
It seems as though my body refuses to accept the fact that it was designed to walk, and as such I demand it to do so in an orderly fashion at least those times when I am under no influences whatsoever; anything above that I consider a remarkable rebellion against the laws of nature, and as such a bonus. However, it has been directing that rebellion toward myself of late, and the latest jest left me limping in rather considerable amounts of pain this last week.
As I was walking down the stairs the other day, having consumed nothing that should impair me in this process whatsoever, my right leg decided to suddenly go on strike. Now I'm not talking about the sort of dysfunction that leads to a mild knock against the banister, or kicking myself in the opposing calf; no, this was a full board meeting, protest, picket line and leaflet distribution resulting in a vote of no action or response whatsoever, and there was no talking them out of it with promises of a really sweet cup of tea. To make matters worse, it decided the best time to carry out such a radical movement was while my right foot was in mid-air, ready to land on the next step as I descended the staircase.
The result of this was that my foot landed hard and uncontrolled on the step, twisted inward so the full weight of my body came to rest suddenly on the exterior of my right ankle. As I heard me foot audibly snap, I used what momentum I had left to get the weight off my now agonizingly painful foot by launching myself down the last step or two and coming to land on my side, just as I learned to do in those Judo classes that I never signed up for or even attended. In short, with the grace of a jelly.
Trying to recover quickly from the fall, so as not to resemble a turtle that has been shot by a harpoon while sunbathing, I tried standing up and walking over to the umbrella stand to fetch a couple of walking sticks. The moment I tried taking that first step I decided to abort mission and instead wait for reinforcements to arrive and hand me the aforementioned aids, which were of great help getting around the rest of the evening and the next morning.
Thankfully, the pain has almost subsided now, so there is little doubt that a fracture did not present itself this time round, and I am up and walking with little difficulty, although I still take a cane with me whenever I'm out in case the prospect of a long walk knocks on my door. And to end this on a high note, at least it wasn't my left foot, or I wouldn't know what leg to limp on anymore.