Ever since I could walk, my parents have dubbed me “Mr. Safety.”
I was never one to take much risk.
As such, I’ve never experienced much pain; On the flip side it could probably be said I’ve never really experienced the joy that comes in conquering risks either.
Sure, I’ve played sports, and I’ve flown down a mountain on skis exceeding 60 mph, but for the most part every “risk” was controlled.
What occurred a couple weekends ago was also controlled risk, but something went terribly wrong and for the first time in my life I landed in the emergency room with broken bones.
Up until that moment, my strength and composure had never really been tested.
*
My family was spending a warm day on the lake celebrating a birthday. The day was quickly coming to an end, and so my grandfather, uncle, cousin Monica and I decided to go tubing one last time.
Up until our last run, the day had been without incident. There were a few of the spectacular flips one expects when tubing on the lake, but those rarely result in anything more that some water up your nose.
After pronouncing to those on the boat that it’d be my last turn on the tube and someone else could get ready, the boat started off with me bracing the tube expecting to get flipped at any moment.
Instead, I looked ahead and noticed the bank of rocks looked way too close. It quickly became obvious that there was no avoiding it. To jump off the tube would just result in my body being fully exposed to the jetty; instead, I tucked as tight as I could, using the tube as a shield.
For a brief moment, I thought somehow I had miraculously made it past the rocks and back into open water. Then I heard the “clunk.”
As best I can remember, I was never unconscious, but I did blackout about 30 seconds – because my first memory is of the boat pulling up to the rocks – which would have taken time to turn around and get to me.
Upon realizing I was alive, I noticed my ear was bleeding, but my head otherwise appeared to be okay. Only then did I look down to notice my left hand didn’t look as it should.
*
Maybe I was in shock, but as I remember the events that followed, I feel like I was in control of the situation. Sure, I was in pain, but I was able to calm my cousin who was crying on my behalf. My grandfather and uncle were still wondering how the crash didn’t end up killing me. Of the four of us on the boat, I feel like I was the most composed.
It’s because of that, I’m actually happy that an incident like this occurred. Not that I’m glad I had several dislocations and two fractures in my left hand, but I learned more about myself in that accident and in the hours that followed in the ER then I had in my entire life.
I’ve always been afraid to take risks because I feared I wouldn’t be strong enough. Now, I’ve seen I am. Bring on the risk and adventure.