Bag of Cement, Anyone?

If you broke your leg, would you try saving yourself some money by popping down to the hardware store for a bag of cement and doing it yourself?

Why not? You googled ‘treatment + broken leg’, and it’s pretty straightforward – whack a bit of something solid onto the leg so it doesn’t move and you’re right as rain. Use the old garden broom as a crutch – Bob’s your uncle.

You don’t have any doctor’s bills to pay. No clinic fees or specialists to dole out thousands to. No time lost hanging around doctor’s waiting rooms or taking time off work. Sorted. Done. No worries. Not to mention that the unusual nature of your cast is such a talking point and your strange and exciting injury treatment has everyone abuzz. People have to sign it with a chisel and hammer! It’s all working out just fine. And it’s cost you no more than a bag of cement. Who needs doctors and specialist treatment when you can do it yourself!?

Six weeks later (because that’s what google said), you take a pick and mallet to your homemade cast and off it comes. Only your leg looks a bit funny. It doesn’t look quite straight, there’s a funny bend where there shouldn’t be and when you take that first step on your new leg, it is excruciating! Agonizing! You can’t walk on it and – is it possible? – it’s worse than when you first broke it!

Now what? Google is no help at all. Every search combination of ‘fix + leg + backyard job’ comes up with Better Homes & Gardens’ latest idea for mending BBQ settings.

Off to the specialist. How much does this cost you? Doctor’s fees. X-rays. Scans. Hospital stays. Surgery. Nursing and admin fees. Time off work. The bills at home don’t stop. The kids need attention; your partner can’t keep doing everything around the house. Your sick leave runs out.

Where does that leave your hip pocket? Empty. Where does that put your blood pressure and stress levels? Stratospheric.

Ok, this is an extreme example. If you broke your leg, you’d go to a doctor to get your leg properly set in plaster and then once the cast was off, you’d followed up with physiotherapy and exercise rehabilitation. Your leg would be fine, you’d have missed only a day or two of work, but you’d be back playing soccer or tennis or running once again, without fear of further damage and you would be only a little bit poorer, not broke.

Preventative therapies do the same thing for your health as what going to the doctor does when you break you leg. You prevent problems so that the cost and pain of treating them, never has to be dealt with.

However, if you’re in pain now, it’s still not too late to prevent problems. Look at The Biggest Loser! They’ve lost their problems!!

So, I ask you now – would you prefer a plaster cast (prevent) or a bag of cement (suffer)? And if you prefer to hang onto your bag of cement (suffer), why is that? What purpose does this serve you?

If you’re a plaster cast person, print off the attached offer to redeem your reward for looking after yourself.

If you’re a bag of cement person, but would like to try the plaster cast, print off the attached offer to take your first step towards looking after yourself.

I look forward to seeing every one of you in the next month.