I've had two very serious injuries. One of them happened when I was a child and I don't even remember it. The other happened in high school or just after and I remember it clearly. The first one still causes me trouble today, while the second does not. When I was in pre-k or kindergarten I fell off the monkey bars. My mother was told that I had bruised the bone on my ankle by the emergency room doctor. They didn't take an x-ray. They didn't put it in a cast. They just said to keep it elevated for a few weeks and alternate hot and cold packs. It took me much longer to heal than it should have.
My freshman year in high school I joined the marching band. A little while into the school year I started to have a lot of pain in my ankle. When I went to see a podiatrist I found out that I had not bruised the bone after all, but actually broke it. Since it wasn't in a cast or anything it didn't heal properly and will probably always cause me some problems. I ended up getting tendinitis while in the marching band, and cannot run long distances without the risk of getting it again. I had to wear special insoles for a while but don't anymore. As long as I don't take up any sports that require the use of my feet I should be fine.
The second injury is why I put the picture of the chicken soup in this blog post. One summer day either right before my senior year or right after I made some chicken soup and then sat down at the table to eat it. I've always like my soup hot so it was boiling when I took it off the stove. Apparently when I put it down on the table it was slightly off the edge so the whole thing spilled on my thigh.
Thankfully my older sister was home taking a shower at the time. She heard me scream, ran out of the bathroom, and dragged me into the shower. After cooling down the burn a little bit she put toothpaste on the burn, then a washcloth, then an ice pack. I don't remember if she called Mom or if she was already on her way home, but mom came home shortly after that and took me to the emergency room. The doctor said that I was really lucky Felicia responded the way I did, as otherwise I could have needed a skin graft. I had a really bad, ugly scar on the majority of my thigh for many years but it's almost gone now. I can only see it if I look for it and other people probably can't tell at all.
Even though the memory of the burn is still vivid in my mind I still like my soup boiling hot. The difference is now I always make sure it's on the table properly.
