Our last performances of the year were March 25 & 26. The auditorium brought in its biggest professional show of the year on March 15 which, as you can imagine, caused us to work around a lot of things during our rehearsals.
One of these things was the opening of the orchestra pit. For those who aren't familiar with theatre, the pit is a space below the stage where musicians sit for musicals with live accompaniment. The set up varies, but at our auditorium, part of the stage floor comes out (so the stage no longer extends as far as usual), and stairs are revealed that let you access the pit from the audience. The only way to access the pit from the stage is to jump in.
In essence, that's what I did. The drop from the stage to the pit is 8 feet straight down, onto hard concrete.
We had been rehearsing with the pit open for about a week and a half, and were being very cautious about keeping the kids far away from the opening. The pit cover was scheduled to be put back on Wednesday (two days before our show), and this happened the day before that, Tuesday, during rehearsal.
It was our first rehearsal for this group with full lights, set changes, costumes, EVERYTHING, and I was running around backstage. I was trying to talk to my assistant director, who was up in the control booth at the back of the audience, and I wasn't connecting with him, so during a blackout I walked out on stage to yell out to him. Somehow, I apparently completely forgot where I was and just...walked right off the edge of the stage.
As horrifying as it is, I've actually found quite a bit of humor in the incident (I know, you think I'm crazy). I find it funny because since this whole thing took place during a blackout, most people didn't even realize what happened. So when my assistant director brought the lights back up, and the kids on stage weren't doing anything, he got a little frustrated and was yelling for them to start the scene. He had no clue what was happening.
Also, use your imagination here: I realized later when I was sitting down in the pit, that I had been wearing a hat earlier, but it was now laying beside me. That's when I also noticed my script and my cell phone, which I had been holding in my hand, strewn about the floor. So I will forever have this Wiley Coyote image in my head of me walking off the stage, suspending in air for a moment or two, and then dropping like a rock while my script, papers, phone and hat fly up in the air (you've got to admit, it's kind of a funny image).
Now that I've gotten that out of the way, let me get to my point. I was so completely lucky when I fell. I've been saying it since the beginning and it's still becoming clearer and clearer to me.
I have two bone breaks in my pelvis. Which shocked me, quite frankly. When we went to the hospital I was completely convinced nothing was broken (because I would've had to have been in much worse pain, right?). But after my x-ray, the doctor informed that I had, in fact, broken my pelvis. Actually his first words in the room were, "Well, everybody should have a much higher respect for your pain tolerance."
So I've been in crutches/a wheelchair since then (which is now 3 1/2 weeks). I have an x-ray next week to see if I've begun healing and to get a better idea how long I'll be on this 'unofficial bedrest.' (Apparently if I were older, they wouldn't even bother x-raying me for six weeks, because it would just take that much longer to start healing.)
As you can imagine, being in a wheelchair made producing two shows very interesting. It was actually a very trying experience for me because I couldn't have the control over the shows that usually do. I'm always running around backstage making sure sets get moved, curtains get taken out, kids are in their spots, etc, and instead I had to be in the booth running the sound. It was difficult.
But again, my point is, it could have been so much worse. Infinitely worse. When I fell, it happened during a blackout as I said, and I didn't even realize what was happening until I was literally a millisecond from hitting the ground. I don't think my mind fully comprehended it until I felt the pain from landing on the ground. This actually was a huge blessing. I'm convinced that if I had realized what was happening, I would've tried to brace myself for the landing (it's human nature to tense up and stretch out your arms to catch yourself when you fall). If I had done that, I know I would have broken (if not shattered) my arms.
The right side of my pelvis is the part that's broken, so it's my right leg I can't walk on. Miraculously, every other part of me is completely fine. I'm so blessed especially that my left leg is fine. If I had even just sprained my left ankle, I would've been left completely immobilized.
And then let's just take a moment to really consider what could have potentially happened. I fell 8 feet into a concrete pit. If I had landed differently, if I had hit my head...there's no doubt in my mind that if someone fell in just a certain way into that pit, they could die.
I'm sure I was in some sort of shock when it first happened, or was experiencing an adrenaline rush, because everyone was freaking out about me and I was sitting down in the pit encouraging the kids to try to keep rehearsing (again, I know you think I'm crazy, but they had a show in three days! That wasn't going to change just because I took a tumble).
It's amazing to me to realize how coherent I was, considering the circumstances. I think the kids needed that. I know they were already scared, but if I had been sitting down there moaning or crying, they would've been even more upset or traumatized. I didn't realize this until a few days after the accident, but I didn't even cry at all. That may not sound like a big deal to you, but it is to me. My body's natural reaction to pain is tears. It kind of annoys me. But my tear ducts well up when I experience pain and I can't help it. Considering the amount of pain I was feeling, I should've been crying a river. But I wasn't.
That, in addition to my falling in what I refer to as 'the exact right way to fall,' are what I consider to be miracles. At the time, like I said, I was more focused on everyone else than me, so I wasn't really thinking about how terrifying this really was. But I realize it now. Every once in a while it strikes fear into my heart when I relive the fall and imagine landing at a slightly different angle.
There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that I was being protected that day. Yes, I did fall. Bad things have to happen in this world. But again, if I had to fall, I fell in the best way possible. It's amazing to me that I could sustain a fall like that and only have two breaks in my pelvis. I know without a shadow of a doubt that my Heavenly Father was with me that afternoon, protecting me from serious injury, and enabling me to keep a clear and conscience mindset while I had 30 kids at rehearsal.
This is a very dramatic example of the Lord's influence in my life. Sometimes (most of the time, really), His intervention on our behalf is much subtler. Often we don't even know it's there. We have no idea how many calamities He has prevented in our lives. We are never alone. He is here, watching over us, guiding us, and protecting us.
Don't ever forget that.
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