I’m taking the expression “some people get all the breaks” to a whole different level.
I’m on crutches for the second time this semester, with breaks in my foot for the second time this year. How did I break it, both the first time and now the second? Haha, well, I’m not sure. I have stress fractures that have been hanging around for a while, and they apparently do not like to go away for good.
By now, I’m becoming a pro at maneuvering campus with crutches and my cool little 4-wheeled scooter, and if you ever end up in the same boat as me (I hope you don’t, but in case you do), I have a few tips for survival:
1. Little known/slightly known news: Campus Safety gives rides to the crippled (such as myself). To class, to the library, to the Kletz– wherever you might need to go. Just give them a call and they’re happy to help! And even if you’re not crippled and need a ride, be it a late-night study session or walk to your dorm or cottage, they can help you out then, too, if you’re worried about walking alone. Give them a call!
2. Scope out where the elevators are in your academic buildings PRIOR to going to class. Check out building maps, ask a professor, or search around by yourself or with a friend. Some of them are easily accessible through certain doors, which will make your “crutch time” take much less time when you’re trying to make it to class on time!
3. When you lean your crutches up against a pew in Chapel and they somehow magically crash to the floor, don’t be embarrassed. It happens. It’s awkward. It’s okay.
4. You’re in college, keep having fun. Just do it with moderation. For example, I went to 40 minutes of the Club Durf Halloween dance party, hosted by Durfee Hall, rather than the full four hours. It was a blast upper-body dancin’ the night away (crutches limited my dancing abilities) with my cousin and her roomie, but it was even more perfect to come back to Kollen, rest, and spend time with people here, too!
5. Whenever things get tough, just remember: this is neither the most difficult thing you’ve gone through, nor will it be the most difficult thing you go through. A friend of mine once told me that in regard to a different situation, and it’s always stuck with me as insight that leads me away from the problem and instead toward the greater plans that await.
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
– 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
And although my physical mobility is limited, I feel the cry of my heart, “God, send me.” Send me so that I can see past all of these light and momentary troubles and look to Your glory and the plans that await. Open my eyes, let me see the unseen. Liberate me past the pain. Lead me where my trust is without borders. I’m done with me, and I give it up to You.
Because without Him, I am broken. I’m wasting away. And with Him, wow. I’m renewed day by day.
Got a Bible verse that gives you hope? Have any more questions about how to manage crutches on campus? I’ve got more tips! Tweet at me @hopesophie17, comment below, or send me an email at sophie.guetzko@hope.edu.