"No good can come from this" I thought as I fell towards the beautifully shined floor of the airport in Boston MA.  We had just concluded a wonderful Fall color tour of the northeastern USA and Canada.  The trees were green which made it the only color of the north east foliage we saw, but the places we visited, the people we met, the food we sampled and the fun we enjoyed more than made up for the loss of color.

I was only steps away from the airline gate where people were boarding our flight for the first leg of the journey home.  I dropped the boarding pass and identification card and stopped to retrieve them.  I was carrying a pack weighing thirty pounds and decided the best way was to kneel on the right knee and leave the pack draped over my left shoulder while I pick up the papers.  As I rose to a standing position, the pack shifted, throwing me off balance and back to the floor leaving my left foot flat on the floor making the pivot point an area just above the left ankle bone.  I heard a "Pop Pop" and resumed my fall to the floor.

There I lay, on the floor, cushioned by the pack, shocked that this happened, and worried that I would miss the flight.   My wife was in line for boarding and watched the whole thing happen.  A security officer and a nearby patron were immediately by my side, holding me still so I wouldn't do any more damage to the foot.  By then it was apparent the foot was broken, not just from the immediate pain, but the odd angle of the ankle bone in proximity to the rest of the foot.

Then a circle of people gathered, my wife, an airline officer, (He was in a uniform but not a pilot), an EMT from the airport, and curious onlookers.  "Help me up, I have a flight to catch" I said to whoever would listen.  I then tried to move the left leg and it would not move.  It was as if the leg was paralyzed and knew not to allow me any more motion until it is fixed.  I took my arm and tried to roll to a position for mobility.  A shot of pain went up my leg, convincing me that I was at the mercy of the health care system.  I relaxed and waited.  I was broken.