Then & Now: A Tale of Two Twisted Ankles

Then & Now: A Tale of Two Twisted Ankles


1998: Playground Peril

Back in the day, it was 1998. Picture this: a carefree sixth grader, yours truly, roaming the halls of Saint Louis School Center in Baguio City with my best bud, Kay. We were the dynamic duo of Grade 6 Section 5, conquering Washington and "Sipa" matches and mastering multiplication tables (well, mostly).

One fateful day, after returning the radio to the principal's office (teacher's errand duty, ugh!), I decided to channel my inner daredevil. A mischievous glint in my eye, I took a flying leap down a flight of stairs (maybe a tad too ambitious - 8 to 10 steps, to be exact). The world tilted on its axis, and then... darkness. Pain, like a rogue wave, crashed over me. Nausea followed, and time seemed to stretch into an eternity.

Turns out, my daring leap resulted in a classic case of a sprained ankle. Ms. Navalta, our ever-watchful teacher, noticed my absence and picked a random to-the-rescue student and sent Kay Virrey on a mission. Luckily, Kay, with her detective skills, retraced my steps (literally) and found me sprawled on the ground. The rest, as they say, is history (clinic visit and a stern lecture about recklessness, of course).


2024: Tokyo Tumble

Fast forward to 2024 - 26 YEARS AFTER -  Kay and I are now a happily married team, navigating life with our amazing kid, Kaya.

Edit: This time, Kay and I have mastered a different multiplication table which somehow equaled to Kaya Amihan (wink, mostly). 

Kay, Kaya, Dean and Eric were in bustling Shimbashi, Tokyo, for a lively omatsuri festival. I set off to meet up with them after my work. After a delicious ramen dinner, I went to find our hotel, phone glued to my hand, following the directions of Google Maps. I walked from the station to the hotel. Suddenly, the world did a dizzying pirouette. Pain, darkness, nausea - the unwelcome trio was back!

This time, when I woke up, I was sporting a few battle scars: scrapes on my head and arms, and a throbbing right ankle that looked like a prizefighter's punching bag. My knight in shining armor? None other than Kay. She found me sprawled on the ground, tears welling up in her eyes. Dean and Eric, ever the heroes, swooped in to help us navigate the Tokyo streets back to the hotel. Kaya powered me up with her battle cries.


The Full Circle of Sprains

Two sprained ankles, decades apart, bookended by the unwavering support of my amazing partner, Kay. It just goes to show, life has a funny way of reminding you of the past, and linking it to the present. Maybe next time, I'll ditch the daredevil routine and stick with using my eyes, ears, the biological navigation network in my brain, instead of using Google Maps for both navigation and avoiding potential tumbles.

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