Broken bones fail to shatter imagination

It wasn’t a very heroic way to break one’s leg.Pen and wash drawing of a sea monster by Pierre Dénys de Montfort in 1801

If I’d had a choice, I would have preferred to go down while knifing a Kraken sea monster in the raging Pacific, or after saving a toddler from a fire-engulfed home, the burning floorboards giving way beneath my feet. Instead, I’d finished a lovely dinner with a vibrant librarian and she accidentally fell against me in the rainy dark. I crashed to the bitumen, breaking and displacing my tibia plateau (top of the shin bone) and later fracturing my fibula (calf bone).

It set off a series of events: an ambulance rushing me through flood waters and a 15-hour wait in emergency for urgent knee surgery, only for the hospital registrars to discover they didn’t have the necessary parts. I had to wait two more days for the procedure which required sixteen titanium screws and a plate to reattach and secure my wayward tibia. Yes, you should see the snapshots.

Certainly, it wasn’t a run-of-the-mill week for this fantasy author whose daily highlights normally consist of grinding coffee beans and writing kick-arse YA scenes.

A close-up of Calliope from Simon Vouet's The Muses Urania and CalliopeNow back home, a little muddled, a little drugged, and pain radiating from a braced leg that’s banned from action for six weeks, I ponder upon this spanner in the works and who authored its arrival. Maybe it was Calliope, muse of heroic stories, trying to impart a message of significance or inspiration. Or maybe it was Eris, the goddess of chaos, just yanking my chain.

Problem is… I’ve always been a great believer in destiny, especially that we can be our own creators when we adopt a little imagination and a lot of hard work, but this spanner had me checking the fine print.

Less than two months ago, my life flashed before my eyes when a Landcruiser and trailer overlooked a road sign and collided with our ute as we were travelling 100kmh along the highway. Our vehicle was totalled, but bro-in-law and I escaped the wreckage, but for slipped discs. Now he swears to his wife (my beloved sister) that it’s safer driving a car than dining out (he’s off the hook this Valentine’s Day).

But was the universe speaking to me? Were these signs that I should write more or write less? Work harder or spend more time with loved ones? Focus less on the trivial or more on the positive?

If my heroine Shahkara broke her leg, she’d allow time for healing, but then returCheryse Durrant with her two youngest fans, after she was discharged from hospital. Yes, that is a 1kg box of chocolates!n to complete her quest. She’d be back on the battlefield as soon as she could wield a sword.

Maybe I, too, need to pay less attention to “signs” and focus on what’s important: Forging ahead with my goals, even if I require a keyboard and crutches instead of Shahkara’s compass and sword.

Now I think about it, I was darn lucky I didn’t break my leg battling that monster – there’s nothing heroic about drifting along the seabed as Kraken poop.

Fortunately, broken bones can mend nearly as quickly as the human spirit. That’s because it’s goals, like our stories, that keep us feeling alive.

10 thoughts on “Broken bones fail to shatter imagination

  • February 13, 2012 at 10:41 am
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    Cheryse, I feel horrible about your accident, but you seem in such good spirits….good for you!!! Does it have anything to do with that awesome box of chocolates you are holding? LOL

    What a story. Funny how something that sounds so minor as someone falling against you can cause such damage. Years ago, I had a similar story that most people don’t believe. I was actually sitting with one leg under me, my foot fell asleep, the phone rang, I jumped up to grab it, heard my foot snap, crackle and pop, and it swelled up to three times its size while it turned black. But the important thing was, I answered that call! lol

    Feel better soon!!!

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    • February 13, 2012 at 11:20 am
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      We’re kindred spirits with the snap, crackle, pop (not that I heard crunch noises at the time). I’m pleased you don’t have any broken bones right now, C, since your book is coming out next month. Must be hectic for you. Best of luck with those final days!

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  • February 13, 2012 at 6:17 pm
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    Oh, Cheryse! That sounds so awful! I had a similar unlucky episode in 2009 when I broke my ankle walking across a lawn. You just look at all the bandages and painkillers and think, “Really?”

    Luckily I didn’t have a book to launch, so I spent two weeks playing Rune Factory 2 instead. :3 Then I decided to get up and go back to work early – don’t do it! Recover for as long as you can. Your knee will thank you later.

    Keep us updated!

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    • February 14, 2012 at 6:45 am
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      I tried cold turkey without painkillers last night, but I’m bleary-eyed this morning. At least my fingers are unbroken and I can write from home without moving, but even little tasks take eons to accomplish! Thanks for sharing, L. Nice to hear from you and how you dealt with your broken ankle. x

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  • February 13, 2012 at 6:50 pm
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    obviously a publicity stunt 🙂
    hope you mend fine and real soon

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    • February 14, 2012 at 6:49 am
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      You know us media types – always fast to create a story! I’m sure your get well thoughts and the cane dust’ll help me heal sooner. Cher 🙂

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  • March 8, 2012 at 9:36 am
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    Hope you are all healed up now. God is a person one, but it does not necessarily follow that everything that happens to us has meaning or purpose, sometimes things just happen. Keep a stiff upper lip and keep typing.

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    • March 8, 2012 at 7:15 pm
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      Thanks, Matt. I always appreciate your support and your wise advice. During the past few weeks, I was reminded of Pollyanna’s “Glad Game” which helped her find the positive in receiving a gift of crutches instead of a doll. She decided she had lots to be grateful for because she never needed to use those sticks of wood. Well, I’m healing fast and my sticks of wood are about to outlast their usefulness. You’re right. Not everything that happens to us holds meaning or purpose, but it can be enlightening when we find meaning in something, even if it didn’t start out that way.

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  • April 11, 2012 at 10:17 pm
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    omg something very similiar happened to a friend of mine. Someone bumped into them in the supermarket, she lost her balance, tripped and fractured her wrist … ouch! Hope your feeling better now 🙂

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    • April 12, 2012 at 7:09 pm
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      Thanks DS Taylor. At least it’s not a new trend I’m setting. LOL I hope you’ve had a creative week. ONE & ALL, check out DS Taylor’s wicked post at http://www.dstaylor.me/?p=160 His zinger captures the heart of all true writers: To write what we’re passionate about (the stories inside us), not what we think others want to read.

      Reply

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