It's amazing how much I can learn just by having a bionic leg. All the inquisitive people force me to come up with more interesting stories, just so I don't drive myself crazy telling the same old story ten times a day, for the rest of my life. But the good news is, every time I tell it I get new feedback and in the process I end up with a plethora of random knowledge.
The other day I was sitting in the lobby of a clinic while my mom was having a minor procedure done. The man sitting next to me was also waiting for someone, and probably bored out of his mind.
Out of lack of anything better to do he took one look at me and commented "It looks like you have some issues of your own going on". I'm sure he was waiting for some elaborate story to pull him out of his "just short of comatose" state. I told him I would love to tell him all about my skiing excursion in the Swiss alps, and how coming out of a triple flip caused my leg to snap like a wishbone and then I was hanging on for dear life after waiting for the rescue team to dig me out of an avalanche, and then catapult me down the mountain where I would celebrate my overwhelming triumph.
Unfortunately, I told him my story wasn't that interesting, but I am still walking. As I was trying to fill the time with some idle chit chat I began to tell him how the footdrop caused the knee thing, and the turbo leg and bionic leg work together to keep me mobile, but that doesn't mean I'm always vertical, because if my toe doesn't listen then my body goes flying.
Remember a year or two ago when I forgot I couldn't run and took a nose dive... I swore when it happened I would take that story to my grave... For about five minutes... Then I decided I may as well put it in my bag of war stories to tell my grandchildren (and anyone else who cares to listen).
Of course I had to take a photo for the drama; after all, I did draw blood.
The wound is heeled by now, but the scar still lingers on. I know it really doesn't look that bad but to hear me tell the story you would think my hand was hanging on by a couple loose tendons and a tourniquet was used to stop the bleeding...
As I showed my new friend my scar and told him my war story resulting from scuffing my toe on the carpet he said "well, surely you must be all too familiar with football players and their turf toe". Truth be told, football terminology isn't exactly my strong suit, and that is one phrase I have never heard of. I asked him what it meant, and as he was about to educate me the nurse called him back, and he left before I had a chance to hear what this "turf toe" was.
I can't learn something new without knowing the origin, so the first thing I did was google it. I found out it's an injury that some athletes get by jamming their toe, especially football players when playing on artificial turf and their toe gets caught, causing them to jam their toe. Wow, I should start telling people I have turf toe and maybe they'll think I'm an athlete (that or some morphically diseased creature).
I know they say you never stop learning and I totally agree, so thirty years from now I should be a walking Dictionary; Key word being: walking:)
Have a great day!!
Christine:)
You could start with "You ever hear of "turf toe?" and if the person asking says something like "Oh yeah, my idol, Joe Football Star..." The you can say, "well, I know his pain..." ;)
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