Broken Neck Follow Up #8: One Year Later

I am surprised at the emotions I'm feeling as I write this. I have to ask two questions: How can it be one year already? and How can it be only one year?

When we think of what could have been because of the severity of the fracture (and the three days of misdiagnosis), it is almost unbearable. What I do think about is what I've learned (a condensed list):

My husband is incredible. He is the most amazing caregiver, chef, chauffeur and all around fabulous mate. He went beyond what could be expected of anyone. I don't know if I would have been able to endure all that he did. I knew I picked well, but these last twelve months have solidified his place in The Husband Hall of Fame. I am forever grateful to/for him.
They say that friends are the family you make along the way. I am so fortunate our friends were there during this healing journey. Backyard picnics giving Steve a cooking reprieve, sleepovers to babysit me when Steve had to care for his mom, grocery store runs, book deliveries, long visits from out of towners, snail mail (my friends single handedly kept the USPS in business), frequent phone calls making sure I was okay, and even an invaluable physical therapy session. There was such comfort knowing they were on our team.
Our family was fantastic, giving unconditional support and being gentle with my brokenness. Compromising and adapting were their specialties. We even had cousins stepped up who we didn't know knew of my accident (I secured my bone growth stimulating machine only because Steve's cousin was insistent that it worked for her and I needed to follow up my request). Brad Henry said it best, “Families are the compass that guides us. They are the inspiration to reach great heights, and our comfort when we occasionally falter.”
I now know that simple pleasures are the best pleasures. When you literally can go nowhere for as long as I was homebound, going out for a coffee or a drive in the countryside caused euphoria. Even now, those same simple delights are glee evoking.
I recognized that even when I was at my lowest (and there were some pretty low times) my list of things to be grateful for was enormous. I also had to realize that I am flawed and that my actions affect not only me, but those who mean so much to me and for that I am forever sorry.

And while I will most likely never be 100% old me, new me is doing pretty darn great. While we won't find out about my healing progress until after the New Year (when I have another CT scan), I am hopeful. I have survived. I am one lucky gal.

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