Chapter 1: A Legacy of Injuries

Growing up, my three brothers and I often joked that the local emergency room would eventually bear our father's name. If there were a loyalty program for ER visits, he would have accumulated enough points to travel the globe multiple times.

My father's history includes a variety of unfortunate incidents:

• Once, he broke his neck.
• He’s fractured his back twice—one of those times being shortly after my mother gave birth to twins, while managing three boys under the age of one and a half in a foreign country. (But I digress!)
• He has sustained injuries to almost every limb.
• He’s even managed to slice off the tip of the same finger twice (a true genius move!).
• And let’s not forget the permanent dent in his head from a hammer that fell from the roof.

And that’s just a few highlights from my (undented) memories.

Does this mean he’s fragile or prone to injuries? Absolutely not!

You might describe him as reckless or perhaps adventurous. He’s not careless—he's quite focused. However, his concentration hasn’t always been on the potential consequences of his daring escapades. (Remarkably, he emerged unhurt after attempting to blow leaves off the roof while standing on a chair, and the leaf blower caught fire—at 80 years old, no less!)

Now it seems that karma is catching up with me. While my dad began his injury spree in his 20s, I, on the other hand, waited until my 40s to start my own series of unfortunate events.

I’m not aging like a fine wine; I’m more akin to the bottle that gets smashed against the bow of a ship during a christening ceremony.

I believe I’m doing everything right. I eat healthily, exercise at least four times a week, don’t smoke or drink, and take my vitamins. My recent blood work and bone density scans show nothing alarming. I’m in great health.

Yet, I’ve transitioned from running half-marathons to a girl who, quite literally, tore a tendon in her arm while removing a shirt. Yes, you read that correctly. My husband jokes that I'm like a piece of paper that falls apart with the slightest moisture. Fortunately, he chose the paper analogy rather than referencing the Wicked Witch of the West.

Here’s a brief rundown of my injuries, in no particular order:

• I strained my shoulder while seated in my car, reaching for a bag behind me (definitely a high-risk maneuver—don't replicate this!).
• I strained my elbow while scrubbing a rug (yes, a cleaning-related injury).
• A friend's hug resulted in a broken rib (please, keep your hands to yourself).
• I tore a tendon in my arm when I hastily removed a shirt over my head.
• I broke another rib while using large shears to prune a tree (using your chest as leverage is not a good idea).

Most recently, I tripped over an item and ended up with a cracked head that required eight staples in my scalp, a broken shoulder, and a torn deltoid muscle.

While I haven't yet injured myself pulling up a blanket, it feels like just a matter of time.

Send in the bubble wrap! My next mishap could be lurking just around the corner.

The first video, "The Dumbest Ways MMA Fighters Have Injured Themselves," humorously showcases various ridiculous injury stories, reminding us that we’re not alone in our clumsiness.

Chapter 2: Understanding Injury vs. Hurt

Injuries can often lead to confusion between feeling hurt and being injured.

The second video, "Are you HURT or are you INJURED? - kenfuTV Episode 9," dives into this distinction, helping viewers understand the differences and implications of these terms.