We teach many things, and a BIG thing lately is Kindness.
Why?
Because it is the complete antithesis of Bullying and it makes you feel good
However, I’ve learned that not only can your RAOK get you in trouble, but it can also upset your balance and your commitments.
Lesson 1: Getting into trouble with a RAOK. This is long, so settle in…..
About a week and a half ago, on Saturday, I was doing some Spring cleaning, trying to rid the house of some clutter, some things our 7 year old has out grown or just didn’t need/play with any more. He needed more room for new clothes, and we needed to clear out the excess toys to allow for new toys to be put away and not become chew toys for the puppy we were expecting to adopt.This child has more STUFF than I know what to do with….
I’d filled up a large box (which is still sitting in our hallway, but hey, it’s out of his room!) and went to take some of the trash out and out of the corner of my eye saw the neighbors German Shepherd, Sasha, come around the side of our house. She’s harmless, except to windows if you’re a delivery guy – she shattered the glass on the front door once. All bark and then just loves up to you.
Sasha frequently escapes her family. She’s young, flighty, and likes to visit. And, when she comes to visit, I tend to walk her home because her human mom has 3 little ones to haul with her any time she comes looking for the dog and our cats really aren’t fans of hers. This time, the neighbor across the street from us was out with his much smaller dog, Dakota, and neither one of us were sure how the two would interact. So, Dakota and her dad went off to their date in the car….and I began the walk back to the neighbors with my hand wrapped in Sasha’s choke collar. (She’s a police family dog….so the collar makes sense to me.) We’ve done this numerous times before.
Usually, we do just fine. This time, she didn’t want to go home. We’d walk fine for a few steps, then she’d lie down in the middle of the road belly up, walk, belly up, repeat a few more times (this was one of those days I wished we still lived in a townhouse)….and then, the other neighbor came out. (We have 6 houses on our street, 3 on each side.) Sasha apparently LOVES this neighbor and decided to race towards her…me in tow. I managed to let go, but not in time enough to save myself a fall.
Down I went, palms first on the gravel road.
I really wish our road was paved and State maintained…for more reasons that this. My right hand hit the hardest – down hard on a sharp rock, my left slightly, and my left knee even less – my right knee never touched the ground. I felt the rock lance through my right hand, but I got up, tired to brush off my hands to make sure the dog hadn’t hurt the elderly lady, but no…she’d loped up, barked, and then tore off again. Once the neighbor and I realized, as we both looked at my hands in shock, that I was bleeding rather badly….she walked Sasha back to her home (without her hand in her collar), and I tore off at a sprint to our house realizing that if I walked, I’d probably pass out from the shock on the road.
I managed to get home, in the door and calling out to Nick. I didn’t manage much past the word “Sasha” with my hands out, bleeding. Poor guy couldn’t tell if I’d been bitten or what. He handled me and our son like a trooper. I finally managed to say, ‘not bitten, fall’ as I got my hands under the cold running water in the sink. For those who know me….I hate cold…ice packs are evil, so for me to voluntarily be using ice cold water to help manage a wound and pain? That means I’m in pain.
I did not cry, curse or shout.
I had every right to. I did shake some and do a lot of focused breathing because I was trying NOT to freak out in front of our son. Hell, I broke my shoulder without any drama…I figure I could deal with my hands. I just needed to get the gravel out…and there seemed to be so much of it.
I’d like to point out….gravel in skin is very unpleasant. A soft brush over the skin to attempt to get said gravel out? Unpleasant. Checking to see how deep the gash went on my hand…nauseating.
Ouch.
There were a few attempted pass out phases on my part. A time when both my Mother and Mother in Law were here trying to help. A time when I sent Nick and pup out for a walk because my mother thought it was going to be a good idea to use a horse hair brush on my hands to get the gravel out…..And then finally, the decision that yes, I was going to go see a dr. All the while, our son was telling me I was being very brave. (He’s such an awesome kid.)
For the record, the ladies at our local Doctors Express are awesome. First question was “did the dog bite you?” Nope. My own stupidity bit me. They laughed and then proceeded to do everything they could to make it easier for me to get myself taken care of. They felt bad when they needed me to sign something. I quipped that I could sign my name right OR left handed after the shoulder injury.
It’s better to be jovial to deal with pain. It just makes it less so. I’d learned that with the shoulder. The EMTs couldn’t figure out why I was smiling and joking and just dealing.
If you FOCUS ON IT, it AMPLIFIES IT. So, to make it go away…you categorize it, deal, and move on.
We had to wait. It’s a doctors office. There is ALWAYS waiting. I finally curled up on the exam table ready to take a nap because I was tired of waiting and wanted to drop into sleep to heal.
I think that startled Dr. Weinstein when he finally peeked into the room. An older gentleman. Usually, I bristle with MDs…lately, we’ve been practicing awareness and kindness so I reserved judgment. I have not had good luck with general MDs. But, he seemed very caring and listened when I said that I was allergic to all antibiotics. He earned my respect when he didn’t argue with me over it. Every other dr I’ve encountered has fought with me about that….he listened, accepted..and ADAPTED. He even asked if the topical (Neosporin) would be ok.
What doctor does that? This one did.
If I’m injured again? I will return to Drs Express rather than seek out anyone else.
Now, my responses….LOL. I did not hit Dr. Weinstein when he put the iodine on my open wounds OR when he took the tweezers to them. I wanted to. It hurt like hell. But, 1) he’d listened and was doing his job and 2) I focused and breathed…and Nick sidetracked me with something in a magazine. And bless that dr…he was a doll. Even told me I could kick Nick if it helped the pain LOL. I think he realized humor was the best way to side track me.
He took it in stride when he opened the door to the exam room and suddenly my mother was there too. What can I say…we’re all local and I’m an only child
A week and a half later? A recap….I took exactly ONE does of Motrin that night – no meds after that. I kept my hands wrapped per the drs orders for 24 hours (because he made sense and listened to me). I started taking my grape seed extract as soon as I could. I did epsom salt rinses. By Monday, I was back at the gym and lifting weights, with my right hand wrapped – Neosporin and gauze, my left was fine once the gravel was removed. I did NOT jar any other part of my body. On Sunday, I thought for sure I’d be in pain somewhere…but nothing. Why? I train hard and work a lot to make sure my body can handle impact and movement.
It paid off.
Day of Injury
Day 10
Tuesday, I wrapped my hands with my hand wraps and gloves and did boxing class AFTER I’d told the instructor what had happened.
Now, no, I couldn’t do pushups or any flexing of the palm, but I was just fine hitting the heavy bag and speed bags. None of it engaged my palm.
I have continued with the Epsom salts rinses…my vitamins and grape seed extract. I’ve also been using my USANA NightTime Emulsion cream (something I use daily at night for my FACE ) because the skin started to tighten up. And you know what? So, 10 days later? You can barely tell I’d severely hurt myself. I’m aiming for NO scar.
So, iodine, tweezers, x-rays ….oh, and a tetanus shot. Followed by vitamins, rinses and creams….I think, next time, I’m just going to let someone ELSE take Sasha home. Or call her owners.
Related articles
- Random Acts Of Kindness 87 – Catching up on Kindness [Mike Turner] (ecademy.com)
- Random Acts Of Kindness 81 – Go like some blogs [Mike Turner] (ecademy.com)
