Walking Shouldn't Be Taken for Granted

7:50 AM. My bus is at the stop. I see people getting on and at the back of my head I have hope that I'll make it in time. It was grey and gloomy outside and the day seemed crappy already.

Suddenly, I fell. I fell really hard. "S***" I exclaimed whilst picking myself up. A heavy bag on my back wasn't helping. I was limping too, but I still ran for the bus. I got on and at this point I had a tear running down my face because of the pain. I had twisted my ankle really badly. My foot rotated more than 90 degrees anticlockwise during my fall. But it wasn't just a twisted ankle.

Once I arrived at my stop, I got off the bus and limped all the way down the road. Its about 500 metres from school and the pain was so incredibly bad that I had to stop every 30 seconds and breathe, putting more weight on my right leg than my left.

I felt a node pressing against the side of my shoe. I thought it was just my swollen foot but it turned out to be much, much worse.

I got first aid at a gym next to my school. It was the only place I could reach. I was hurting so much that I felt like passing out at times.

The first aider had a look at my foot and said "Oh it's just swollen. I'll give you some ice" and filled out some paperwork.

I left after about 30 minutes of sitting there with the now room temperature sack of water. I can't say enough about how extreme the pain was. It was comparable to stepping over glass shards.

I wanted to get to school, however I knew I wouldn't make it. So I somehow made it back to my bus stop and took the bus back into the city centre, and then my bus back home.

My mum had initially thought that I broke my ankle because it was severely deformed. She called for an ambulance and I was taken to A&E. I had an x-ray done and to my surprise, it turned out the ankle was fine, but the bone on the edge of my foot which connects to the little toe was fractured about midway down.

That would have explained why I was in so much pain. And to think that I walked so far with a broken bone whilst applying so much weight in the process, is quite scary.

I was given a cast and the next day I had to visit the fracture clinic. I was given an Aircast shoe to allow me to walk easier.

It's been 5 days since I fell, and I'm only realising now how precious the ability to walk is and how I always took it for granted. It's difficult for me to walk around the house with crutches, and I had to skip a week of school this week just so my foot would get better. It will take 8 weeks to heal but obviously the less pressure I put on it, the better.

The timing was incredibly bad as well. I have an exam next week so I skipped an entire week of revision.

Anyway, I want you to remember that your ability to walk is a gift. Never take it for granted.