What Does One More Stripe Do to the Tiger?

One thing that happens often now that I'm injured is that people say, "Oh my god. I'm so sorry for what happened to you. That sucks." All of them have good intentions, obviously, but mostly the first reaction is sympathy mixed with pity.

"Oh, it's fine, thank you." I usually respond. That's how I like to see it. The thing already happened to me. There's nothing in the world I can do to go to the past and change it. The injury is already categorized as severe. Why would I make it worse on top of all of the things that I have to deal with?

It's uncomfortable. It disrupts my life. I'm having to do everything with my left hand (my non-dominant hand). The simplest tasks have turned into something lengthy. I'm itching to get the cast off and use my hand again. But at the same time, as soon as the accident happened, I thought: "No complaining."

I'm not going to complain about anything because I was doing something I love. I cannot change it. Why make the medical bills, the rehab, the pain, the inconvenience even harder to bear? All of that is already tough to deal with by itself. Why make it worse by having a negative attitude?

Zero complaining is the best way. Embrace what happened and learn from it.

It's another experience I can claim as mine. Now when someone asks what it's like to have a broken bone with pins in your flesh, I won't have to guess. I'll know. That knowledge becomes something I can draw from, share with my future son or anyone who needs it.

In Mexico, we have a saying: ¿Qué le hace una raya más al tigre? Which translates to "What does one more stripe do to the tiger?" Basically, it means one more experience only adds to your strength when you've already grown from so many others.