This summer was supposed to be one of hard work, restoration and relaxation.
But God had other plans in mind.
I was slated to take an eight-week sabbatical from my job, a perk offered by my company after a consecutive seven years of employment. This would have been my third.
And none too soon; I had been feeling over-stressed and heading towards burn out for some time, and was looking forward to a well-earned respite from the high pressure environment in which I work. The project I was working on was heading toward a deadline that coincided with the beginning of vacation, and I was determined to hit the mark. This meant working long days and weekends, something I vowed I'd never do. If a company has to compel its employees to do that, then the real solution is to hire more employees or reduce expectations.
I was so looking forward to working in our yard: digging in the dirt, planting new shrubs and trees, landscaping with rocks, creating a water feature, adding awesome lighting, and generally turning our backyard into the tropical escape we had been dreaming about.
Then, on Monday June 21st, all my plans evaporated.
You see, our little Pacific Northwest town was going to be hit with a phenomenal heat wave. So I decided to put a sun shade up in the entryway skylight. This was a 4 x 4 opening about twelve feet off the floor, sloping upwards with the vaulted ceiling. I'd made a shade using shiny cloth strung between tension rods. Normally I'd haul in the 24 foot ladder to install the shade, but being lazy I decided to try using the 9 foot ladder propped up against the closet door.
I had the shade nearly installed, and just needed to press one side in... so I reached out to push using all my weight, and it gave way - leaving me with zero resistance to keep me up. So down I went like a bag of cement, landing with a resounding thud on the entryway floor.
Poor Michael, who had been assisting, ran around the house panicking, thinking his dad must be dead. He called out to his mom, not knowing she was at work.
I yelled for him to call 911, as I knew I had broken something. There was no way I could land that hard without a fracture.
He texted his mom, who arrived minutes after the EMTs. I knew when I saw her face in the entryway window I was in big trouble.
Fast forward to the hospital, the diagnosis was an oblique mid-shaft fracture of the right humerus and fractures of right ribs 6, 7 and 9.
I worked out a medical leave of absence with my boss, got coverage for the project, and will be taking sabbatical next year. We have hired a handyman and landscaping services to take care of our big projects, and are putting off completion to next year. My lovely wife has some time off work to help me recover, and I'm doing my part by staying still and doing nothing.
So, I guess I got that break I wanted, by getting a break I didn't want.
Funny how things work.
And I am *so very* banned from ever getting on a ladder again.
