Day 116 – Others’ Views

Welcome to Day 116!

While on the phone arranging times to visit Delilah, she mentioned she had recently purchased some new outdoor on water sporting equipment we could try when we were down.  In the background her husband piped up in a teasing tone saying we should go to the Jack Evans Boat Harbour in Tweed Heads. 

In case you’d forgotten, Jack Evans Boat Harbour was where I slipped and broke my ankle back on 18 January.  Obviously, he was teasing in the hopes of getting a “no way”, or “that’s so mean” response from me.  Delilah even told him to pipe down and not to tease.  In all seriousness, I responded with “I didn’t mind in the least”.  In fact, going back to the boat harbour was something on my list of things to do next time we’re in the area.  It’s not like I’m going to walk on the algae-covered steps again – these caused the broken ankle in the first place.  There’s plenty of sand and grass to walk on without having to use the path I slipped on.

The odd thing about the discussion was afterward when I spoke to my husband about it, he too thought I might be shy on returning to the location as well – and he knows me!  it’s amazing to discover how different people’s points of view are.  Which is why judging them based on what you think they’re thinking isn’t always wise.  Anyway, it is understandable to want to avoid the area, but it’s quite the contrary to what I want to do. 

Am I missing something?  Yes, slippery concrete did/ does make me nervous, the trip to the swimming pool on a rainy day not so long ago helped me gain my confidence.  In selecting tiles to refurbish the bathroom extra attention was taken to ensure the floor tiles were more grippy but not too textured where soap or slime could get trapped in subtle raised edged and cause slipping. Let’s just say the incident has made me very aware of some surfaces.

A firm believer in the sooner you revisit the “scene of the crime” the more likely you’ll move on from whatever trauma it created.  When I went snow skiing and got concussion, the sooner we revisited the slope where the accident occurred, the happier I’d be – not that I could remember what happened, anyhow 😉.  There was partial short-term memory loss from the concussion.  Apparently, I was like Dory in Finding Dory (Stanton, 2016).

Even after suffering mild decompression sickness (bends, DCS) SCUBA diving, as soon as we arrived back from the vacation I wanted to go diving, to verify it was a random event – just for my own peace of mind.  Not until recently, have I begun to realise that this approach is not the normal approach; most people need to be forced to go back. 

If there were a safe way for me to re-enact stepping onto slippery surfaces and regain that part of the confidence still on shaky ground, I would probably give it a go. Had I walked on the slippery steps before the incident, I would try them again.  After all my husband walked on them without slipping as have others before me.  Perhaps in six months or a year, when all remnants of swelling and pain have left the formerly broken ankle area, I might give it another try (and it’s a very big MIGHT!).  It would be unnecessary to court the danger unnecessarily.

To me, it’s like the argument used on children spending more time resisting and avoiding doing the dishes, rather than doing them.  Then complaining about going to bed so soon after.  Had the children just gotten in and done the dishes without the resistance, without the argument, the whole chore would have been and gone easier and quicker.  So too with revisits to places of injury and/ or trauma.  Admittedly, my traumas have been mild compared to others experiencing far worse.

Besides, it would be interesting to see if the council had followed through on putting up a warning sign or treated the area with anti-grip measures to reduce the likelihood of others experiencing the same fate or worse. 

Another part of the discussion with Delilah revealed that her husband’s AFL team would be playing my AFL team.  Ooh… looks like we’re set for a feisty night!

Let’s see what the cards have to say!