The Day I Broke My Arm

I was in fourth grade at our little country school and was late returning from recess because I went back for my jumprope. In my haste I didn’t pay attention to a wooden frame that had been set up for some future equipment, and I fell over it. When I stood up I couldn’t raise my arm. Below the elbow it simply wouldn’t move.

Almost everyone else was back in the classrooms by then, except David Herman, who was in the sixth grade. When I saw him I screamed, because I didn’t know what else to do. He ran for the teacher, who took me inside and telephoned my mom.

I remember lying in the back seat of our dark green Plymouth on the way to town, to see our family doctor, Dr. Bigler. I will never forget what he did for me. He refused to do anything, and I have been forever grateful.

Dr. Bigler took a look at me (he must have taken an X-ray, but I don’t remember it) and announced that he was going to send me to a specialist in Fresno. So off to Dr. Argo I went. It would be years before I learned what had been at stake that day. Where the bone was broken usually meant the arm wouldn’t grow below the elbow, even after it was healed, and Dr. Bigler wanted to give me the best chance possible.

Dr. Argo took me into surgery, where he set the bone using X-rays, to line up the growing joint precisely. I was constantly asking him, “What are you gonna do?” because the one thing I did NOT want was a shot!

I was blessed by both doctors. One refused to set the arm, knowing he did not have the expertise, and the other used his expertise to try a new procedure on a very frightened child. I had no idea what the stakes were, but check-ups over the next year or so proved that the arm was, in fact, growing. Dr. Argo would call in other doctors, to show them my arm, and I had no idea why they were so enthused.

What if Dr. Bigler had said, “Oh, let’s just go ahead and set it,” thinking that would be the quickest and easiest route. What if Dr. Argo had been in a hurry and rushed through the surgery. Or what if he had not done surgery at all because he needed to be somewhere else. Neither of those physicians shied away from doing what needed to be done and that makes me wonder.

I wonder how many times I did not emulate those doctors. How many times did I have a bad day, was in a hurry, or felt incapable and completely missed the opportunity to help someone. God forgive me, I wonder how many times I put myself or other things first, and left someone to get through something as best they could, when I might have helped.