This month I’ve done a short series on injuries. For the editing rant, I discussed The Burn (8/13/2024) and then the writing exercise, Pain is a Character Trait (8/27/2024) centered on creating a flash where the character is dealing with the aftermath of an injury.
I also suggested a BONUS EXERCISE of documenting a grievous injury.
Back in November 2020, I walked into a bar or a bar walked into me. The wound was self-inflicted, mostly.
To do all the postal things, while I was building my strength up after my hire to help deal with the COVID packages, I bought a sturdy hand truck to keep in my minivan. I had a delivery of a sixty pound something (the post office will take up to 70 pounds), so I unhooked it and brought it to the back of my van where the package was. The ground was uneven. I lifted the package out and guided/control-dropped it onto the dolly’s footplate.
As fulcrums do, the foot plate tilted down and the frame swung forward and hit my head … hard. Really, REaLlY HaRD.
Like hit with a solid steel pipe at speed hard.
I monitored my eyes for the next two hour, crying often, while I finished my route. (There were no other people in that day as it was a holiday. I was specifically hired to cover holidays. It is a small office.) Once back in the office, the clerk and I took pictures.
This is what the injury looked like at the two to three hour mark.
Notice, very little coloration difference from normal skin. Some red-purpling from what will become bruising. Definite swelling.
And, no, I didn’t go to the doctor or hospital because no health insurance at the time. I barely had any money after months of unemployment during 2020 COVID. … Ask me my opinion about the need for universal health care. (grrrr)
At home – let’s say about five to six hours, you can see how far the knot is raised off the forehead.
Notice, still no bruising showing. I didn’t have anything but a tight knot for several days. It was more white than any other special color.
On day five, the swelling went down enough the bruised blood could flow to the closest cavity and the first spectacular bruising appeared.
Suddenly I had a black eye. I didn’t have a black eye the day before, but during the night, the swelling went down and “poof” black eye. I had no injury to the eye – you can still see the bruising at the original injury site, but the optical lobe has a lot of empty space and gravity wins.
When I went in to work that day, the boss was shocked at the eye. The raised knot didn’t raise a single fuss, other then making me take an hour of “how to prevent injuries” videos, but the black eye worried the supervisor. By this time I was healing well and could easily work, much better than the previous four days.
Again this injury was nearly four years ago at this point. I am well and healthy, and now have health insurance if I face another grievous injury.
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Let me add: Vote for people who support universal health care come November 2024. Not having any savings or health insurance makes for some really bad life choices. Writing about this here is making me tense up and want to cry – the hopeless situation is embedded in my head more firmly then the actual injury.