21 January 2021
Today's Cards
Context
Welcome to Day 21!
Yesterday afternoon-evening the pain level in my temporary cast felt worse. It kept me from sleeping through the night. Toward the morning when it hadn’t subsided, I grew concerned that the cast was either digging into my leg or worse, the bone had moved into a more problematic position.
Last night I had husband clean a blood blister that was infected. Lanced and cleaned with Isopropyl, the wound looked much better in the morning.
Because the pain in the ankle had increased and the painkillers weren’t doing the job, I contacted the Fractures Clinic.
By the way, this was the recommendation from the hospital if the pain increased. A bit like Newton’s laws of motion, but for the injury it’s like: 1. A foot and/ or ankle at rest will stay or at a pain level, at rest unless acted upon by another force. In this case, that “other” force could be anything: an infection, the cast digging in, the bone moving, to me twitching the wrong way in my sleep or going to the loo (Australian slang for lavatory).
The Fractures Clinic picked up and turned out not to be the Fractures Clinic because it was 6:30am and it doesn’t open until 8:00am. I’d reached emergency or outpatients, who also supported that I come in because the pain level had not eased, even if I had a referral to the clinic.
My husband and I headed to the RBH (Royal Brisbane Hospital) Outpatients. It was early (just before 8:00am – I think). It took a while for me to wash and discuss what we were going to do.
At the hospital it was a short wait before Richard wheeled me in to see Dr V, who sent me for X-rays to ensure nothing had moved. Dr V wheeled me around to xray and while it didn’t look like a long wait, I noticed the toilet and decided it would be a good time to make use of them.
After discussing my “shoulda or shouldn’t I’s” with admin it was decided that I should go rather than being uncomfortable. I crutchered up and hobbled across to the only toilets in direct line of sight – the able-bodied toilet.
As a side note, being on crutches limits the amount of landscape perusal you seem to do naturally – most times. Women will do this walking past clothes, shoes or just shops, performing a quick assessment of what’s on display to see if the store has anything of interest. I don’t always do this. When I am on a “mission”, I have one goal in mind and that’s “get in and get out as quickly as possible”. In this mode, I have walked past friends and family members without recognising them when they’ve been literally two metres away from me. Yep, it gets that focussed.
Getting back to the toilet, I was in “mission” mode and concentrating hard on the new skill I needed to learn (walking with crutches). The door to the toilet was hard to push open, but with a bit of elbow force I got it working. What I wasn’t expecting was that it would push back!
Anyway, I hadn’t gotten my crutches or me inside the cubicle fast enough when the door knocked out the crutch from my right hand and I once again fell to the ground. Luckily, I managed to dodge the sink on the left and only hit my top lip on the toilet bowl. The crutches being in the way slowed my descent and made the fall less damaging.
My right knee took the brunt of the fall with a sore lip even through the mask, on the whole not much more than some would experience on a drunken night out missing the porcelain bus (toilet bowl). While there was some bruising everything seemed to be okay. The right hip was a little sore, but nothing to write home about.
The hospital staff were incredibly helpful in getting me out and up off the floor safely wheeled into the less-able-bodied toilet directly opposite the able-bodied one. Once wheeled back to my xray bed, a doctor came by immediately to check that I was okay.
In xray, Sam ever the professional took quick “doctor happy snaps” from right knee to right toe and I was on my way back to see Dr V.
Dr V had in the meantime consulted with the photos sent from Tweed Hospital, my husband and maybe the Fractures Clinic. All X-rays showed that everything was as it should be beautifully aligned. Following a quick check to confirm that the lower wound was dressed, we both decided that removing the temporary plaster could possibly put things out of alignment and make things worse.
Now that I knew everything was in its proper position and aligned beautifully – the concern I had around the pain was abated. To me it meant that healing could begin in ernst. The pain was a result of the break and the healing my body was undertaking. Much like a scab gets itchy right before it is about to drop off and show healed skin.
After Dr V re-bandaged the area. We were off home.
I tried to take it easy for the rest of the day because healing takes its toll. However, there was the nagging card of Laziness that drew my attention much like a red smudge on a sea of black and white.
This prompted me to not get lazy about letting Tweed Council, the lovely Rachel know about the fall and that I recommended that some anti-slip measures be put in place on the steps of the Jack Evans Boat Harbour. Having worked in local government (not Tweed) I’m aware that complaints need to be actioned upon, at least to assess the risk to the council’s constituents.
