By KAREN CIMMS

kcimms@tnonline.comSometimes life throws you a curve ball and sometimes it throws you 15 feet off a ladder and onto a pile of rocks.After something like that happens, you really have no choice but to re-examine your priorities. You learn quickly what's really important, and what's maybe not quite as important as you might have thought.A few weeks ago I got a phone call at work. My husband took a bad fall, and yes, landed on a pile of rocks, breaking five ribs, puncturing his lung and earning himself a lift to Bethlehem in a helicopter.He actually seemed kind of excited about the ride until the emergency room doctor poked a hole in his chest to insert a tube to help his failing lung. After that he was in so much pain he doesn't even remember the trip.He spent the next eight days in the trauma unit. I spent half of that time in a state of confusion and the rest in a state of panic.I don't think either of us realized at first how serious his injuries were or how lucky he was. I learned years ago that given the possibility between landing in a pile of rocks or a pile of feathers, most likely, we're the type of people who are going to hit the rocks.So yes, surviving a fall like that, in spite of everything that goes along with it, means we're lucky. We both know it could have been much, much worse.During the time that Jim was in the hospital, it amazed me how many people contacted me and simply said. "What do you need?" or "What can I do for you?"The cards, the visits, the phone calls, the hundreds (literally) of Facebook and Twitter messages all were read and appreciated by both of us.The invitation for a home-cooked dinner when I had eaten nothing but a chunk of cheese and a handful of crackers each night after driving an hour to and from the hospital after work, was immensely appreciated, as were the meals provided when Jim came home from the hospital.Offers to cut the grass, go to the store or take our garbage to the dump, not to mention the homemade bottle of wine (cranberry, one of my favorites) were extremely appreciated!I had to sit down and cry one night after coming home from the hospital, exhausted and still somewhat overwhelmed, to find my house had been cleaned from top to bottom by a friend who helps me out with things around the house now and then.She not only cleaned, but washed, dried and put away dishes, laundry and made the beds. She even emptied the cat litter and took out the trash.And in a stroke of timing that could only have been orchestrated from above, my grandson a former Army medic ended up on this side of the country and came to stay for a few weeks just as Jim came home from the hospital.It's very hard to feel sorry for yourself when you are surrounded with so much love. It helped me cope with a difficult situation, and it certainly helped Jim with his ongoing recovery.It's times like these that make me count my blessings and be grateful for all of the good in my life.Falling off a ladder into a pile of rocks?Well, no, that in itself wasn't lucky, but everything that happened afterward just proves how blessed we really are.