On June 27th I managed to fall twelve feet off a ladder. I landed in relative safety only to have the ladder come crashing down on my face. I had to pull myself out from under the ladder and find my coworkers for assistance. They took me to the nearest emergency room where I received a tetanus shot, two rounds of X-rays, and eight stitches. Turns out I had a broken nose.
I still consider myself lucky. I had managed to break the bone, not the cartilage, so nothing needed to be reset. I just had to wait for the bone to heal. As I laid there getting stitched I realized that this was the first time in my life I had broken a bone. I also remembered that my grandfather had broken his nose when he was a young man, however, he had broken the cartilage. He nose was never the same after that but it did give him a slightly more rugged appearance that was very reminiscent of Clint Eastwood. That little thought brought me a lot of comfort as I stared up at the hospital ceiling.
I also remembered my grandfather saying things like "Don't use up all your tears now. You've got to save some for later."
After the doctor was done giving me my stitches Mariko asked if I wanted her to take a photo. I said yes.
 |
| Thursday , June 27 at the Dr. Phillips Hospital - Photo by Mariko. |
I know most people would never dream of having their photo taken right after they get stitches, but being the kind of photographer that I am I thought it would be a great opportunity. I was glad she was there to take pictures.
Even though I had never broken a bone before I still have many cuts and scrapes on my body. I never bought into the idea that the only way for me to be pretty is to have perfectly smooth skin. Being an artist has made given me the knowledge that it is more important to create. My hands will have many cuts and my legs will have many bruises. The scars are a reminder of what you have survived and overcome. I never wanted to hide my face because I was never ashamed of what happened. On the contrary - I am very proud of my body's ability to heal and what I have been able to do.
 |
| Thursday, June 27th - Photo by Mariko. |
I decided to continue with the photographs until my stitches were removed.
 |
| Friday, June 28th |
Day one: I sat by the computer with my "breakfast" admiring how bad the bruise had gotten. I'm wondering if my red lipstick is going to clash with these raccoon eyes.
 |
| Saturday, June 29th |
My mother and sister came to visit over the weekend to make sure I was ok. I was a little surprised to see the bruising had reached both sides of my face.
 |
| Saturday, June 29th |
That very same night I performed in the show at DRIP. Most people expected me to take the day off. I certainly would have had a good reason, but I am much tougher than that. I love the defiance in my eyes and the satisfaction I achieved from doing my job.
 |
| Sunday, June 30th |
Going to the Lake Eola Farmers Market with my mother and sister. This was the first attempt I made at looking decent since I broke my nose.
 |
| Monday, July 1st |
The puffiness in my face was finally starting to subside, however, I still wanted a close up shot of all the extra color around my eye.
 |
| Monday, July 1st |
I took this photo after one of my shifts at Starbucks. Most customers would stare at my face but were too afraid to ask about it. I am sure most people assumed it was the result of domestic violence. I was never ashamed of my face or tried to cover it up in any way. Frankly, I preferred to make jokes about it. I often replied to customers stares with "I was in a cage fight."
 |
| Tuesday, July 2nd |
 |
| Wednesday, July 3rd |
 |
| Thursday, July 4th |
Red lips, white skin, and blue stitches... Happy 4th of July!
 |
| Friday, July 5th |
And finally - the stitches are out! I can scratch my nose in peace.
No comments:
Post a Comment