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Injuries are Nothing

For the past three months, I have spent huge amounts of time wallowing in frustration, anger, depression and self-pity over this ITBS injury.  For an addicted runner, there’s nothing like a stubborn injury to give you the blues.  

This morning, as I was massaging my tight ITB, my sister calls to deliver the horrible and disturbing news. I learn about Amiel Alcantara, the 4th grader from Ateneo, who passes away after a tragic accident at school yesterday.  I was close to tears over the sudden death of this boy and I could only imagine the anguish that his parents must be going through.  I realized that it could have been my son, or my daughter, or any other parent driving.  And, I realized how everything in life is fleeting, how in the snap of a finger, your life could change in an instant.

Amid all those thoughts and emotions, I receive an SMS from my friend, Jun, asking this: How’s your knee?

My kneecap was still bothersome, but suddenly it didn’t matter at all.   What was level 2 pain (as we like to rate our injuries from 1-10, 10 being hellish) after hearing about the death of a child?  How can one complain about a tight ITB or a slow 5k run last night when there are parents who will never see their child again? 

All I wanted to do at that point was to thank God for my husband and kids, for work, for the cup of coffee I was drinking, for the ability to run, and for life itself.  Injuries are but a speck of dust in the larger scheme of things.

Posted on 02.25.09 to 01 Bullish Insights. Tags: , , . Subscribe to follow comments on this post. 12 comments. Add your thoughts or trackback from your own site.

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12 Responses to “Injuries are Nothing”

  1. what happened was really tragic. Amiel was the same batch as my son in Ateneo; they were even classmates in grade 3

    jojo said on Feb 25 09 at 4:21 PM Reply

  2. Angel couldn’t get it out of her mind as she was in the parking lot when it happened and she saw the blood and poor boy placed in another car to rush to the hospital. The guidance counselor spoke to my son to make sure he wasn’t suffering from any trauma having witnessed the scene of the accident. I could not help but feel depressed when they told me what happened when they got home.

    prometheuscometh said on Feb 25 09 at 10:21 PM Reply

  3. Amiel’s brother,Avie,is my son’s classmate now in gr.7.Avie was there when the tragedy happened.i was not able to sleep last night,thinking about Amiel and his family.i can feel their pain.lets continue to pray for them.

    eric cu said on Feb 25 09 at 10:44 PM Reply

  4. you know what jaymie,you are right. passionate runners we may all are but some of us are also mothers.and news such as this bothers us in a profound way. i too cant get this out of my head.surely nobody wants that to happen but it did.there must be some greater wisdom to it that only God knows.meanwhile,thank you for this post – makes all of us realize that what most of us is whining about is just but a speck compared to what Amiel’s family and the mom-driver and her family must be going through right now.Hay, i still can’t forget the last words apparently uttered by the boy – “Kuya…”. parati nagple-play sa utak ko…

    kulitrunner said on Feb 26 09 at 7:50 AM Reply

  5. It’s true! In the greater scheme of things our little injuries, frustrations or trials usually pale in comparison to trials of other people. I only pray that through God’s grace the families can overcome this tragedy.

    m8parco said on Feb 26 09 at 10:32 AM Reply

  6. i agree with your comment ms. jaymie. I also read from the papers this morning about the said incident. Having been a true blue atenean, it shocked me that such incident happened inside the campus. it was also saddening for a promising, young man to die tragically :( after reading your entry, i was able to see things from the other side (initially i was thinking more of what the parents of the young boy are feeling/experiencing) not thinking about the driver’s side. Maybe this is a sign for all of us to be thankful for everyday that we spend with our family, friends and loved ones.

    Timmy Sebastian said on Feb 26 09 at 11:17 AM Reply

  7. alam mo jaymie, lahat ng ating pagsubok na pinagdaraanan at anumang sakit nating nararamdaman sa bawat araw na dumaraan ay di kailanman hihigit lalo na at di makakapantay magpakailanman sa hirap na dinanaan ng ating mahal na panginoon.

    i dare not even compare the problems nor hardships i encounter each passing day because always somebody and someone out there suffers much much more.and we pale in comparison with their sufferings.sometimes,i want to just roll over and die but when i think about the minuteness of my problems, i just let go.well, run is more like it.

    get well.

    bugobugo said on Feb 26 09 at 5:55 PM Reply

  8. 1st PTAA Charity Run, June 14 at UP, Diliman

    Greetings fellow runner!

    We would like to request your assistance in posting our run event in your website/blog.

    1st PTAA Charity Run
    Run for the Restoration of the Children’s Play Room at East Medical Ave. Center Cancer Patients
    3K — PTAA Members and children 6-15years only
    5K and 10K — open

    June 14 at UP Diliman
    Organizer – Philippine Travel Agency Association

    We will send out details once it is final.

    Thank you for your support and kind assistance.

    Jun-jun Calma
    PTAA Board Member
    Chairman, Sports & Fellowship

    Junjun Calma said on Feb 27 09 at 12:51 PM Reply

  9. that incident was caused by a stupid & dumb driver. it was no accident. there were a lot of kids that time. and you can never, never be too careful when driving specially inside a campus where there are lots of kids running around.

    that just made me sick…

    bluetooth said on Feb 27 09 at 2:08 PM Reply

  10. I had not been really paying attention to this tragic traffic report until my friends in university pointed out that the boy’s dad is somebody we all knew back at UP Diliman — Pepe Alcantara. I will pray for his kid and the bereaved family.

    miraclecello said on Feb 27 09 at 5:31 PM Reply

  11. I am a mom with boys studying in LSGH. One of the teachers in gr.2 mentioned this terrible accident in class. I have been affected so much considering I don’t even know the family.I pray that the family will survive this ordeal and I can’t help but ask why it happened.
    You are all right, day in and day out,we complain about the most mundane things…our work…the traffic…the prices going up..etc.
    I should take time to smell the roses..I sometimes forget the blessings I always take for granted.
    We are lucky that we can still kiss our sons and daughters goodnight.

    trixie said on Feb 28 09 at 11:45 AM Reply

  12. i’m sure we all have our own horror stories with inept drivers. it’s really a jungle out there!

    to honor the boy, may i ask everybody to dedicate their next run to him, by running in their kid’s “favorite robot shirt” (ala fab commercial).

    mikey said on Feb 28 09 at 12:21 PM Reply

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