The Day I Broke My Pelvis, 1997, by Roya Weiss-Weinberg

From MemoryArchive

Who: Roya Weiss-Weinberg
What: Broken Bones
When: 4th Grade, Winter
Where: Wisconsin

When you break your arm, you get a cast; when you break your pelvis bone, you don't. Unfortunately, I was stuck with the latter. It was winter when it happend, and it was snowing heavily so it was perfect for sledding. Also, the hill by our house was free of rocks and trees and shrubs, which made it easier to sled. The only bad part was that at the bottom of the hill, there was a barn. A barn with rocks as the base, so if you were to slide into it you might break your head clean open. My dad had put hay bales up against the side of the barn so that wouldn't happen, but my brother and sister and I were still afraid of it.

This day just wasn't any day, it was a combination of two great events. One: the first day of winter break during my fourth grade year at shcool, and two: my green belt graduation at the karate school I attended. I had about two hours to spare before I had to leave to go receive my green belt, so I figured I would spend the time sledding. I suited up with layers and layers of clothes, and on top of that, snow pants and boots and coats and three pairs of gloves.

My purple sled glided nicely down the hill the first time, and I didn't slam into the barn which was always a plus. After awhile of sledding, my dad came out to play with me. Since I had his permission, I tried a newfound thing called "sled-boarding", which I thought was revolutionary. You simply stood on the sled rather than sitting on it as it went down the hill. The first time I did it, I fell off before I reached the end of the hill. The second time I attempted it, I slipped in the first stretch. And as they say, third time was the charm. I made it to the bottom, but I kept on going. I was headed straight for the barn, and since I value my skull and would like to keep it one piece, I bailed. Something popped. I started screaming bloody murder and my dad rushed me into the house.

He lay me down on the couch and put an ice pack on my leg, and a glass of juice in my hand. He let me watch WWF Wrestling while he and my mom called the emergency room to see when I could come in for an x-ray. In the course of the next three days, I went to four different doctors and had six different x-rays. One of the doctors said nothing was wrong. The next said I broke my pelvis bone. The next said I had broken it in three places. Since it hurt like hell, I believed the last doctor.

I spent the holidays and new years on crutches, and returned to school with crutches. I still have those crutches, standing up in the back of my closet. Whenever I see them I remind myself I will never attempt sled-boarding again, no matter how cool it sounds. And to this day I never have.