As I mentioned a bit ago, I wiped out pretty enthusiastically on my bike on my way in to work about two weeks ago, just 20 to 30 yards from my office (in the traffic circle by the Science loading dock). Several x-rays later it was determined that there were no broken bones, but I had some spectacular road rash to scare kids with and a golf ball sized hematoma across the first and second knuckles of my left hand that made typing a nuisance for a few weeks.
As a result I never made it in to class that day, and I’m still pretty sore in places and at times; us middle-aged folks don’t heal quite as fast as our young-uns. The road rash is mostly gone except for some of the worst scrapes on my right elbow and right knee. There’s still some noticable swelling on my left hand that gets sore if I do too much hand work (typing, filing papers, etc.). The big nuisance, though, is my right shoulder, which is still quite stiff. The range of motion is improving, and I can now use almost all of the whiteboard instead of just the bottom half right after the accident, but it’s still pretty sore when I raise my arm too far. Sigh.
The real story, though, is the wonderful response of those around me. A student I didn’t know from Adam happened to be nearby and immediately rushed to my aid; I’ve since learned that her name was Allison and I’ve luckily had several chances to thank her for her help, but I want to say “Thanks Allison!” one more time. Gail Boe was also nearby and ran over to help, and was crucial in convincing my stupid-man-self that I had in fact wiped out pretty hard and needed to sit down and take it seriously; a huge “Thank you!” to Gail for playing a key role in saving me from myself (and I definitely needed saving – sigh). Once Allison ran inside to get help all manner of people came to my aid in different ways: Barry called 911, Joe (and later Julie) got ice from the chem labs, Margaret called Campus Security, Tom (from Campus Security) waited for the ambulance to arrive, and Ann came down from the Division Office to see what had happened and immediately arranged to cancel my classes. The medics checked me over and said I really needed to get my hand and shoulder x-rayed. I turned down their offer to drive me to the clinic (although to be honest, I have no idea why – did I think I was going to limp the 4 or 5 blocks?). Tom from Campus Security offered to drive me, which I gratefully accepted, and told me to call then when I was done at the clinic and they’d come get me and bring me back to campus, which was very cool. Thanks to all of them, and anyone else I missed in my haze of pain and confusion.
By the time I’d been x-rayed and examined I was very tired, the pain had really kicked in, and I was a bit woozy at times. I decided that I was just going to go home, eat several Advil, and rest, so I called WeatherGirl (for about the 4th time that morning – the voice of a loved one is worth a lot in these circumstances) had her bring me home. I called Campus Security from the house to thank them for their kind offer and let them know that I’d headed to bed instead.
The photos above were taken that day after I’d gotten home, and don’t really show the worst of it since that was mostly wrapped in bandages. The bruising on my left hand was particularly impressive during the first week, but I never got around to taking some more pictures and now it’s pretty pretty much gone. I hadn’t even noticed the knee damage until I got home, which gives you a sense of how much more scraped up (and stinging) my arm was. I was really glad that I always wear a helmet. While, in fact, I didn’t “need” it (amazingly, no part of my head hit the pavement), you wouldn’t have had to perturb the system much to have the right side of my head slamming into the pavement with full force.
Oh, and I badly ripped up a fairly new and quite nice Columbia rain shell :-( There’s a big rip in the right sleeve (corresponding to the road rash on that arm), and several smaller tears where things like snaps and zips pressed the fabric into the pavement. I had a small bruise on my chest that I totally didn’t understand until I noticed that the metal zip on a breast pocket was pretty roughed up; it’s in just the right position to have caused that little bruise. (I felt all CSI-like when I figured that out – what a nerd!)
Again, a huge thanks to Allison and Gail and everyone else who came to my aid. In a world where people can die in the presence of crowds that do nothing, it’s a real treasure to live in a community and work at a school where so many people will come to your rescue, even when in fact not all that much has happened.
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