Cast Impressions

I was always a little jealous of people who broke something and got to wear a cast.  How awesome, I'd think, to have all of that attention - from parents, from doctors, from other students.  Cool decorations really made the cast eye-catching.  I was envious that those with casts could accessorize in a way that wasn't available to me.  I managed to move out of childhood without a broken bone, much to my dismay and my parents' relief.  However, just two weeks ago I was initiated into the broken bone club - once I got over the pain and shock, I was gleeful:  A cast, at last!

Truly it was an idyllic morning.  I was walking through the William and Mary Campus - a light dusting of snow covered the cobblestones - and the sun glistened in the early morning sky.  I felt young, like the college co-ed that I had been over twenty years ago.  Contemplating the great minds that have called Williamsburg and the W and M campus home, I know I was daydreaming about intellectual greats and infinite possibilities.  Moving with vigor, I started across a crosswalk, only to pull up short when I realized a tow truck was coming by.  The abrupt change in motion, caused by the slippery cobblestones caused my feet to slip out in front and my body to slam down on my left arm.  Sensitive to the passing truck, and mortified, I leaped up (insisting to the driver that I was ok) and kept walking toward the building where I was meeting a friend.  Once there, the consensus was injured, and a trip to the ER was in order.

Later, in the Emergency Room, my arm was splinted and a fracture was confirmed.  It was touch and go there for a while, the doctor couldn't see anything broken.  But the radiologist confirmed a break - and the Dr. determined a cast would be necessary, once the swelling went down.  How exciting!  A cast, at last.  I selected a lovely royal blue (school colors, of course) and picked up a gold pen for students to write on it.  Finally I had a cast!

Tomorrow's episode:  The downside!