My break

"Were you drunk?" No. I have been asked that a few times.

"Were you texting with your new phone?" No. Surprisingly I'm yet to be asked that. And to be honest, with the rate that people do use their cellphones and walk I'm surprised there aren't more falls.

I was walking on the footpath, which to be honest wasn't an outrageously potholed stretch, when somehow the rubber on one shoe caught; I lost my balance; I mainly landed on my hands; but one knee also connected with the point of a step and thus I broke my kneecap. I didn't realise it at the time: I've only had soft tissue injuries in my life till now and hadn't heard a crack. I thought at worst it was bruised So we kept walking for about 10 minutes more to "walk it out". Near a subway entrance I found that I couldn't even contemplate going down the stairs to give our clothes to the drycleaners. So I waited near the top. And as soon as I tried to move again, it'd become very stiff and hard to move. I thought it was at least soft tissue damage. 

I went home and performed R.I.C.E. (rest, ice, compression, elevation). At that stage I thought rest was the key. I didn't want to damage it any more by walking to the hospital. In the evening though, I realised that it was probably inevitable that I had to go to the doctors, and the earlier the better. We went out at about 8pm. Came back at 1am. The easy diagnosis, one that even a layman could see from an x-ray, was a broken patella. A cast was put on (although it's not the casts that I'd always seen; they just put the plaster at the back of the leg, and then bandaged it around the front of the leg; makes sense!) and I was sent on my way back home.

Life with a broken knee? It's not all that bad and I have enjoyed many of the advantages: Little stress, lots of mental energy, lots of time to dedicate to the pursuits of reading, writing, watching and thinking. Also with my new smartphone, I'm reconnecting with a lot of people that I hadn't contacted much. It is slightly badly timed though as two friends are visiting Guangzhou and there is a wedding, all within the month that the cast is definitely on.  

One problem that I'll have to deal with is muscle pain because of the bad posture I constantly have (a straight leg is hard to handle in most arrangements); the over-exertion of my compensating limbs; and the eventual rehabilitation of my steadily weakening broken limb. I've tried to make some time for exercise every day, specifically back stretching and abdominal strengthening a part of my day. Standing up is a little bit of a hassle and any exercise must take care not to move the muscles in my left leg. I often try to use the bed: bedcercises, perhaps.

Anyway, I've got good spirits and I'm glad for the change. For the rest of you, be careful out there! Keep your hands as free as possible when you walk, your eyes aware of the ground. I wish you all good health.