Well, you live and you learn. And, sometimes in life you fall down, and you learn. Folks, I'm not talking about falling down metaphorically. I'll get to the metaphors and analogies in a minute. What I mean is falling down, literally.
I slipped and fell recently, and it has been quite an experience for me. In most anything that happens in my life I often take a deeper look at what I can learn from any and everyday happenings. I always try to draw lessons if they are there. Sometimes they are apparent, and other times I dig deeper for them and listen to what life may be telling me, you, or showing us.
My incident happened two months ago when I entered a CVS store, and within seconds upon entering I fell and suffered a fractured knee. It was a shocking experience in more ways than one. I was dazed, in excruciating pain, and in disbelief that I was there lying on the floor unable to move. A customer, a young man, stepped out of the line he was in and came to help me up. He attempted to lift me, but I shook my head to let him know that I couldn't do that at that moment. He wanted to try again, but I said to him, while still feeling like I was having an out-of-body experience "Please, wait. I need to get my bearings."
Actually, in those moments, I wasn't sure how to let him help me because I was in so much pain. Every small move I made took my breath away. On his third attempt, I began to help him lift me, using the leg that had not been injured. He asked what else he could do to help, so I asked him to bring me a cart to give me support. He did and disappeared. I looked around a little, expecting that CVS employees would rush to my rescue and call for the emergency care I needed. No one from the store offered any assistance. How shocking is that? VERY. Their claim investigation said in essence: "SEE NO FALL" "HEAR NO FALL" "SPEAK NO FALL."
Yes, it's been quite a journey during these last weeks, and I thought I'd share a few of my "Life Lessons From a Fall":
LESSON ONE: If you fall in life, somehow you can get back up. Just like most people may not come to help in life when you fall upon hard times or circumstances, even when they know you are suffering, CVS employees did not come to help me when I fell on their hard floor. They did nothing, and then denied that any of them saw me fall or even knew that I fell. After I filed a claim with Sedgwick, CVS's claims company, the CVS staff totally denied accountability as well. After an "investigation" Sedgwick said there was "no evidence" and "no witnesses" in my case. I guess they asked people who weren't at work that day.
LESSON TWO: "It's never about what happened, it's can you PROVE what happened." That's a quote that I heard watching a TV show while I've been recovering. I think it was an old episode of Monk. Upon capture of this sought-after criminal, who was being informed he was being arrested for a his crime, that quote was the response he gave. In his own defense, he was saying "if you can't prove anything, then I am innocent until proven guilty." Sedgwick stood like a stone wall in defense of CVS, even with the truth being hidden. It's a fact that I slipped and fell, that's the truth of the matter.
I heard this quote years ago: "Even if a million people say the same thing, that doesn't make it true." Even if all of the CVS employees said they saw nothing, it's doesn't mean it's true. Even if CVS denies that there was no evidence proving that they held any responsibility for my fall, that doesn't make it true. Here's the thing about TRUTH: It remains the truth even if you can't prove what happened. So, the burden of proof lies with me. Except for this, God is my witness. The one who sees all and knows all, knows what happened.
LESSON THREE: Sometimes you may find yourself in a situation with no rights, no defense and unfortunately, seemingly no alternatives when your back is up against a wall; or in my case, when your butt is on the floor from a fall. I am one of those people who believes if you fall in life, get back up. If you hit a brick wall, deal with your bumps, breaks and bruises and do your best to keep it moving. I believe that there are many of life's obtacles that can be overcome if we don't give up trying to conquer them.
Falls are common, millions happen every year and approximately 50,000 result in fatalities each year. It's no wonder that insurance companies like Sedgwick advocate and protect companies like CVS and others who are willing to conceal the truth in such matters. Do they do this knowingly? Maybe not in all cases, but they know that they can hand us that "no witnesses" "no evidence"claim legitimately, even when they have been handed falsified information.
We don't have a leg to stand on dealing with these companies, and it's so true in my situation as I recover using only one of mine for strength to get around, pun intended. In my head, I'm in "get up" mode, coming along well and getting back to my normal life. I had no idea what a setback this whole thing would be in recovery time. Such is life, though, and it's been tough conquering this.
LESSON FOUR: We can do hard things. I had to tell myself that I can do hard things over and over during this period of healing. I didn't know how difficult it would be hopping around on one foot. I didn't anticipate how challenging it would be trying to do regular things while in so much pain. I had no idea the intensity of the pain would be 24/7 for several weeks. I felt like my entire spirit was being broken, not just my knee. It was really hard. Like some of you probably already know, you can lose focus on almost everything when your focus is now on all the pain you're experiencing and all you can do is live and work through it.
Painkillers didn't help much at all, and I didn't want to keep taking them. I did the hardest thing. I convinced myself I can do this, that I could make it through the healing journey one day at a time, and one hop at a time, and I have done just that. Life has taught me face the hard stuff, crawling, walking or in this case, hopping and limping.
My greatest regret is that CVS has fallen short in all of this. I got a sympathetic letter denying liability for any and all aspects of my incident. I expected honesty. CVS fell short. I expected accountability. CVS fell short. I expected fairness. CVS fell short. Instead, they quickly shut the matter down about as quick as I slipped and fell that day. Shame on you, CVS. ~ S.R.F.
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