The adventures of injuring, surgery-ing & recovering my knee
For Valentine’s day this year, Nick surprised with flowers, and sweets. I surprised Nick with a broken knee.
The story
In a ski trip in Utah, I made a sharp turn, fell backwards, with my left ski digging into the snow, pushing it to twist faster than the rest of my body could react. I heard a *pop* in my knee & next thing I know I’m lying on the snow, curled up, knee throbbing, wailing “I need help.” (Thank goodness for my ski bud @Ami and the lady in the blue ski jacket that called ski patrol.)
Two weeks after, I learned it was a full ACL tear — highly recommended I undergo surgery.
I’m mentally gearing myself for my first major operation happening TOMORROW.
Surprisingly, I’m less fazed about the operation itself (ask my friends and family who hear a surprising calmness in my voice), and more frustrated with the hassle that comes with it (and that I feel I’m bringing onto others).
Couple examples:
- Co-founder co-living. I was supposed to co-live with my Amy so we could work on things together sooner than later. We’ve had to stay apart for a while longer. The logistics of finding housing were also a whirlwind as we had to optimize for locations near a physical therapist.
- Moving out. Our lease is ending soon and we have a lot of things to pack. Looks like Nick will be doing most of the heavy lifting (and light lifting too!)
- Nomad life pivot. Instead of one city a month, we’re still staying in a new city for longer periods of time so I can have a consistent physical therapist and move around less.
- Showering! I have to mentally & physically prepare myself to shower. It takes a while to do so every time.
- Healthcare expenses. If I didn’t have insurance, I would have had to pay a whopping $240,138 for surgery… that’s just for the hospital fee, not inclusive of physical therapy, doctor’s fees or medicines. Can you imagine! Thankful that, in comparison, the expenses with insurance are 60x cheaper. But still a pretty hefty amount from the wallet.
Considering the state of the world, my inconveniences amount to only a tiny sliver of the world’s accumulated hassle. A hassle nonetheless.
Silver linings 💯
Important to look at the silver linings to all of this. I’m countering the negative bits of hassle with an extra focus on the positive outcomes instead.
- I rode the ski patrol sled down to the clinic. That was fun.
- I get to play with crutches.
- My physical therapist and hospital for surgery is RIGHT beside our apartment!
- Nurse Nick succumbs to my every command. (Just kidding.)
- Nurse Nick’s “Acts of Service” love language is activated every time he helps me
- The fact that I have a Nurse Nick to begin with!!! :)
- We’re all working from home anyway so I don’t feel like I’m missing out.
- I took a pause on dancing anyway so I don’t feel like I’m missing out.
- I learned that you can order a wheelchair FOR FREE from the airport and they’ll fast pass you through all the lines. What spectacular support from the airlines for the elderly and disabled! (Don’t abuse!)
- Existence of health insurance reducing the overall price by 60x
- New gadgets to play with while I’m incapacitated for about a week.
- …and the list goes on.
Gratitudes 🙏
Extremely thankful for:
@Ami - my ski buddy! Thanks for being present as I was throbbing in pain.
@Amy - I super appreciate your thoughtfulness, your conscientiousness about the situation and for remembering that I have to be mindful about my commitments post-surgery even more than I am!
@Amy @Kyle @Nicole - thanks for being accommodating about the whole housing situation! So glad we’re still able to make things work out, and in a city I’m so excited to be in
@Nick - for getting all my groceries, doing most of the packing, bringing me to and fro the physical therapist & hospital, taking a day off work to care for me, coordinating doctor visits, figuring out healthcare expenses alongside me, & showering me w/ surprises throughout this time!
👀 Nudges of the Week: #StopAsianHate
This past week was a heavy one.
I’m a proud Filipina 🇵🇭 & always will be. Because of this week’s hate crimes against Asians, I’m heartbroken there are reasons that instead make us fearful or uncomfortable about our identities. That’s not right.
Here are a couple resources to get educated about or contribute to the cause
- Jemi’s #StopAsianHate campaign
- Go Fund Me’s collection of fundraisers for the families of victims & #StopAsian Hate organizations
- If you want more optionality & ways to learn more, here’s a landing page with petitions, donations, ways to spread the word & educational resources
To allies, thank you for your thoughtfulness, words of care & allyship.To fellow Asians, sending virtual hugs.