When I told and showed That’s Not Chinese what happened to my arm she told me about an episode of Law & Order when a man abducted people, broke their arms, and then turned them into marionettes. “Were they alive when he would move their limbs?” I asked her. “Yes,” she replied. “Was the whole show just screaming?” I asked and then screamed for a long, loud time to make a point and asked her, “Do you realize how bad that would hurt?” “There was a plot. No screaming,” she informed me. “That is just one more reason why I don’t watch that show – it is totally unrealistic,” I informed her.
A few days later my brother dropped by and shared a story about a friend who fell 30 feet, shattered both of his feet and, after surgery, one of his feet got infected. Unfortunately the infection spread up his leg and they ended up amputating it. “What’s crazy is the year before that his sister was in a car accident and her leg was amputated. So, within one year’s time, their family had two amputees.” He then went on to tell me how I reminded him of our deceased grandmother. When I asked why he said, “You live alone, in a house downtown, and you’re wearing a shawl. The wine part is the only thing that doesn’t remind me of her.” “This is not a shawl, it is a jacket, and I can only put one arm in the sleeve because my other, not yet amputated, arm is in a sling,” I responded.
Perhaps Tree was right when he questioned my choice to not take pain medications. “If you’re not going to take them for the pain, take them to pass the time,” he advised. Instead, I’m passing the time alone, in a house downtown, wearing a ‘shawl,’ drinking wine and hoping I don’t end up a marionette or amputee.