Tag: fractured ankle

poetry

My Next Book Launch

carolyncordon

I love book launches, especially when it’s my own book that’s being launched! I’ve never launched this kind of book before, a slim little volume known as a ‘chapbook’ or ‘chap book’.

These books are scaled down versions of poetry collections smaller both in size, and number of poems within the pages. Chap books are excellent for presenting your words to readers at a cost everyone should be able to afford, only $5.00! And they are so small and light, you can easily carry spare copies with you wherever you go, ready for a sale!

If you have a collection of twenty or so poems, all going together nicely why not consider putting them together for the interest of all! You can ask friends along for a coffee, talk about your collection, and then casually reach into your handbag or pocket, and show the book, just like that!

So a chap book doesn’t have to be ‘about’ anything, it can just be random poems, but I think it all holds together better if there is a theme, to be ‘about’ something. So what is my collection about? Well it’s about something painful, and very personal to me. It’s about my right ankle. In particular, it’s about my newly broken right ankle.

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This break happened at the end of September, I fell over and bang, two bones broken in my right ankle, and excruciating pain. Ambulance called, medical things done, hospital to hospital, to hospital, and finally home again. And then foot up, rest, rest, rest, healing happening all of the time.

With all of this rest, the obvious thing for me was to write poems about what was happening, both out of the window near the sofa I was reclining on to rest, foot up to reduce the swelling of my ankle. I wrote about being in hospital, the birds on our front lawn I could see, and a great many other things.

I in fact had over twenty poems, and I had a name for this proposed chap book as well. This book was going to be called “Angles on Ankles”, and it would cover a broad range of subjects related to my broken ankle. I know a publisher who publishes chap books as well as larger books, Ginninderra Press, so I approached them about possibly publishing this book. They were more than happy to have a look at what I’d written.

I sent the poems off, and suddenly, the book was done super quick, like it was meant to be!

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So once a new book comes into the world, the next step after sharing the book with close friends and family is often to launch the book into the greater world, to hold a Book Launch. So I’ve done some sharing with family and friends, and have now begun organising the book launch, at a venue that I know well, and that is happy to have poets there, doing their poetic things.

This venue is the Prince Albert Hotel, in Gawler, a hotel my writing group meets at every week, and one that is the venue for a monthly poetry reading, Gawler Poets at the Pub, held on the last Sunday of the month, every month.

So on the 29th of December, at the Prince Albert hotel, or the P/A as it is known by locals, I will be officially launching “Angles on Ankles”, reading some of the poems from the book, and talking about the whole ‘adventure’ of it all.

Poetry can be written about the most unlikely of subject matter!

poetry

Add Another Book to the List!

carolyncordon

I now have another book to add to my list of books written, this most recent book is the smallest, but by no means the least. This means I now have eight books published! “Angles on Ankles” is a book of poetry, a chapbook, of around twenty poems, all focused on my most recent life challenge.

This challenge was the breaking of my right ankle, on AFL Grand Final day, a painful challenge for sure, but one which gave me plenty of resting times, which I used to write poems about the whole new experience.

There are poems that rhyme, others that don’t, there are Senryu poems, and there longer and more prosey kinds of poems, all about my right leg! And on the front cover, what’s in that photograph? Well it’s a photo of my broken right ankle, encased in a moon boot!

Before this challenge occurred, I’d barely ever even thought about moon boot, now I’m writing poetry about them. I love the way our life experiences can add brand new subjects to write about! I had the chance to try out some of the poems in this new collection, and I was happy with how it all went.

It was my first time for going out to attend a writing related event, rather than a medical appointment, since I broke my ankle, and it felt great! It was a poetry reading, a monthly one I almost always attend. I wasn’t able to go last month, but a dear friend offered to take me there, and bring me home again.

Thanks Colleen, you were awesome! Colleen and I have been friends for about twenty years, and I was thrilled to be attending a poetry reading, with her as the guest poet! Colleen came to my place to take me there, put away my walking frame, and getting it out for me as needed, and I was so glad to have here there.

The poetry she read was great too, her poetry collection is a terrific book of poetry, about the small but so important things in life. Her work is so true, and finely written, it’s like she is sharing her many wisdoms learned through her life. If you like poetry, I strongly recommend you get a copy of her book!

Back to my own collection, I included a page of Senryu in this collection – I tried them out at a poetry reading today, and they were very well accepted. Senryu is a Japanese form of poetry, very similar to Haiku, but is is about people rather that about Nature, as Haiku is.

I found Senryu was just the best poetic form to comment on a few aspects of my broken ankle …

inspiration, poetry, Story Ideas

My Next Book

carolyncordon

My next book is with the Publisher (Ginninderra Press), and it’s out now!  The book, “Angles on Ankles” proves to me, yet again, that writing about the less than lovely things that are in our lives, can give widespread interest to readers, and that has to be a good thing, right? Right!

