A major accident changed her life
Ironically, Frida Kahlo was incapacitated for three months following a bus accident that made her give up her dream of becoming a doctor. Her bus collided with a tramway on September 17, 1925, while she was returning from school. Her fate was decided by this mishap. Even though she lived, she was gravely hurt. A metal rod had perforated her pelvic cavity, which would result in repeated miscarriages. Her right leg also sustains 11 fractures. Her shoulder is dislocated, and her right foot is entirely dislocated. Her femoral neck and spine are both fractured. She spends several months in bed, suffering severely. She would have 32 operations and wear 28 corsets in all during her life.
She feels compelled to remain in bed at home. I am not dead and I have a cause to live, she wrote at the time. Painting is the cause. Her family pushed her to paint because her medical studies were hampered. While her mother ordered a customized easel so that Kahlo could paint in her hospital bed, and had a mirror installed in the canopy, enabling Kahlo's self-portraiture, her father, an artist, loaned her his oil brushes. She found relief from all of her problems and a catalyst for recovery through art. She starts a significant collection of self-portraits. They will always be her favorite topic. Frida painted when she was at home, which helped launch her into a successful career as one of the most well-known and adored artists of all.
