The Reality of Working Through a Work-Related Injury
By Ariel Rogg
It’s always “get right back up when life knocks you down”….until you physically can’t. Sometimes a stable job is what keeps us up and going in the morning, and for then 58-year-old Norman Hexamer, he wasn’t really expecting a parking lot in the middle of winter to change his career forever.
“It snowed the night before and when I got there, I parked the car and there was some snow on top of old snow that had turned to ice; when I put my foot out on the ground, I slipped on the ice,” Hexamer said. “The parking lot wasn’t properly maintained and I fell out of the car and ruptured my back.”
Before the accident happened in March 2017, Hexamer had frequently visited the Bethlehem, Pennsylvania company where he was injured. He had always been determined to assist them with custom requests and fulfill their needs whenever possible.
“I sold all the materials that they need to build trucks, all the nuts, the bolts, the electrical connections, welding materials, everything that they need to do that is stuff that I sold and maintained for that company,” Hexamer said. “So I’d go there once a week, twice a week if they were really busy, and I would go there and check everything out, the inventory and everything, and then fill in what was needed.”
A lover of both traveling and cars, Hexamer had meshed his passions with a career as a successful salesman, navigating throughout the tri-state area visiting different auto body garages. His job was not just a typical 9–5 for him, but an opportunity to meet new people and help them with his knowledge of cars and parts.
“I did like it very much, I liked the atmosphere and getting things done and solving a problem if they had a special request,” Hexamer said. “Sometimes I’d walk in and they’d say ‘hey, I need this, I need that’ like something they normally didn’t have, and I’d try to find it for them. So you know you’re always filling in their inventory, but you’re always solving problems that make their job easier.”
Hexamer’s fall caused much more than a bad scrape on the knee, and though he underwent several corrective surgeries, the damage had reached a point of no return.
“What was difficult were the after effects of the surgeries,” Hexamer said. “I had a difficult time walking. Because of the nerve damage that runs down my legs, the numbness, the sense of that tingling, it’s very painful and annoying at best.”
When he went in for a second surgery to be operated on his back, more issues arised. His herniated disc had been mostly resolved, but the surgery actually caused nerve damage to his legs, so he now has little to no feeling when moving them. What was supposed to be a solution to the problem just made the problem bigger, more painful and more uncertain.
“The first surgery was to correct certain things and the second one was to correct more that was bothering me,” Hexamer said. “So they went in again and did a different spot, which led to more complications.”
The accident also snowballed into a tough financial situation for Hexamer and his family. Though he was mostly compensated for what he would have made had he not gotten hurt, it was difficult without the same kind of income, especially for a period of time where his wife Brenda had been transitioning between jobs.
Going from being financially comfortable to stressing about the next bill just made things worse.
“For a long time we had to do without certain things, it was always a struggle,” Hexamer said. “Once everything calmed down and things were settled we were okay again, but it’s no fun not knowing what the future is.”
Hexamer was also very frustrated and lost about what he could and couldn’t do. Things that were mindless activities in the past became strenuous and extremely challenging, as he suffers from constant numbness and aches.
“One of the hardest things was accepting and admitting that I couldn’t do certain things,” Hexamer said. “It could have been something as simple as playing golf or bending over to tie my shoes. I just couldn’t do things that I used to not even think about.”
Though the injury was entirely not his fault, Hexamer feels a sense of regret and failure for how abruptly his career came to a close. There were more plans and ideas he wanted to bring to his customers and felt that the opportunity was taken from him unfairly.
“There were a lot of things with customers that I couldn’t finish. I started certain projects with them and because of the injury, I couldn’t finish them,” Hexamer said. “I couldn’t get back to see them and do my job and take care of what we planned to do. It feels a little bit like failure not being able to do those things anymore. But I had to learn how to take care of myself with the injury instead of worrying about other people’s needs.”
Through that learning, being a forced homebody hasn’t been the worst experience in the world four years later. For a while, the injury put a big hindrance on being productive for Hexamer, but he has been able to find things that bring him purpose and joy, despite exiting the workforce.
“When I was a kid until about my mid-twenties, I went through a couple of cars and I’d always wanted a hot rod of some type,” Hexamer said. “Because I’ve been home and able to enjoy it, I went out and bought my dream car. It comes down to the fact that I’ve got to take care of myself a little bit more rather than always worrying about somebody else. Stuff gets done but I have to include myself in that stuff, you know?”
Hexamer has also been able to spend more time with his wife, Brenda, who has also been homebound as she’s working remotely. While the pandemic hasn’t made life easy on anyone, it gave the pair an extended opportunity to enjoy life in a new home together as they were both stuck in the house. Last summer, the two even decided to finally tie the knot with a small barbecue in their backyard.
“I feel like I got to spend more time with [her] and she likes that,” Hexamer said. “We have our moments but for the most part it’s been really good.”
When it comes down to it, even without his previous career, Hexamer feels a sense of pride and fulfillment as long as he can wake up each day and accomplish something. Even with trouble walking and doing day-to-day activities, there’s always a task he finds worthwhile.
“You’ve got to feel like you’re accomplishing something,” Hexamer said. “There are certain days where I can be sitting here watching Law and Order and I’ve just got to get out, I have to get myself out of the chair and vacuum or go mow the lawn or something. I’ve got to feel like I’m accomplishing something.”
Spending more time at home with family, having more chances to meet with friends to catch up at hockey games and chasing two crazy dogs around the house doesn’t sound too bad of a gig. While the injury was traumatic and caused chaos in Hexamer’s life, it doesn’t stop him from getting the most out of each day.
“I think the biggest part of it is enjoy what you’re doing and enjoy it while you can,” Hexamer said. “In case something happens.”
