Broken Wing Attracts Kindness – Cherrylkd
Last August’s bank holiday, my life took a sudden, unexpected, albeit temporary, turn for the worse. I was out with my dog Doodles for a short stroll in the sunshine when inexplicably and unexpectedly, I fell. I didn’t even have time to try to save myself. The result was a spiral fracture in my finger and three fractures in my arm. Safe to say, my wing was well and truly clipped and broken. The only positive element was that my non-dominant hand and arm had borne the brunt of the fall.
You hear some terrible stories of neglect and shoddy treatment surrounding the NHS, but this was not my experience that day. I was treated with the utmost care and compassion the whole time I was in A+E. There was a queue; anything free will attract a crowd, but that’s hardly the staff’s fault. They were run off their feet and doing an excellent job of spreading calm and reassurance. They say nurses are angels, and the team I met that day, despite working on a national holiday, indeed fell into that category.
I announced my misfortune on my social media platforms, Twitter and Facebook. As a rule, the people I converse with on FB fall into the group I would classify as personal friends and family. I use Twitter more for professional purposes, training and development, and to discuss educational matters. There is some overlap, but that’s how it is generally. Therefore, I was amazed to learn that the people I converse with regularly on Twitter seemed to care a lot more. They were exceedingly kind. They didn’t just ask after my welfare once; they asked daily for quite some time. There were offers of help with everyday tasks and many supportive messages. I received flowers and cards from some as they took the trouble to ask friends for my address. Their kindness blew me away because I hadn’t met many of these people for the most part.
I could not complete the simplest tasks for myself for several weeks, and during that time, I experienced genuine kindness, the likes of which I hadn’t experienced before. My regular hairdresser contacted me and offered to wash and blow dry my hair. I was very touched by this simple act because she is running a business and losing money while doing my hair for free. Neighbours offered to walk the dog and pop to the shops for me. People asked me when it had been a week since I was seen. I didn’t know them, but they noticed me pottering around with Doodles most days. Café and restaurant staff asked if I would like my food cut up so that it didn’t go cold as I attempted to do it with one hand.
These are just a few examples of how kind strangers can be. Often, we pass the same people in the street and neglect to even pass the time of day with them as we lead such hurried lives. Six months after my fall, I still have physiotherapy, but I have learnt that kindness, particularly kindness from strangers, is something to cherish.
In the words of Jennifer Dukes Lee, “In a world where you can be anything, be kind.”
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