Angels in Disguise

I’m nursing a damaged leg. Splintered tibia, fibula, fractured ankle and ligament damage, all the result of a misstep. All it took was one moment of taking my eyes off the road I was walking on. I stepped into a pothole and in the next instant was crumpled in the middle of the street in agonizing pain.

I knew it was broken, though not the extent of the damage. The next moment an angel appeared at my side in the form of a letter carrier who I had just waved to and saw it happen. She came over and pulled out her phone calling for an ambulance. Then she sat down beside me and held my hand. She spoke comforting words and stayed with me while the paramedics splinted my leg. Then she disappeared as quickly as she had appeared.

My leg is pretty much toast. During an hour and a half long surgery, they inserted a rod into my tibia, fixed the fibula, and put screws in my ankle to repair the break and torn ligaments. Now I am left with a high level of pain and three months of hopping with a walker. I cannot let my leg touch the floor.

While I was in the hospital the angel came by our house to see how I was. She never works our street, was just filling in that day. I may never see her again, but I wanted to thank her for her act of kindness. I stayed calmer with her and my husband’s calmness. The burden of pain is easier when shared.

I’m going to be housebound for three months. I had just recovered from a prior broken fibula in my other leg. But that stress fracture was a piece of cake compared to this. I wish this on no one. A leg full of metal and stitches. Thank goodness for pain medications. And thank God for unexpected angels who appear in our times of need. I can only hope I will be just as much an angel when I see a person in pain.