It also ensured that I updated work of the situation – didn’t want them missing me too much!
The Cards - Almost an Analysis
Laziness was the first card and is in the Now position. If you’re new to reading these posts you may not be aware that the Laziness card gets me into a tither. It’s the card that tells me that maintenance is needed somewhere in my life because I have been resting on my laurels. Being in the Now position means I’m neglecting something that I feel is important.
The Laziness card’s effects me in such a way that I tend to forget my mindfulness and begin to focus on anything and everything else. Contrary to the card’s name, I get my act together and start getting to things that I’ve neglected for ages – which is precisely the point of the card.
Being incapacitated and the cards/ I know this. I’m not that cruel to myself to think it would be something physical I’m neglecting; like say putting weed killer on the lawn. This, however, makes the card twice as daunting and like a boa constrictor restricts my focus options, meaning less chance of avoiding the thing I’m using lazing to avoid.
Change was the second card and is in the Influence position. The Change card sat in the Feelings position on Day 019. My feelings on the changes my life has taken could have my acceptance of the situation fall into the passive state of Laziness. Instead of the conscious choice of simply being.
Existence was the third card and is in the Goal position. Following on from what I just wrote, the goal I set for myself is to simply exist. Being one in the multi-dimensional universe and reconnecting to the awareness of one’s place within it.
Innocence was the fourth card and is in the Distant Past position. Innocence was in the Feelings position yesterday – Day 020 – and spoke of seeing things in a new way. Having seen the way the health systems in the two Australian states operate, I have been pleasantly surprised.
So, how does this contribute to the Now? Perhaps, it is as I said under the Laziness section, the Innocence of new sight led me to a position of Laziness. Basically, I stopped simply appreciating and wanted to take greater control of my situation.
Control was the fifth card and is in the Recent Past position. Enter the Control card in the Recent Past position. Sometimes, I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried! Control is about well, control. If you look closely at the image, you’ll see that the figure is very rigid very stern and lacks for a sense of fun.
Perhaps there was a part of me seeking to control things by unconsciously upping the pain in my leg (which realistically was probably the healing and de-swelling starting).
Receptivity was the sixth card and is in the Future Energy position. Receptivity was in the same position yesterday – Day 020.
So, what does it mean to show up in the same position two days running? A cynical person my say, the result is a likely option at some point. Not being a statistician, I could only guess the likelihood of its occurrence.
In tarot world, it means that the same energy that was there yesterday may have cycled back or will simply continue. How can this be, when the other cards have changed?
We’re all aware that multiple things happen at the same time, particularly where emotions are concerned. Emotions to me are like the weather, always there in some form, whether we can see it or not. Potentially then, receptiveness may not have left and instead continued beneath the surface simultaneously.
It applies to the day in that once Control had passed and I received the information to assuage my concerns, I became much more receptive to life in all its forms.
Thunderbolt was the seventh card and is in the Feelings position. Thunderbolt has typically meant a change in physical circumstances to me. Thunderbolt is like moving house, changing jobs or a sudden shift in relationships. It’s about testing how we to these circumstances. We can react or we can take responsibility for how we respond to the situation (if you take the description from Steven R Covey’s, 7 Habits of Highly Effective people, where he describes responsibility as broken down to our “ability to respond”).
If I stick with the physical and treat this as an immediate recognisable event position then, it could also apply to my “toilet fall incident”. The very sudden change in my physical status – standing one minute on the floor the next – would also fit the Thunderbolt interpretation!
The Master was the eighth card and is in the Other People’s Views position. The Master card is a nice card in the Other People’s Views position. I am hoping that it means that I appeared to take responsibility when I fell.
Extending beyond that incident to Dr V and general interactions with hospital staff. Meaning that what I am trying to be is exactly as I wished to be seen. That is, projecting someone who is responsive, shows situational awareness of emotions, circumstances and has the presence of mind to communicate clearly on all levels.
Traveling was the ninth card out and is in the Hopes and Fears position. Traveling has been treated as another physical activity card by me in this deck. Oh, how I wish for travel. However, given my history of incidents while traveling; do I get separation anxiety when it’s time to leave the vacation? Or, in future do I get lazy about where I travel to avoid another incident?
Healing was the tenth card out and is in the Outcome position. The beautiful thing about having the Healing card as the Outcome for this particular reading, is that it aligns as nicely with what needs to happen with my body as it does with my mind.
Given the new information from today’s trip to the hospital, I can quite happily begin to heal.