The weather this week has been absolutely beautiful! Autumn gently moved in and feels to me like Friday night football games, time spent picking apples, carving pumpkins, jumping in the hay, drinking pumpkin lattes, crunching leaves and fall photo sessions, of course! This is one of my most favorite times of year! I feel like all my senses celebrate when fall comes around.
Normally my nights are busy exploring, walking and laughing with clients who become friends. I come home to crisp, cooler evenings with my own family and sip on hot cider.
I am not doing any of those things right now. It is weird. It has been my thing for at least the last 10 years I think. And, October is possibly the busiest month of the year for photographers.
This year has been a weird one health-wise for me. I know the last few years have been weird, health-wise or in general, for the whole world. I certainly don’t claim a monopoly on that. I have friends who experienced crushing loss or disability. I grieve for you.
I rolled into “Happy New Year 2021” fresh off of Covid and didn’t really feel back to normal until April-ish. As we marched towards the end of the school year and Kat graduating, May brought with it some findings and biopsies that thankfully were benign. Additionally, about this time I felt God leading me away from teaching tech and was both hesitant and excited to see what He was calling me to next.
May 29 I injured my back lifting a dorm refrigerator in Nashville, TN. That injury knocked me out of most anything fun or productive for the summer. I plowed through photography as long as I could stand – even though my left leg felt like a thousand cutting knives and my foot was numb. Nothing seemed to be helping and no one I was seeing seemed to think it was urgent despite my pleas for help. We were limited in resources in some ways and it was crazy and eye-opening to me that in the America I have become accustomed to there were so many amazing doctors (even less than a mile from my home) that I was unable to access for various reasons (no fault of their own!).
Anyway, eventually I was sent to the ER with some dangerous symptoms and it was determined that I would be admitted and have surgery the next morning. Surgery is new to me…and all the things that go along with that! Props to those of you who are used to bed pans and starving yourself and feeling extremely sick and helpless. I have a new appreciation for that type of nursing. Unfortunately, there were some complications – likely brought on by the time spent not having surgery (Thank you for that Medishare and COPC Joint and Spine). My back seems to be healing well now. My leg will take a little longer. The electrical shocks are not too crazy – the numbness and weakness may have improved a little bit – I am not completely sure. I know those can take up to a year to heal and sometimes become permanent after that. I am thankful to start PT next week and work towards strengthen my body again.
For those of you who have gone through situations that seem unjust or unfair, I can’t imagine how you have done it. I am struggling with some feelings based on circumstances surrounding several factors that prevented me from receiving the best care with my injury/coverage/treatment and it is a mental struggle that feels frustrating, helpless and alone.
I am sorry for the downer tone of this. One day I hope that I can look back on this hiccup and frustrating time in my life and say it was a time of unexpected blessings.
As far as photography this fall, I won’t be able to take any family photos for the remainder of 2021. I am pretty active when I shoot and I won’t be able to run and jump, crouch and bend and be my crazy self. I do hope to be able shoot a few more senior sessions starting the last week of October and into November. I am sorry for those of you I cannot serve that I normally would. I will miss seeing you! I have some awesome other photographers I can recommend. Many are getting filled but contact me if you would like recommendations. Thanks friends. If something changes, I will let you know!!!
