While the title of this post is entirely accurate, it’s also an unintentional pun. I’ve been working very hard here at the sugar beet harvest in Stephen MN. Right now it looks like the harvest is paused all through the Red River Valley of the North due to high daytime temperatures. There’s supposed to be an update today at noon but the weather forecast is now calling for thunderstorms (at least in my area) so the restart may be delayed another day or 2.

So, these days off would normally be unwelcome but the circumstances are a little different for me right now. 2 days ago I twisted my ankle and fell in some pretty nasty muck. I kept thinking it was just a bad sprain but some inner voice convinced me to go to the hospital a few hours after the fact. Well, the X-Rays showed a broken fibula, just above the ankle. I got a quick education in the bones of the lower leg and a walking boot. I can still hobble around with the boot but the big problem is driving my manual transmission truck. That boot is so big and clunky that it’s difficult to fully depress the clutch and still have access to the brake pedal. I’m thinking about a temporary modification to the clutch pedal to fix that problem. I tried driving without the boot and it’s just too painful. (Note to self: next truck should be an automatic transmission.)

In the meantime, the company has been very understanding and supportive. I obviously can’t perform my normal duties so they’ve offered me light duties so I can still qualify for the season bonus and stay in the campground. The current weather situation is giving me another day or 2 to let the healing process work its magic.

Full recovery will take 4-6 weeks so my next planned job, picker at Amazon warehouse, will not happen. Instead, I’ll head back down to Florida early and maybe find another job before Christmas.

Late edit on 10/13. 2 things have come to mind the last few days. First, this is only my second broken bone ever. The first was a toe. So, 2 possibilities come to mind. Am I working my way up the body for broken bones? Sure hope not! And I still haven’t required a cast for either bone. The toe was just taped, the fibula required a walking boot. Hmmmm.