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This book is a chap book, a small collection of poems I wrote after I recently broke my right ankle. I fell over, breaking two bones in the ankle. An ambulance took me to one hospital for treatment, then I went to another hospital, for more treatment for a day or so, and then I went, by ambulance again to a third hospital, where I had my ankle operated on, and fixed.

While I was in hospital a friend gave me a small notebook (many thanks Laura), and I wrote a couple of poems about my broken ankle experience. Then once I was home, and having to keep zero weight on my right ankle, I spent lots and lots of time sitting around, with my right foot up, and healing.

There are 21 poems in this book (more really, but I’m including the page of Senryu, as just one poem). So even though a writing friend didn’t think there was that much to write about breaking your ankle, I’ve certainly proved him wrong! I forgive him though, and have invited him (John Malone), to launch this book for me!

In this little collection, I mention pain, gratitude, friends, things that happened, or things I saw or was a part of during this time, as well as my thoughts about the whole process. When you have to sit and you’re unable to do much because you’re not supposed to put any weight at all on your broken ankle, it gives you lots of time to think.

And think I certainly did. I was fortunate, that my pain has been minimal, apart from the extreme pain when I fell over and did the actual breaking part of this drama, that was the worst pain I’ve ever felt. Once the ambulance and medical people got involved though, zero pain.

I was given extreme pain relief at the very start of all of this, when my ankle was initially treated, to get the ankle back into its proper position, and then after that at the hospitals, I was given medication so I could be comfortable, and pain free. Once I came home, I had the pain medication I picked up at the last hospital I attended, all good and all pain free now.

Some of these things are in this book, “Angles of Ankles”, and I hope I get many sales, and many hugs too, from people who want to have a copy of “Angles on Ankles”. I think this book would certainly be of interest to other people who have broken their own ankle, or perhaps sustained some other break of a limb. There are also thoughts about being in hospital, and about the resting and rehabilitation process.

This is the link about how to get yourself a copy of this book, if you’d like to. The book is not for sale by the publisher to people out of Australia, but as soon as my own copies of the book arrive, that I’m going to order, I will be able to see copies to people from anywhere, as long as those wanting a copy are prepared to pay for the postage costs, as well as actual book cost.

Because these chap books are so small, they only cost around $5, so that minimal size, and cost, means even with postage overseas, the cost isn’t high. And below, for your interest, is one of the poems from my book, I hope you enjoy it!

And if you have your own stories about injuries, and extended and unexpected times of rest and recovery, Please leave a message, I’d love to commiserate with you!

 

Tibia & Fibula

 

Boredom, 

ding! bang! 

people talking,

I remain here, 

still wriggling 

& wiggling my toes,

and learning a truth 

about time –

Hospital Time 

is not the same

as normal time, 

& plans made

by hospital staff, 

while worthy,

are as brittle 

& breakable

as a bone, 

or two bones 

at once.

poetry

A Chapbook Underway

carolyncordon

If you don’t know what a chapbook is, I’ll tell you – a chapbook is a small volume of poetry, usually somewhere around 15 to 40 pages, and in a size smaller than a common paperback size. They are a handy size to fit in a pocket, and usually sell for $5 or so, or are given away at times.

I’ve been thinking about putting together my first chapbook ever since I became aware of them, but until now, have never had a theme I could decide on, that seemed suitable. Until now. Now, I have a theme, I have a title, and at the moment I have 10 poems I am happy with, and hope to have at least one or two more poems before the end of the day.

I have written about this proposed chapbook on another of my blogs, the most relevant blog for this proposed book. Here is the link for that blog post. I plan to have this small book ready to send off for possible publication by the end of the month.

I know I can have a good book launch, in Gawler, where my writing group meets every week (usually), and where two of the group members (I’m one of them), hold a monthly poetry reading. All of this fun happens at the P/A Hotel on the main road in Gawler, and we have had many happy times with poetry there.

The idea of having a theme for a poetry collection always seems like a good idea to me, as it helps to hold poems together in some way, even if, as in my proposed collection, there are different poetic forms. Some of these poems are rhyming, others not. There is one page of Senryu (a Japanese poetic form, similar to Haiku). Some of the poems are serious, others not so serious.

The theme is very personal to me, as it relates to my most pressing thing for me right at the moment, the theme is my broken right ankle, which happened at the end of September. It happened on a date I will always be able to remember, it was the day of the AFL Grand Final, and it happened after the game was finished.

I suspect I should write a poem about that … Hmm, Yes, definitely, it will be a kind of wryly amusing poem, I suspect … I’m enjoying doing my wryly amusing thing, if feels right for me, and this kind of thing goes down well when reading poems to others, a bit funny, but not too much, something to connect with people without overwhelming them.

So who would have thought a broken ankle could lead to a new poetry book? Actually it isn’t that surprising. I’m a poet, I’m having to spend lots of time just sitting around at home as I heal, and my ankle and immobility are taking up a lot of my attention.

