My sticky note obsession... the Beginning

People who have seen my piles of sticky notes may know I have a slight obsession. I wasn't always like this, and I am truly trying to contain the cute little post it notes. I used to use them casually, like most people do. Then came The Accident...
That day began with a simple trip to a friend's house to ride horses. Add in a cougar spooking the horses, and you can imagine how it all went down. Running horses, slipping saddle, and two very injured riders.
My memory of the events is hazy. I remember the horse running at full speed, the saddle sliding sideways... then nothing. I woke some time later lying on the ground, bleeding from a head wound. I was sore and ached all over, but it didn't truly hurt. Adrenaline is an amazing thing.
After stumbling toward my friend, and hearing that help was on its way, I promptly stopped walking and slumped to the ground to wait for the ambulance. Again, things get patchy in my memory here. I remember the medic saying he'd have to cut my shirt off, and me agreeing. The shirt was already ruined anyway. Then, in a moment of panic, I remembered! "Wait, don't cut my bra! It's new!" Yes, I said those words to the medic. I can't remember much of his reaction, except a chuckle and his assurance he wouldn't cut it.
At the hospital I got stitched up, stayed a night, then went home to recover. The injury to my head was the worst part, and the blood had matted my hair so badly my husband had to cut chunks of my hair out. That was a sad day.
I went back to work about a week later, and quickly realized I had more injuries than just the physical ones. Physically I had constant headaches, lungs so bruised it hurt to sneeze, laugh or cough, and the cuts and scrapes of course. The real damage was to my memory- particularly my short-term memory. I would work for the first part of the day on auto-pilot, then go to lunch and come back staring at my desk, wondering what it was I was supposed to be doing.
That's when I brought out the sticky notes. Each day before lunch, I jotted down the things I  needed to do after lunch. After about a year the headaches finally went away and my memory returned to almost normal. But those sticky notes remained. They had become a lifeline, and a reminder. Those notes had gotten me through some of my roughest days. So, now I keep a stash of sticky notes for when a book idea hits me, or any other random thought. I'm slowly transferring to a journal, because let's face it, sticky notes can get lost easily. But those assorted little notes in their vibrant colors and shapes will always be with  me.