I wanted this to be a celebratory post, and in some ways it is, just not the way I planned it.

I returned with my wife to the Canyon Ranch Spa in Lenox, MA, where last year, I learned how to cook fish at high temperature  fearlessly, among other skills.

Zumba Class

This year, I noted that I was the only male in Zumba class and decided to go the front row just behind the instructor, who is shown graciously giving me after-class merengue instruction. 

It was only the second time that I had attended Zumba class, but I felt relaxed and in the moment.  I like to think of it as action being the hack saw that breaks the prison bars of fear, as I discussed in my last blog post, Building a Culture of Ownership.

I think that part of vacation (in addition to getting exercise and eating great food) is doing something new and being fearless.  Leonard Bernstein reputedly said, “If you are going to fall off a ladder, it might as well be the top rung.”

After the fall

Three days later, I slipped on the ice in front of my house, taking the garbage cans from the street.  I sprained my ankle and fractured my wrist.  All I remember is hearing a dog bark across the street as my legs went out from under me.

It is humbling to reflect on how a second can change one’s life.  At the same time, I am proud of all that I have learned to do with my left hand in less than a week, from eating and toothbrushing to starting my car.

Some times, we do not know what we are capable of until we are challenged in the moment.  These experiences have an unexpected way of reminding us of what we have and keep us from complacency.  As I allow more time in the morning to shower and dress, I think of the sacrifices of our veterans who do not have the use of limbs and how they and their families cope.  It makes me grateful for what I have and (most of the time) keeps me in the present instead of reliving the experience and wondering “What if …” or worrying about the implications of wrist stiffness on my ability to provide locum tenens surgical coverage.

It helped me a day after my accident to be able to help a fellow physician in transition to a new post clarify his new boss’s expectations and focus on the top three priorities.  After we hung up, I thought to myself, “At least I can do telementoring.”  Perhaps at times when we are feeling down on ourselves, we should smile and complete the “At least I can …” sentence.

Kenneth H. Cohn, MD, MBA, FACS

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