On Friday I answered the phone in my classroom, "Why don't you answer your phone?"
"I've been in meetings, and then we had an after-hours fire drill. I just got back to start grading." Mark's voice didn't sound normal. "Are you OK?"
"Not really. I'm lying in the middle of the driveway."
A little baffled and very alarmed I asked, "Do you need me to come home?" Meanwhile, I'm calculating how long that will take me and how much time that gives me to pick up Miah and fumbling to find my cell phone to start making phone calls.
"Yeah, if you could get off early that would be great."
I drove home, slightly upset that all the other district schools were released at that very moment, and imagined the most horrible things: Was Mark at odd angles? Did he fall from the roof? What in the world had caused his voice to drastically change and call me for help? I was only slightly comforted that he had called me and not 911; it couldn't be too bad I guessed.
I He was at odd angles. His sternum was in line with his left leg. Probably the accumulation of all the work he has done on our house in addition to his crazy 24-hour shift added up to a little reach ruptering a disk in his spine. Ouch. I've never seen him bite his lip so often.
Mark can already laugh at the scenario, but it has put him out of work for the week.
(Mark doesn't like the way I told this story, so I'm going to let him write his version tomorrow because it is bedtime for the Covey's.)
3 comments:
I believe that it is possible to find humor in almost every situation that I find myself in. This may be because I have seen first hand in my work just how much worse things could be, or it could be because that so long as I'm breathing it is imperitive to have a good attitude. The same God that gives also takes away, He does not screw up, and he does not cease to be Holy. If I were to say he was acting incorrectly, I would be saying he was not Holy. So here are the funny parts not included above...I was on the driveway for a bout half an hour trying to get up before I called Caitlin. I would try to roll over, try to set up, try to use my elbows to scooch over to something to pull my self up with, and for all my effort...no dice. The pain was bad enough that I was sweating and would become light headed when I moved, but when I laid still it was tolerable. When I thought I would pass out I would take a break and lay still. If you are on your back in your driveway you have but one view; the sky. It was a lovely day with wispy clouds that looked like bunnies. Nothing like bunnies to make you chuckle at the ridiculousness of a situation. So I would drum my fingers on my chest, sing "Nobody knows the trouble I've seen" and get set to try again. I wondered if the neighbors could see me and were wondering why I was being so lazy. I thought about that scene in The Incredibles when Mr. Incredible is fighting the robot after he threw out his back and the robot grabbed Mr I and stretched him in an attempt to tear him in half but instead fixed his back. I thought, "I need a robot!" He could finish my painting while he was at it too. With no robot I tried stretching myself out to see if my back would loosen or fix its self. It didn't, but it did hurt a lot. While I was resting after the stretch attempt I found that I can indeed flick pebbles off my belt buckle to the end of the driveway. (Sometimes little games help to kill the time). When I finaly determined that all my efforts were not going to get me off my back before I starved to death, that's when I called Caitlin. I didn't try to get up anymore, I just played my games and sang my songs, feeling horribly pathetic, until she arrived. When I heard her coming I lifted by head and stuck my arm straight up in the air and waived. This was partly to put her at ease because I could hear the stress in her voice on the phone, and partly because I thought it would look comical, but largly because at the pace she arrived I was a little worried she might actualy run over me. I must confess that after she pushed, pulled, yanked, and worried in a whinsome manner to get me off the ground, it became harder to keep a good attitude. It really, really, hurt.
Mike knows the pain that you were feeling. I hope that you are doing better. We will keep you guys in our thoughts nad prayers!!!
Well, that created quite an image in my mind. I was glad to hear Miah was at the sitter and not running around you in circles trying to help. Hope you get to feeling better!
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