That funny feeling
I had wanted to go for a walk in the mountains for months, even years. I had done it before and had felt so energised and positive after. I love how exercise and fresh air makes me feel.
Finally, I found a friend to go with! I was super excited, but as the time to go was getting closer, plans were changing, more people were being added to the group and my excitement was fading. By the time it got to the night before, I really didn’t feel like going. But it was all planned, so I felt I had to go and convinced myself it would be fine and that it would all be worth it.
The next morning, my friend picked me up and off we went. We had trouble on the way with passengers and cars and I started to have a really bad feeling about the whole trip. I just wanted to turn back, I was feeling super uncomfortable and not wanting to do it at all. The journey had taken nearly 3 times longer that it should have and I had just had enough. But I pushed on.
Let’s just do this
We were so close so I thought I would feel better once I had gotten out of the car and moved! Which is all I wanted to do, to get some fresh air on the mountain paths.
What faced us was a steep, rocky incline. It had no visible path and looked a short, sharp climb, not the 2 hour gentle walk I was expecting. Instead of saying no and turning back, I decided to give it a go and started the climb. I literally took 3 steps and suddenly fell backwards. I can honestly say it was the scariest thing to happen to me in my life. And that is saying something!
Survival instinct kicking in
As I fell backwards in what seemed like slow motion, a very loud voice in my head screamed “Watch your head, you’re going to die!” Suddenly I heard a loud crack as my wrist landed on a rock at full force. I knew immediately it was serious and that I needed a hospital ASAP. Turns out I had fractured my wrist but that wasn’t the end of the complications.
As I looked at my wrist, I saw it was bent out of place and then I collapsed. Moments later I woke up to my friends surrounding me. We quickly went to the nearest hospital where they looked at my wrist. They told me that it was fractured but that my insurance wouldn’t cover any treatment.
My employer had downgraded my insurance cover due to covid and I hadn’t realised that because I was outside of Dubai I couldn’t get help. I was in shock and super scared. I needed treatment ASAP.
In shock
I was in shock, I couldn’t stop thinking about that loud voice in my head, screaming to watch my head or I would die. My head must have missed those rocks by millimetres and I couldn’t believe it. We then went to a government hospital as my friend knew a doctor there and persuaded him to see me. He was super kind and after an x-ray, he gave me an injection and he and another doctor straightened my bones. Obviously, I couldn’t watch, I was hysterical and begging my friend to keep talking to me to distract me.
After what seemed like a gazillion phone calls and many hours later, I found a hospital where I could see an orthopaedic surgeon the following morning. That night I slept in my clothes, praying it would all be okay. I was so scared, worrying about how I was going to cope with one arm, I couldn’t get undressed, cook, wash or anything. This was a disaster.
The kindest doctor and nurses
The next day when I met my doctor, I broke down straight away. He was the kindest person ever and he assured me that he would help me all the way and that I wasn’t alone. He explained that my wrist had smashed into 10 pieces and that surgery was the best option. I wasn’t sure and felt scared but I had to make this decision quite quickly.
I went home to wait to see if the surgery would be approved on my insurance. In the meantime, I phoned my friend, whos uncle happened to be an orthopaedic surgeon. She asked him whether I should have the surgery and he said yes without hesitation. At that exact moment, the insurance approval came through so I decided to go ahead with it.
The next morning, I went back to the hospital and got prepped for surgery. Everyone was so supportive and helpful and I felt reassured. The next moment I remember was the doctor waking me up with a joke. I asked him if the surgery had been a success, he laughed and said yes, checked my fingers to make sure I could still feel them. As I came round, a strong message came to me “Listen to yourself”. I realised that I should have done this all along and cancelled the walk when I first started having doubts. It was clear and obvious.
Lucky to be alive
I stayed in the hospital all night and just couldn’t help feeling lucky to be alive. I left the next day and with the support from friends, I took it easy and took each day at a time. I was on a high and felt so blessed. It all could have been so much worse. I felt truly blessed.
I had been to an amazing hospital with the kindest staff and the best surgeon I could ever have imagined.
Have you ever not listened to yourself and regretted it?
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