Out of Action !!

Inscribed by Hariharan

It’s been a long silence from my end … But with a reason … I met with a “small” domestic accident … About 12 days ago about midnight while hurrying into the toilet sleepily, I tripped on a small step in the entrance of the toilet and fell down. I felt a sharp pain on my right foot but thought it should be ok by morning. Janani was also contemplating if I would be able to ride the bike to office. There was no swelling so thought it should be ok. In the morning the pain had increased and I was not able to keep my foot on the floor. Fortunately, our neighbor – an orthopedic surgeon – came to my rescue. After some painful examination, he suspected that it was a ligament injury. To confirm that we went to his hospital and got an X-ray done. There was a gap between the ligaments of my foot which needed to be set right. I wish I could have put up the X-ray on the blog. Then the worse part – POP (Plaster of Paris) bandage was administered.

And it was going to be a 6 weeks affair. I was provided with elbow crutches for support.

My POP Bandage!!

I even went to office the next day … to gather some “sympathy” and instead I had lot of explaining to do … that it was infact a domestic accident and not my first fight with my wife after marriage. Well so much for gathering some sympathy!!

At the end of the day it was too painful for me. So I got permission to work from home for 3-4 days when I could get some rest during the long weekend. So I worked from home on Thursday Friday and Monday, which gave me a weeks time at home to recover.

Working from home!!

The whole experience has been an eye opener to me - one which has made me realize how blessed we are and how we take it for granted whatever we have in life. We crib about what we don’t have – money, good job, etc. Normal things like having a defect-less physique are taken for granted. I realized how people with physical disabilities are faced with challenges in doing the simplest things in life. Getting a glass of water to drink, going to the toilet, taking bath, commuting etc …

After a weeks rest and after mastering the art of using the elbow crutches I went back to office. Thanks to my teammates Bharath, Kingshuk and Radhika … life was easier. Even senior managers at office came to my workbench for any work related interactions.

This weekend has been good. The doctor after reviewing my condition announced that I can have my POP bandage removed and replace it with crape bandage. He said I can use the crutches if required.

My leg feels really light now … much more comfortable … Its been a good start for the week.

I guess I’ll sign off for now ...