I skinned my right arm over the weekend, right below the elbow. I was rollerblading through a parking lot along the beach here in Newport, and a big truck decided to pull into a parking space I was passing. Diving for the asphalt was the fastest way to avoid getting hit by a very large bumper.
Fortunately, my knee pads and wrist guards took most of the impact. But I grazed my arm. Now scabbed over, it just sits there taking its time to heal.
I can remember being a kid and hurting myself all the time. I was forever falling and skinning my knees or stubbing my big toe, tearing the top skin right off of it. But I also remember everything healing super fast. You know, like the cheerleader in Heroes. It seemed like within seconds, the scabs were gone and my skin all fresh and new again.
Maybe I just remember things differently. But it sure does seem to take a lot longer for the nicks and scrapes I still pick up to heal. But then again, that’s part of getting older, I know. It takes longer to heal these days.
My doctor underscored this for me recently. I hurt my left knee a few weeks ago snowboarding. A stupid thing, I stopped short on flat bit and fell over. But ouch! Normally I just ignore such things and never go to a doctor. But before I went on another trip, I decided I should make sure I wasn’t going to screw things up.
The doctor poked at my knee and even did an X-ray and pronounced it fine. I’d sprained a tendon or something, but no lasting damage. I could even go snowboarding if I wanted to on it.
And I did. And for the most part, when I’m moving around, my knee’s fine. It’s really only getting up after sitting for a long period where it hurts. But I went back a month later, just to be safe, because he said if I still was having pain, I should come in.
This time, I saw a different doctor. She asked a few questions and then just said that with this type of injury, it can take a long time to heal. IE — you’re old.
Well, taking longer to heal sucks and sure makes me feel like I’m getting up there in the years. But I suppose there are still lots of pluses to not being a kid. Driving’s pretty fun.
