. I debated calling an ambulance, but I really had no desire to go through the whole emergency room ordeal. Eventually I found my way to my doctor who ordered x-rays, and confirmed no broken leg. In the end, my finger ended up being broken, but I hadnt noticed since my leg was what really hurt. And trust me, at this point I am quite experienced when it comes to pain. Could have been a lot worse, and I know it wont be the last time. Other than that, all is well. I’m back in full swing at the CFI, and I have set a new surgery date to fix my other eardrum in June.
I want to give a special thanks to Larry Pace and all of you who organized, donated to, or participated in the golf outing and dinner held in my honor last week. I am two weeks shy of the one year anniversary of my injury, and yet your unwavering kindness continues to amaze me. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. I am not one to have a loss for words, but know that I struggle to find ways to express the gratitude shared by my family and me. Or is it ‘my family and I’ ? Oh well, you get the point.
Thanks, and you’ll hear from me soon.
Greg
