In all my years of running and completing half marathons, I was grateful never to have experienced a serious injury. Until last year. And this time, I was not even running. (But, I did have my running shoes on!)
The conditions to induce injury were perfect. It was a rainy day. The ground was covered in leaves. Having walked this way hundreds of times, I never thought to look down. Then I slipped, badly. I twisted my left ankle at such a severe angle, I felt my foot on my shin. The only thing to break my fall was my right knee.
The shock alone kept me on the ground for minutes. This was not a moment for a quick recovery. Instead, I just sat there seeing and feeling my ankle and knee swell up. My self prognosis was not good, but I could not fully assess the extent of the damage on my own.
The emergency room X-rays confirmed a fractured patella (that’s your kneecap). This is a phenomenal part of our skeletal system, I have come to learn. Our knees basically float. They sit in place held by tendons and ligaments. Clearly, I missed when they covered this in biology class. I now believe walking to be an extraordinary act.
My right leg was immobilized in a brace for 2 months. Over those weeks, my muscles experienced significant atrophy. And by the time I started physical therapy sessions, I had lost a significant hold on my balance while walking. Why am I sharing all this with you? I think anyone who has recovered from significant injury will relate to the analogy I am about to draw out here.
Our bodies are sophisticated systems. And I now think that entrepreneurs and startups are like our knees. We stand alone, and float, held in place by the strength of our connections to the larger body. We also keep the rest of the body standing upright. A recent report on the state of small business since COVID highlights:
The pandemic has reminded Americans of the outsized role small businesses play in our economy, employing 47% of the United States workforce, generating two-thirds of new jobs, and serving as a critical path to economic self-sufficiency.
It does not take much effort for anyone to picture what’s required to recover the millions of small businesses that have been shuttered by financial stresses and health closures during the pandemic. What if they do not start the process of recovery quickly enough, or if they do not recover at all? The amount of care, attention, and resources required to regain economic strength and balance must be equal to (or greater than) the loss we have experienced.
Just a few weeks ago, I was able to discharge my brace. My physical therapist quickly introduced a new, aggressive treatment with BFR, or Blood Flow Restriction, exercises to stimulate muscle growth. The technique requires me to engage in active movements that will accelerate my recovery.
This experience has me thinking similarly about how we build back our economy. I think we also need a bold, active economic recovery plan. That means we need progressive economic policy alongside federal, state and local assistance.
The American Rescue Plan now being considered by Congress includes:
Support for small business. Biden is proposing $15 billion in grants to hard-hit small businesses and leveraging $35 billion in government funds into $175 billion in loans and investment in small businesses.
The total $1.9 trillion billion is the starting point. Now is the time for us to take action and be part of an active recovery — not just for small businesses, but for so many groups that have been disproportionately impacted by this pandemic. For example, we have a unique opportunity to close the wage gap by raising the federal minimum wage to $15 and supporting healthcare expansion to the unemployed and uninsured. These kinds of bold policies will stimulate growth, if we act quickly.
You might want to see this snapshot of how fast (or slow) the economic recovery is happening. House representatives and our U.S. Senators need to hear from us now. Share your thoughts on what you think a good recovery looks like for you and your community.
For further reflection, I would like to leave you with a poem about survival: Still I Rise by Maya Angelou.
Onward, my People.
a really great connection - underlying how important it is to sharpen our ability to look very closely, at small things and events around us (the patella in your case), as well as our capacity to turn an accident into a learning moment (the patella suspended network). Gracias!