Overcoming Adversity
Rough Draft
Emily Cardile
1/9/12
A new pair of socks. A simple fall to the floor. What was thought to be a simple broken arm. What turned out to be a complicated broken arm that needed surgery, two weeks of in-cast recovery, ten weeks of physical therapy and the long relearning process. Although this would be considered low on the scale of difficult adversities to overcome by many people, it was one of the biggest in my life.
It terrified me. I was afraid to go through with it. The word its self scared me. Surgery; a terrible word for a 14 year-old to have to think about. I did it anyways, and it wasn’t as bad as it seemed to be. The recovery afterwards was worse than the surgery itself. Except for when I was asked to put on the hospital gown by myself with one hand, and had my Sprite and gold fish knocked off the table and sprawled across the floor by the nurse, I don’t really remember much. I do remember the recovery. For the longest time, I couldn’t do anything at all. I couldn’t support my arm without a sling, or take a shower. I had to take baths and wash my hair in the sink. I couldn’t brush my hair, or eat, or pick things up. I had to learn to do everything with my left hand, which was quite a challenge for me, since I’m right handed. The little bit of luck I got was that I was homeschooled through all of this.
The doctor didn’t believe in me. He didn’t think I could do it. He told me I would never regain full mobility. I had to work hard, going to one physical therapy class after another. I had to work on it at home, and while I was there. I had to get all the strength back in my arm, and the mobility in my elbow and wrist. I basically had to relearn how do to everything all over again. I went to physical therapy three times a week, for ten weeks.
When this time was up, I did what the doctor said I couldn’t. I gained all the mobility back. I relearned how to draw, and eat and do all the everyday activities. Everything was close to back to the way they were, minus the three inch scar down my elbow, the four screws in my bone, and all the memories of the event. All it took was a little perseverance.
