Inside, out...

If you saw me right now, and over the past few weeks, you could clearly see that something about me was "damaged". Even if you didn't know exactly what had happened, you could clearly see that my right wrist and hand wore a brace, gauze wrap, ace bandage, industrial strength band-aid or some combination of those things at any time. And, it would be safe to assume that I was probably feeling some level of pain, discomfort and/or frustration at any given time, in addition to worrying about how to manage with an almost 2yr old depending on me. I wouldn't have had to tell you any of this, you could infer simply by looking at my hand.

But what about when you don't have a visible injury? What if you are hurting on the inside?

I bring this up because in the last couple of days I have realized that being off work for this 4 week period has been more therapeutic to me internally than I feel it is necessary externally. Yes, in part this is because I like to test and push my limits and have probably done more than I should with my hand while it heals (as evidenced by the pain and inflammation I have by the end of each day). However, while I have felt physical pain in my arm for longer than I can remember now, I spent much of the summer in an emotional battle at work that is still ongoing. And, while some people were very well aware of what was happening, most were not.

So, while the surgeon has lifted the pressure off of my wrist, allowing me to feel my arm without constant numbness and tingling again, the time allotted to heal has done wonders for my spirit and my mental state as well. Although, now that I have my return to work date I can feel the anxiety creeping up again. But, one thing at a time! I don't want to spend the next 2.5 weeks worrying when I can spend it healing inside, out.