Summer was meant to be a season filled with happiness, joy, and fun—until it suddenly became something entirely different. I had plans—big plans. But everything came crashing down when one small misstep altered my life for the next few months and turned my world upside down. In an instant, my summer dreams crumbled as I found myself in the emergency room in extreme pain. Suddenly, I felt the cold breeze of the room amongst my body, the welled up tears pooling at the edge of my eyes, and the feeling of time stopping as the realization of what happened to me sunk in.
“You broke your ankle” the doctor said, concern etched on his face. It felt as if my mind went completely blank with all my thoughts lost in a void. I struggled to believe him, tears welling up as the reality hit me. My life was going to change in ways I never expected it to.
As soon as everything hit me, there were moments of disbelief, as I refused to believe this happened to me. But the sharp pain was impossible to ignore, as were the thoughts that began to flood my mind. My entire summer was ruined. Every trip, outing, concert, and moment of freedom I had anticipated felt stolen, and I feared I would never reclaim them.
Learning I needed surgery to walk again felt like a déjà vu of despair—tears, numbness, and frustration overwhelmed me. I remember that night being one of the first nights I couldn’t sleep since the accident, but it wasn’t the last. I felt both physically and emotionally immobilized, with every little task imaginable unable to do. I felt like a burden to those around me and wanted everything to be back to normal again. Every day felt like an eternity as thoughts of wondering when I would be able to walk again filled my mind at almost every second.
As the days passed and I recovered from surgery, I gradually rediscovered my spark for life. The pain was starting to subside and I started going to physical therapy for my ankle. I slowly started recovering and made the most out of the days I spent at home. I was able to pick up new hobbies, spend quality time with my family, and reconnect with my closest friends. It felt as if nothing could stop me, not even a broken ankle. Although I still couldn’t walk at the time, I realized that everything was going to be fine with time.
“Time heals all” as they say. Which is sometimes hard to believe in the moment until it actually is true.
Throughout this whole experience, I would like to say I learned a lot of life lessons with all these unexpected challenges suddenly thrown at me. I never realized how vital the ability to walk was until it was taken from me. I realized how inaccessible the world is for many and I realized how much I took things for granted, like the simple act of walking and living without pain. Losing that mobility, even temporarily, was a very humbling reminder to me that nothing we have is promised, not even the ability to stand on our own two feet. It made me feel even more grateful for the little things and even the things that I have overlooked in life. Everything became even more precious to me, especially with every new step I take.
Patience was another big lesson I learned. As someone who is constantly on the go and who thrives on activity, I was forced to sit still and do nothing. I hated not being able to go to work or school, because I was so used to my busy and fast-paced schedule. It was definitely difficult to stay at home all day and every day, but in that forced stillness, I learned that not everything needed to be rushed. There’s value in rest, in letting go of control, and letting things unfold in their own time.
Most importantly, resilience was something that was with me throughout this whole journey. At the start of this journey, I was so overwhelmed with all the setbacks and challenges this brought me, but day by day I started to adapt to this new change. Through the months of recovery, I found new strength in not just my ankle, but in my perspective as I learned to ask for help and to rely on others when I couldn’t do things on my own, which was a humbling experience. But I quickly learned that this was okay! I found ways to navigate this new challenge and remained patient because I knew that I would be healed with time. I learned to be strong, grow through the pain, and to find the strength to keep going no matter what. I mean after all, I am a real tough kid who can handle it!
Here I am, two months later, walking on my own two feet again. What a journey. I never realized how fast time flies and how I was able to overcome this major setback in my life. I am proud of how far I’ve come and all the life lessons I learned. If there’s one major takeaway from this experience, it’s to never take anything for granted. Even the simplest things in life, whether that be walking, talking, hearing, whatever it is, don’t take it for granted, but rather appreciate it and understand how precious the little things in life are.