List of Things I Learned While Temporarily Disabled

• People become polarized into complete assholes or unbelievable angels
• Only the angels know which category they fall under
  
  
• Every single step is torture
• Find the most economic (step-wise) routes available as soon as possible
• When on crutches, long windy wheelchair ramps are equally as terrible as stairs
• Snow is a pain in the ass
• Nowhere near as bad as black ice
• Nowhere near as bad as wet tile
  
  
• People who ride bikes through crowds on campus are my personal heart attack
  
  
• Bathrooms marked 'disabled' have serious design flaws for actual disabled people. For example:
• Paper towels being across the room from the sink 
• Tile floors are very slippery when wet
• Low toilets are difficult if it's a bad knee
• Doors opening into the bathroom is very dangerous if someone is coming in when you're trying to leave
• The 'handicap buttons' that open the door automatically make people assume they can enter while it is opening
  
  
• Always hesitate (with hand on the wall for stability) before turning around a corner, the person coming the other way will not be hesitating or will suddenly be in pain after a short stop
  
  
• It gets very boring thinking about the things you cannot do; focusing on the things you can do is necessary
  
  
• How to prioritize myself and sacrifice in order to focus on physical, mental, and emotional, personal health
  
  
• Days feel like an eternity, weeks go by in the blink of an eye
  
  
• Physical therapy is an absolute bitch, physically and mentally
• The excruciatingly hard work results in tiny, tiny victories that are insanely rewarding
• I jumped yesterday!
  
  
• If I didn't have so many negative drug experiences in my teenage years, I would be an addict today: it's too easy and welcoming to begin and stay while being equally difficult and torturous to stop
  
  
• I was so lucky
• my injury is temporary - I will one day be back to normal
• I have an amazing network of people who love and support me
• the timing worked out really well
• we happened to have savings to afford a surgery
• physical therapy is free because I'm a student
• other stuff
• I have a goal to work towards outside of "being normal again"
• I have proof that I keep my resolve when I am challenged
• I have a new avenue for empathy
  
  
  
  
  If nothing else: I am lucky, I am strong, I am loved.