To say that this week didn’t exactly go as planned would be an understatement. While there were multiple unfortunate circumstances that arose, one of the ones that affected me the most was finding out that I can no longer leave for Germany when I had planned. Let me explain…
Back at the end of June I broke my right ankle on both sides right at the base of the tibia and fibula (or a bi-malleolar fracture for you medical folks out there). I’ve gotten surgery on it and as such I now have quite the impressive collection of plates, screws, and pins in my foot.
There are two big downfalls to breaking your ankle right before the start of summer:
- You have to be on crutches for 6 weeks and can’t weight bare at all during that time so you miss out on a whole summer at camp (and get some pretty strange tan lines)
- You end up getting your cast off and being able to walk three days before you’re supposed to fly to Germany for 5 months
I had already come to terms with number 1, and was a little nervous about number 2 but I thought that it would still be doable. In my mind I’d still be able to make my flight and enjoy my trip as planned. But that’s the funny thing about plans I guess, that they never really play out the way that we want them to.
Such was the case for me, when a call came through on Tuesday morning that caused all of my plans to come crashing down. It turns out that your travel insurance won’t cover you until 3 months after you break you ankle because of the risk of blood clots and other health complications while you fly and are on your trip. This was the last thing that I wanted to hear, and the last thing that I wanted to accept. I had made all of these plans, I had all of these that I wanted to do, there were people I had waited for half a year to see; and now that was all out the window.
To say that this threw me for a loop would be a huge understatement; it left me sitting on the ground surrounded by the fragments of my grand plan. The feeling of having something that you’ve been so excited about, and have been looking forward to for so long get ripped away from you so close to its fulfillment is a heartbreaking thing to experience.
Now I know what some of you are thinking, “Don’t you think you’re being a little dramatic there? I mean after all, it was only a trip and you can still go later on.” And you wouldn’t be wrong, but this wasn’t just a trip, it was a move. A move to a different country, a move out of my comfort zone, a move to being with people that I care about and haven’t seen in over half a year, a move to finding a new part of myself. Which is a cheesy explanation I’ll admit, but it’s the only one I have.
So this means that I have postponed my flight to Germany until the beginning of October sometime. I haven’t figured out all of the details yet, but I have moved past the sadness of this unexpected and unwanted detour. One thing that a friend told me during all of this was that while we don’t understand what’s going on, there is a reason and a plan in the midst of all of the hurt and confusion. Somehow and someway good will come out of this, I don’t know how and I don’t know when but good will come.
As I try to maneuver my way through this detour I am committed to doing so with a positive attitude and a mind open to the possibilities that will arise along the way (and maybe one or two sad movies to cry the sadness and frustration out with); and I encourage you to do the same if you are going through a similar time of detours and road blocks (with or without the sad movies, that’s all up to you). Keep looking for the positive in the hurt, it’s there somewhere and it’s well worth finding.
Simply Katherina 