The trip got off to a good start. Pulling out of my driveway to merge into the usual traffic jam in front of my house is always a bit tricky, but a considerate driver let me in without hesitation. The traffic lights on the route out of town kept turning green one after another. So I drove smoothly out of Nijmegen, across the Waal Bridge, and onto the highway. About 5 km down the road, a feeling began to creep up on me that I’d forgotten something. I wondered what it could be. I scratched my right cheek… Then I realized what I’d forgotten: my prosthesis! It was still at home in the bathroom, in a special container. I did have an eye patch in my bag, but no, I really didn’t want to wear that all day. There was only one solution: take the next exit and head back home to put on the prosthesis. I always allow for some extra travel time just to be safe, so it should work out.
Back on the Road
At 6:30 a.m., I left my house for the second time and got into the car. But whereas everything had gone so smoothly half an hour earlier, now everything was going wrong. It wasn’t until I gave a menacing look that another driver let me merge. At excruciatingly slow speeds, I drove from one red light to the next as I made my way out of Nijmegen, crossed the Waal Bridge, and got back on the highway.
Not the first time
It wasn’t the first time I’d forgotten to put on my prosthesis. Recently, a friend came to pick me up for a walk. I opened the front door and said, “I just need to put on my shoes,” to which she replied very nonchalantly, “Maybe you should put on something else, too!” And my neighbor said during a walk, “Why aren’t you wearing your prosthesis today, by the way?” We’d already walked 5 km, but she hadn’t noticed earlier that I wasn’t wearing it either. When I told my brother and son about these incidents, my brother said matter-of-factly, “That’s great, because then you’re not so preoccupied with it.” “Maybe you should hang a mirror by the front door,” my son suggested. Good idea!
The Arrival
The trip to the class location went smoothly in the end, and I arrived right on time. The client greeted me enthusiastically. He was happy to see me “in person” again and asked if I’d had a good trip. I thought about the extra kilometers I’d driven and felt my prosthesis—which was sitting perfectly in place. I didn’t think I was lying when I said the trip had gone well and that I, too, was happy to be performing in person again!
On the way there in the car, I did chuckle at the thought that I would surely have made an unforgettable impression if I’d arrived at the class without my fake eye. I really had to go get that mirror sorted out now!
Anita Hol-Bubeck
