Throughout the years I’ve been fortunate enough to avoid any serious injuries. As a kid I was always very active and I still am to this day. Basketball and tennis were always my two favorites sports, but occasionally I like to widen my horizons and try some other sports just for fun. The only serious injury that I have faced was breaking my wrist back in the sixth grade during basketball practice. Having a cast on that covered my entire arm for over two months was definitely a burden and something that I hope never happens again. The constant inconvenience of having to do things with only one hand was without a doubt challenging but the most annoying thing of all was how itchy my arm would get. Although it was hard enough trying to operate with one arm, trying to do things with one leg is even harder. About two weeks ago I sprained my ankle, putting me through an immense amount of pain and forcing me to go to the hospital. I was told that if I were to walk on my foot I could end up doing serious damage to the ligaments in my foot. For the next month I would be stuck using crutches.

Two weeks have already gone by and I have pretty much adapted to the new life style. However, it took some time to get used to considering the fact that I have never used crutches before. I soon realized the struggles that came along with it. Simple every day tasks such as walking up and down the stairs, taking a shower, getting dressed or even making myself lunch turned into the biggest tasks. To start, using crutches are very uncomfortable. My underarms become very irritated and I often find blisters on both of my palms. By far, the two worst things about crutches are going up and down the stairs and going outside. Going down the stairs isn’t too bad but making my way up them are a nightmare. When I go down I usually just sit and slide my way down, but going up takes a lot more effort. Making sure that I maintain my balance is key and hoping from step to step on one foot takes a lot of leg muscle. Sometimes I’ll use my knees to walk but I often find bruises on my knees when I do it that way.

The second biggest challenge is going outside. You can only take so much of sitting inside all day that at one point you just have to get out. For me, I hurt myself at the absolute worst time. My sister’s graduation from college was the same week that I injured myself and there was no way that I wasn’t going. One of the biggest issues was the distance. Even having to go a couple steps on crutches puts you out of breathe so there was no chance of me being able to walk from where we parked to the location of the ceremony. Having to be driven there on a golf cart was kind of cool but at the same time a little embarrassing. Although, I have to admit having people constantly offer to help you is nice, but can get annoying. After the 100^th time of saying, “No thank you, I’m fine” it gets very frustrating.

All in all being stuck on crutches is no fun. It’s something that I’ll have to put up with for the time being but it’s also a life lesson. All the struggles that come along with using crutches makes you realize how grateful you are and teaches you how to take proper care of yourself. As badly as I want to get up and run around I have to make sure that I don’t get ahead of myself. Being patient and doing what your doctor says is key to a healthy recovery.