A little demographics on my parents house in which I was to do my twenty-four hour supervised healing. . .To enter the house you had to climb three steps. The main floor housed the kitchen, dining room and living room. There was no bathroom on the main floor, you had to go up eight steps or down seven steps to get to any one of the three existing bathrooms. Going up and down the steps proved to be the demise to an already ugly healing process.
One week after the first surgery, already two weeks after the accident, I was taken to the doctor for a check up on how the pins were holding. The pins were in place, however the healing was not going as had been expected. I was sent home for more rest and healing. Unfortunately, that was not the end of the day. As I ascended the steps to enter the house, one of the large pins that protruded from the top of my foot, caught the threshold and threw me head first into the floor.
Back to the hospital we went as the pins were no longer in place and the bones were separated further than when they started. Surgery was done once again to replace the pins and try to repair the further damage. It was not until after this second surgery, that we learned just how unqualified the surgeon was who operated on my foot. I was sent home again to heal with as little movement as possible.
Realizing that walking was no longer an option during the healing process, my parents were able to secure a wheelchair. This was quite a task as I was overweight beyond a normal amount. I needed an extra-wide chair with a leg extension that would keep my leg completely straight. When we were told the length of time I would spend in the wheelchair, it was deemed that we should purchase it instead of renting. The reality of the whole car accident began to settle into my brain and depression slowly began to seep in.
The next few months were to be spent back and forth to the doctor, never really seeing any progress in the healing of my foot. The bones remained separated, the arch had completely flattened, and the fusing of the bones would not take hold. It became evident that we needed to look for a second opinion, and so the search began to find a doctor who was willing to attempt to put my mangled mess of a foot back together.
During this time I still was unable to live in my own home, I was unable to get around without assistance, and bathing was done with a sponge. Oh how I longed to stand under the spray of the shower and just let it rain down on my body. Because of my inability to place my bad foot on the ground dressing was quite a chore. I remember having my husband help me back to the bed after dressing, unfortunately I lost what little balance I had on my left foot and fell forward putting both myself and my husband in a crumpled heap on the ground. I eventually lost any dignity I once had as I had to call for my mother to pull me up by the seat of my pants so that my husband too could stand back up. I had neither the strength nor ability to get up out of the floor. It gave new meaning to the saying, "Help! I have fallen and I can't get up!"
To go to the restroom when on the main floor, I would have to crawl to the steps on my knees with my foot stuck in the air. I would then sit on the bottom step and slowly use my arms to push myself up each of the eight steps till I reached the top. Once again I would crawl the length to the bathroom and push myself up on the toilet to a halfway standing position on one foot. Never have I wanted to have my head that close to the bowl of a toilet, but I had no other way of doing what had to be done.
Everyday I lost a little more strength, a little more hope, and a lot more joy. Christmas came and went but that did little to raise my spirits. Life as I had known was now changed, and there was no looking back. I had been away from my job for more than two months with no return date in sight. As the search for a new doctor went on, another surgery became more imminent.
Mentally, I had checked out and had lost hope. Starting and running a business can be much like that. Mentality in business is one of the most important factors in your success. Struggles are going to happen, loss is inevitable, market slides and natural disasters are unavoidable. Don't lose sight of why you started your business. Keep the vision in front of you and push through the dark times - the joy does come in the morning! Stay focused on how to bring the best of what you have to offer and the goal will be attainable.
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