It's so easy to take things for granted in a day to day basis. Even if you're always fully aware of how fortunate you are and how you could always have it so much worse, sometimes it takes something big to truly take note of what's around you and a handful of helpful people to surprise you.
Today started off like any other day, except that I was leaving from an apartment found on AirBnb in DC to take the metro out to New Carrollton MD to work from 2tor's offices for the day. I was coming in early, felt pretty great bc I love DC and it was gorgeous, had a good cup of coffee in hand, and my headphones in listening to my new obsession, Imagine Dragons. I stepped off the curb to cross the intersection when I misjudged the distance and toppled over into the street. As I fell I felt something snap in my left foot an thought "F*ck!!!! Thaaaats broken."
I sat down for a second and started getting woozy from the pain. I laid down on the sidewalk for a moment so I wouldn't pass out, got my bearings, sat up and someone who had driven by came back to make sure I was ok. He also offered to drive me anywhere I needed to go. I was still in disbelief of what had happened but that shocked me. The absolute kindness of a complete stranger in a car noticed my fall and came back to help. I sat and wondered if I would have done that had the situation been reversed?
A few minutes later a cop on a motorcycle comes by and says "So you're the one everyone's telling me about. To be honest I was expecting you to be a homeless person." I appreciated his levity, but again, shocked to find out multiple people had "told him about me." I really expected no one to notice or think twice.
He asked if I was ok and if I needed an ambulance. I said to him that I think I was ok and he goes "well it's free so maybe just get you checked out." I joked and said "A free ambulance? There's no such thing as free anything in our healthcare system." He laughed and goes,"You're probably right," and then went to get me a cab so I could get to the office and figure things out. Walking was NOT an option as I would either pass out or throw up - no doubt about that.
As he's gone I see a coworker walking out of the station. Keep in mind I'm sitting on a sidewalk in a very corporate park type area. I think I myself "God, this is going to look ridiculous and be embarrassing if I catch his attention... Eh." And I call him over. He goes "What did you do?!?!?" and stayed with me and talked sense into me to go up to our HR department.
Now if you don't know, 2tor is hiring for no less than roughly 1000 positions (I exaggerate only slightly,) and today happened to be a day where we were doing a interviewing blitz of 35 interviews. Fortunately the person I needed was there as well as a long time intern and they sprang into action and not only found me a place to go that took our insurance close by, but actually drove me there and waited the whole time. To say that 2tor cares is really an understatement, and today was truly one of those days that I realize I work at one of the most exceptional places in the world. I was getting so many texts and tweets from coworkers in both NYC and MD as news quickly spread about my clumsiness. It was unnerving to not be in my home city when an accident happens, but they all made it feel OK.
Even Urgent Care was truly impressive. I was in a hospital in NYC for something 6 years ago and it was the most soul crushing experience of all time. This was radically different. The X-ray technician wants to come visit me in NYC after our chats and the orthopedic guy who fit me for a boot told me how it was his first day at this place and how excited he was that I was the first one he was able to help that day (he had been at other places.)
At the end of the day I didnt break anything and only tore some tissue/tendons. I have to check in with my doc in a few days, but the moral of the story is how humbled I am to have had so much help and concern from those around me for such a stupid mistake on my part. Both at work and from my online networks. My mom yelled at me a bit because I didn't call her right away and she only found out from my foursquare check in that I had pushed to Facebook. Sorry Mom!!
Hopefully I'll heal quick and can put this all behind me. I'll never forget the random stranger, the funny cop, my amazing coworkers, and my new friends in urgent care. Thanks for making today about more than just a painful accident.
Today started off like any other day, except that I was leaving from an apartment found on AirBnb in DC to take the metro out to New Carrollton MD to work from 2tor's offices for the day. I was coming in early, felt pretty great bc I love DC and it was gorgeous, had a good cup of coffee in hand, and my headphones in listening to my new obsession, Imagine Dragons. I stepped off the curb to cross the intersection when I misjudged the distance and toppled over into the street. As I fell I felt something snap in my left foot an thought "F*ck!!!! Thaaaats broken."
I sat down for a second and started getting woozy from the pain. I laid down on the sidewalk for a moment so I wouldn't pass out, got my bearings, sat up and someone who had driven by came back to make sure I was ok. He also offered to drive me anywhere I needed to go. I was still in disbelief of what had happened but that shocked me. The absolute kindness of a complete stranger in a car noticed my fall and came back to help. I sat and wondered if I would have done that had the situation been reversed?
A few minutes later a cop on a motorcycle comes by and says "So you're the one everyone's telling me about. To be honest I was expecting you to be a homeless person." I appreciated his levity, but again, shocked to find out multiple people had "told him about me." I really expected no one to notice or think twice.
He asked if I was ok and if I needed an ambulance. I said to him that I think I was ok and he goes "well it's free so maybe just get you checked out." I joked and said "A free ambulance? There's no such thing as free anything in our healthcare system." He laughed and goes,"You're probably right," and then went to get me a cab so I could get to the office and figure things out. Walking was NOT an option as I would either pass out or throw up - no doubt about that.
As he's gone I see a coworker walking out of the station. Keep in mind I'm sitting on a sidewalk in a very corporate park type area. I think I myself "God, this is going to look ridiculous and be embarrassing if I catch his attention... Eh." And I call him over. He goes "What did you do?!?!?" and stayed with me and talked sense into me to go up to our HR department.
Now if you don't know, 2tor is hiring for no less than roughly 1000 positions (I exaggerate only slightly,) and today happened to be a day where we were doing a interviewing blitz of 35 interviews. Fortunately the person I needed was there as well as a long time intern and they sprang into action and not only found me a place to go that took our insurance close by, but actually drove me there and waited the whole time. To say that 2tor cares is really an understatement, and today was truly one of those days that I realize I work at one of the most exceptional places in the world. I was getting so many texts and tweets from coworkers in both NYC and MD as news quickly spread about my clumsiness. It was unnerving to not be in my home city when an accident happens, but they all made it feel OK.
Even Urgent Care was truly impressive. I was in a hospital in NYC for something 6 years ago and it was the most soul crushing experience of all time. This was radically different. The X-ray technician wants to come visit me in NYC after our chats and the orthopedic guy who fit me for a boot told me how it was his first day at this place and how excited he was that I was the first one he was able to help that day (he had been at other places.)
At the end of the day I didnt break anything and only tore some tissue/tendons. I have to check in with my doc in a few days, but the moral of the story is how humbled I am to have had so much help and concern from those around me for such a stupid mistake on my part. Both at work and from my online networks. My mom yelled at me a bit because I didn't call her right away and she only found out from my foursquare check in that I had pushed to Facebook. Sorry Mom!!
Hopefully I'll heal quick and can put this all behind me. I'll never forget the random stranger, the funny cop, my amazing coworkers, and my new friends in urgent care. Thanks for making today about more than just a painful accident.