Have you ever had one of those days when you thought things just couldn’t get any worse? Days when you just want to crawl into bed and stay there for a month or so? Well I had many more than one of those days. Here’s the story…
It all started on Friday the 13th of June, 2008…
My children were turning 6 on 6/14 and 8 on 6/15. Both birthday parties were scheduled for the evening of 6/14/2008. I’m not a baker, but for some reason I decided to bake both their cakes that year. I thought I’d bake the cakes on Friday night and that they would help me decorate them on Saturday morning.
I got the first cake in the oven and was starting on cake #2. Cake #1 used eggs, water and oil, but cake #2 called for butter, and of course I was out of butter. So I did what all Southerners do; I called my neighbor to borrow some. I told Lynne from across the street that one of the children would be right over to get it.
At that moment, the kids started running around the house like crazy people (as only a 5 and 7 year old can). I couldn’t get their attention, so I left to get the butter myself.
This is what I remember happening next:
I stepped out of my house and waved to Lynne who was on her front stoop holding a stick of butter. I turned back towards my house, having second thoughts about sending the children. The next thing I knew, I was flying through the air. Each of my 5 brick steps was going by under me in slow motion, but I couldn’t get even one toe to touch a step. I landed very hard on the cement walkway at the bottom of the stairs.
I guess I screamed, Lynne came running, still carrying the butter. My face and mouth were bleeding and I was spitting out parts of my front teeth. As she was worrying about my face, I noticed that my arms really hurt. I lifted them up and saw one of the most horrifying things I have ever seen, they were BOTH shaped like S’s.
It turns out that I had broken bones in both arms at the wrist so severely that plates had to be put in both arms. And this not only the day before my children’s party, but also while we were busy preparing to launch AZULI SKYE.
It was the most humbling experience of my life. I wish I could say the most humiliating part was having one of my employees wipe my nose because I couldn’t even pick up a Kleenex, let alone reach my nose with it. You can only imagine what other things I was not able to do for myself.
But, the point of my story is not to have you feel sorry for me. Quite the opposite. It was amazing how many people came through for my family during this trying time. The birthday party went off as scheduled without a hitch, mostly thanks to my dear friend who played “me” for the day.
By some miracle, we even managed to get AZULI SKYE up and running.
All of our friends, neighbors, home office staff, and even strangers came to our aid. This is an amazing world we live in.
While laid up for 2 months, I listened to Les Brown, who said one person’s thunderstorm is another person’s light rain. And I felt blessed with all the help and love I received and that everything I broke could be mended thanks to modern medicine and the grace of God.
So next time you are feeling sorry for yourself or less than motivated, just remember that you can do anything. You can overcome ANYTHING! Don’t let anything hold you back from reaching your dreams! There are people all around you cheering you on!
-Deb, AZULI SKYE Founder & CEO
