When nature maneuvers to slow you down

Last week-end I de-cided to go to Tagaytay. I hadn’t been there in years. My son, Roberto, who is a certified foodie, wanted to try out some restaurants there. So I reserved the Lopez Villa and upon feeling the fresh air realized that I should have allocated much more time to this enterprise.

I brought four mountain bikes as I wanted to try out the biking trail, and so Sunday I excitedly hopped on the bike.

It was wonderful! I love going downhill; it’s an adrenalin rush. The whoosh of the wind — and the fact that I don’t have to do anything and yet there is all this speed! When we hit the dirt trail, my gardener took my bike so that we could cross the ravine, and I rushed down the hill… and then it happened.

I was using my newly bought MBT sneakers, which are supposed to be excellent for the back. They really are great except that I sadly realized too late that they are probably not the best for a downhill run — or then again, maybe whatever sneakers I wore would not have been able to withstand or hold the ankle of an overexcited 56 year old.

So, my ankle cracked. Well, there was a noise — and I fell to the ground in pain. I looked at my ankle and there was a dip just near where the bone was; but since the pain was manageable I felt, maybe this is just a sprain. So I called up Dr. Bien Castro, who does the Dorn Method of spine alignment. I thought maybe he would be able to align whatever had gotten out of place.

We iced the part that hurt, raised it, and bound it... and I felt confident I would be well by the next day. I used the Bees machine which releases positive ions. I even decided to attend the family lunch to see my sister, Marisa, since she would be going out of the country for five weeks.

By the next day the swelling had noticeably diminished.

I was on my way to work soon after. I had a packed schedule that week: we were moving aggressively towards breaking a Guinness World Record for a Pasig River Marathon on 10.10. 10 (Oct. 10, 2010) plus cleaning the Estero de San Miguel behind Malacañang in the belief that this would help the presidency.

I got a text from Dr. Bien who said to play it safe and have my ankle x-rayed. So I decided to pass by the Emergency Ward of St. Luke’s in Quezon City. (St. Luke’s is so well run, by the way! The service, the nurses are just excellent.) I was pleasantly surprised to be greeted by the head of the Emergency Ward who had a look on his face, like “Hey... I know you, don’t you know me?” He was Dr. Arnold Tolosa and was one of the first writers of Sineskwela, the Foundation’s first foray into educational TV. Amazing — this was back in 1994!

So needless to say I was very well taken care of. I am sure they would have taken good care anyway, but there is a certain warmth that comes when the one in charge knows you from way back.

An x-ray — that’s all I wanted, just to make sure I was okay. I was quite taken aback when I found out that I had a fracture… and even more dismayed when I was told I had to be admitted! My doctor, Dr. Mario Ver, even told me that I would have to remain immobile for a week! What? But I have all these meetings, I protested. I need to get the estero clean... I was giving a talk to the Muslim community behind Malacañang.... I wanted to meet the navy and the army to get their support for the marathon... how can I possibly stay home? I wasn’t even in pain — well, except when I walked and touched my bone.

So I transferred my meetings to the hospital and got a suite to accommodate these sessions while lying on my back.

I ended up really busy. Last night I had my very dear friend Suky come by — and it was such a treat. She lay with me on my hospital bed — and we watched Alexander the Great, stopping the DVD intermittently to give reflections on his leadership and the effect on world culture had he succeeded in his vision. I hadn’t had this much free time in ages, to just relax and not work, and be with a friend.

And all this time it seems there was a typhoon raging in Metro Manila and I hadn’t the faintest idea what was going on. I was so isolated from the tempest outside.

I reflected on it all — and I realized that just before “the fall” I was really moving at great momentum, to the point of maybe even being a bit unbalanced. Sigh... admittedly, I was a bit hyper. So actually the accident has helped to center me, to help me get my bearings again. I am still busy, because, at the end of the day. that’s the choice in life one makes.

After two days and two nights of bed rest, I was discharged this morning. It’s great to be home. I have a hard time meditating in hospitals. My household has been very caring and while the people at St. Luke’s have been excellent, I will take the energy of a home-cooked meal any time over hospital food.

In the bigger scheme of things, there are higher energy levels that orchestrate activities down here. Nature does have a way of maneuvering events in our lives. Hmm… aside from centering me, maybe with the cast on, plus the crutches, I might be able to generate more sympathy to support our Foundation projects…