When Life Calls for a Full Stop

What do you do when life throws a full stop at you? You say, "OK. I'm listening now.” You might ask how I know this? Well, apparently, I wasn’t listening to what was being said so life said, “Hold on….” In March 2023, I was working at my bench when my son came in and asked if I wanted to take the dogs into the woods for a short hike. Now, when your grown kid asks to spend time with you, that’s an easy yes. Although, instead of being back home in a couple of hours, I finally got home 16 days later.

We went to a very popular local trail. As we started out on the hike, we decided to take the log bridge over the creek. I looked at the bridge (aka log) and figured I might end up in the stream but figured I’d give it a try. I was so focused on crossing, however, that I completely missed the fact there was a step to get up on the log. That was unfortunate, since when I didn’t make it up onto the log I fell down and broke both my legs. The rock pile I stepped into didn’t play nicely – I ended up with six fractures in my ankle and a tibial plateau fracture in my other leg. It was one of those slow-motion events where you know exactly what the outcome is going to be and there’s nothing you can do.

So, I sat there (in the creek, of course) trying to get my bearings while my son called his dad and brother to come help rescue me. I knew the ankle was broken, but I had no idea I had damaged the other leg. I just thought it hurt and if I gave it a few minutes I’d be able to get up and hop out. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way, but we did have some incredible groups of hikers stop to help, and they worked to get me back over the rock garden and to the car. Off to the hospital we went, and after having surgery the following day to install two plates in my ankle I stayed for eight days. It turns out that many things are pretty difficult when you can’t use your legs. Go figure. It took an additional eight more days in rehab until I could move around well enough and figure out how in the world I was going to live for the next four months in a house that is completely NOT wheelchair accessible.

Funny thing, and I kid you not… One of my sons and I had a long conversation the previous day about how inaccessible our house is and how we would really be in trouble if one of us got injured. Karma. But all was well once we stored the piano and rented a hospital bed, and my engineering son and husband actually built me an elevator to the central level of the house so I could go up and eat dinner with them. But I’ll tell you, after four months, a shower felt absolutely sublime!

I spent four months in bed, just waiting for my legs to heal enough to be able to start trying to walk again. Throughout the entire time, however, I can honestly say that I felt so much gratitude. I’m so lucky that it was just my legs, as it could have been so much worse. My family and friends took wonderful care of me, and I had a lot of time to learn to just be and relax. I wish I could say that I was productive during that time, but my brain seemed to be commiserating with my legs and I barely remember a lot of it. Probably a good thing.

It became clear to me over the past year that I really needed to slow down and give myself time to breathe. I also realized that I’m done doing shows. While I love the travel and the opportunities to meet other artists as well as my customers, they are such a total gamble (both weather-wise and financially), incredibly physically taxing, and often not profitable enough to warrant the immense effort, unless you are in a position to do shows back to back to back. Since that was my primary sales outlet, I’ve had to sit back and rethink my approach.

I have hardly been in the studio since my accident. I’m still having a lot of pain in the ankle, and am waiting for another surgery to possibly remove one of the plates. Hopefully that helps alleviate some of the discomfort, and helps return my motivation. I also have several rotator cuff tears from all of my years of chasing and repoussé, so I’ve had to set that aside, at least for now. I’ve been asking a lot of, “Where do I go now?”

Recently, however, I am finally feeling ready to come back and have been making a concerted effort to practice hand engraving daily. It always motivates me to learn something new. I’ve been learning a lot about mandalas and drawing geometric patterns and am very excited about combining these into some awesome pieces! I’m also planning to put much of that show energy into keeping my Instagram and blog/website more up to date.

Look for some exciting things to be happening in 2024! It’s going to be a great year!