They say ‘write what you know’ and I sure know “Broken ankle”, now! I’d appreciate any thoughts about this project! It won’t be a morbid little book, I have a bit about having a Stoic attitude in there, and I’m aiming at wry rather than wretched …

 

therapeutic writing

Another Journey – Fractured Ankle

carolyncordon

So, what’s a writer to do, when they’ve fallen over and fractured their ankle? Well they should write about it, of course!

In relation to that then, think back 28 September, Grand Final Day, to us Aussies, in the late afternoon, when my husband was inside, listening to the loud celebrations on the television. I’d gone outside to close the gate, as we usually do in the afternoon.

I lock the gate, turn, then look at our dog Missy, take one more step, and then crash, down I go, lower leg twisted weirdly, and pain. The try to get up, intense pain, worse than ever before felt! I call Missy, who was looking worried, and try and fail again to get up, then shuffle painfully on my bottom to the Hills Hoist, hoping to get up using that.

I well as loud as I can for Graham, my husband, and keep shuffling, the pain a huge star blasting my brain, yelling, yelling, until Graham comes out into the backyard. He tries to help me up, but realises the situation called for professional help, and calls for an ambulance.

The ambulance arrives, things happen and I end up at the Gawler Hospital, twenty kilometres away.  I have extreme pain relief to help with extreme pain, things settle, and then, after a long wait, another ambulance, to another hospital, the Lyell Mac, in Elizabeth, about fifteen kilometres south of Gawler.

Once there, pain relief happens, nursing happens, planning too. I am settled in a bed, with three other patients. I see a surgeon, and am advised about wriggling my toes to help reduce the swelling of my ankle, and I am settled, in wait for what would come next.

Boredom, ding! bang! people talking,
I remain here, still wriggling & wiggling my toes,
and learning a truth about time –
Hospital Time is not the same
as normal time, & plans made
by hospital staff, while worthy,
are as brittle & breakable
as a bone, or two bones at once.

On Monday, I think it was, it is decided my ankle will be operated on, at a different hospital. Or that may have happened on Tuesday, not really sure. All of this time, pain and pain killers have joined together to wrap time up in a mist of who knows what.

I learn that one of the women there in the same room used to live less than ten kilometres from where I know live. We throw people’s names at each other, and pass the time in reminiscence, and in pain-relieved sleep.

At some stage, I have a CT scan, and some x-rays, in preparation for having my right ankle operated on, fixed. It seems I have fractured my tibia and fibula of my right ankle, and damaged ligaments in the ankle too. The level of swelling is a problem, and the surgeon would be happier it it were reduced.

The next day, it’s decided I will go to yet another hospital, so another ambulance ride on I think Thursday morning, and I settle into a far more swish hospital bed in the Ashford Hospital, which is much further away from home. More waiting, more pain relieving drugs, I have the operation, waking up to some weird things happening before I eventually work out what’s been happening, and so rest and rehabilitation.

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My new best thing has become the pain-relieving drug Tapentadol, and I become a part of hospital life, as if I’d always lived that way. I have eventually shucked off the hospital gown I was put into at the beginning, and am wearing my own flannelette shirt in it’s place. I have visitors (family only) life continues, so so slowly, with hospital bed, and hospital life my now norm …

Time morphs into something quite different, as the time between ‘obs’ becomes the important way to go through the business of the day (and night). I have a visit from the physio and learn about my best new thing, a Knee Walker, that I will use to help me to get around, until I am able to walk again.

I’m fairly sure I’ve missed out things, but some things probably don’t need to be dwelt upon. Let’s just say I was very glad that I eventually had a way to get to the ensuite toilet that came with my private hospital room. The earlier method of relief, of relying on a nurse with a bed pan is something I’ll be happy to never have to use again!

With plenty of time, and no-one much around there was certainly some thinking on things going on. But with the pain-relief, it may not have been really deep thought here’s one of the morsels of wisdom from when I was at Ashford hospital:-

 

New hospital, nice sheets, brain 

switches on. An insight gained, 

or reason why Nurses do that, 

with their pen. They stick it in 

their ponytail the way they do

so when they do the obs, it’s 

right there when they need it, 

Obsviously!

 

 


My ankle is in a halfcast back slab, and is bandaged. I wriggle my toes whenever I think of it, and I am so grateful for my lovely husband who is doing an amazingly good job of looking after me. If I didn’t have Graham here, it would be terrible. 
And finally, my broken bits are put back together, and the only thing left was to go home again, and relax into a new, much reduced life, of resting and rehabilitating. And that’s where I am now.  I have  Knee Walker and a walking frame on hire, and I am able to use these to get from sofa to toilet and back, and then off to bed at night.

I have a rehabilitation plan, paid for by my private health insurance (and I’m so glad I have that to cover all of the medical costs!). This will provide me with 14 visits from a combination of nurse, occupational therapist and physio. So far, I have had a visit from a nurse, and will be seeing the occupational therapist tomorrow. On Thursday I’ll see the physio, and the work will begin, to get myself all ready to come back better than ever!