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rowynI was a little more than halfway to work when I realized I had forgotten my bicycle helmet.
(You can tell where this is going, right? There are no happy stories that start with "I forgot my helmet".)
I was already running late, because I am supposed to be in early on Mondays and I never remember that when I'm getting up on Monday morning. And there's not a lot of point in turning back for a helmet when you're past the halfway point anyway.
On the last turn before the driveway for the bank, from one little side street to another, I took the turn a little too tight. My bike dipped into the turn, then dipped too far, overbalanced, and I skidded sideways against the road, my hand sliding to brake my fall but not enough, the side of my face hitting pavement.
I picked myself up. My palm was skinned and bleeding from three places. My face hurt. I seemed largely intact. My bike was fine. I got back on, rode the remaining hundred yards to the bank, and went inside. From across the lobby, two of my coworkers said "Good morning!" I thought, Oh good. I must not look too bad. I felt a little unsteady on my feet as I lurched to the bathroom to wash off my hand.
I looked at my face in the mirror.
It was instantly clear to me that my coworkers had not been able to see me in any detail. "All right" did not cover it. I looked awful. Worse, I felt dizzy and my vision was narrowing in that "maybe you should think about passing out" way.
I cleaned the scrapes as best I could and went to my co-workers. "Do you think you could give me a ride to the ER? I'm afraid I might have a concussion."
Kristina stared at me. "... Yes. Yes, I can certainly do that. Just a moment."
Kristina was incredibly nice and stayed at the ER with me through the whole visit. To their credit, the ER was reasonably efficient about each step of the process, which involved about five nurses, one doctor, and two people to take my personal information. I got a CAT scan, which involved fewer flashy lights than it does on TV. My head was fine. A nurse bandaged up various scrapes -- on palm, knee, and face, leaving the contusions on my shoulder and arm that weren't bleeding unbandaged. After around 2 hours, they released me. Kristina was kind enough to let me stop by my house to pick up a cold pack.
And also my helmet.
Which I wore on the ride after work. Because of course I still went for a ride after work. By then I was no longer dizzy, and no more tired than I usually am after work. It's not like the scrapes were going to hurt more or less depending on whether I biked or not, and I do need the exercise.
If I'd been thinking, I would have stopped at Wal-Mart during the bike ride to get my glasses fixed -- one of the arms bent during the fall -- and the prescription filled. The doctor was very confident that the contusions would hurt more later, although they still have not been bothering me much.
Instead, I forgot the prescription at work, and drove back to the bank after exercise to pick it up. And, naturally, locked my keys in the car because I had not messed up enough things yet today.
A different co-worker kindly gave me a ride home to get the spare, and a ride back. I seem to be at my quota of disasters for the day, because the rest of the evening went fine.
In a way, this was probably a good thing. I am pretty much okay, and after all that I will never forget my helmet again.
(You can tell where this is going, right? There are no happy stories that start with "I forgot my helmet".)
I was already running late, because I am supposed to be in early on Mondays and I never remember that when I'm getting up on Monday morning. And there's not a lot of point in turning back for a helmet when you're past the halfway point anyway.
On the last turn before the driveway for the bank, from one little side street to another, I took the turn a little too tight. My bike dipped into the turn, then dipped too far, overbalanced, and I skidded sideways against the road, my hand sliding to brake my fall but not enough, the side of my face hitting pavement.
I picked myself up. My palm was skinned and bleeding from three places. My face hurt. I seemed largely intact. My bike was fine. I got back on, rode the remaining hundred yards to the bank, and went inside. From across the lobby, two of my coworkers said "Good morning!" I thought, Oh good. I must not look too bad. I felt a little unsteady on my feet as I lurched to the bathroom to wash off my hand.
I looked at my face in the mirror.
It was instantly clear to me that my coworkers had not been able to see me in any detail. "All right" did not cover it. I looked awful. Worse, I felt dizzy and my vision was narrowing in that "maybe you should think about passing out" way.
I cleaned the scrapes as best I could and went to my co-workers. "Do you think you could give me a ride to the ER? I'm afraid I might have a concussion."
Kristina stared at me. "... Yes. Yes, I can certainly do that. Just a moment."
Kristina was incredibly nice and stayed at the ER with me through the whole visit. To their credit, the ER was reasonably efficient about each step of the process, which involved about five nurses, one doctor, and two people to take my personal information. I got a CAT scan, which involved fewer flashy lights than it does on TV. My head was fine. A nurse bandaged up various scrapes -- on palm, knee, and face, leaving the contusions on my shoulder and arm that weren't bleeding unbandaged. After around 2 hours, they released me. Kristina was kind enough to let me stop by my house to pick up a cold pack.
And also my helmet.
Which I wore on the ride after work. Because of course I still went for a ride after work. By then I was no longer dizzy, and no more tired than I usually am after work. It's not like the scrapes were going to hurt more or less depending on whether I biked or not, and I do need the exercise.
If I'd been thinking, I would have stopped at Wal-Mart during the bike ride to get my glasses fixed -- one of the arms bent during the fall -- and the prescription filled. The doctor was very confident that the contusions would hurt more later, although they still have not been bothering me much.
Instead, I forgot the prescription at work, and drove back to the bank after exercise to pick it up. And, naturally, locked my keys in the car because I had not messed up enough things yet today.
A different co-worker kindly gave me a ride home to get the spare, and a ride back. I seem to be at my quota of disasters for the day, because the rest of the evening went fine.
In a way, this was probably a good thing. I am pretty much okay, and after all that I will never forget my helmet again.
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no subject
Date: 2012-10-23 02:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-24 01:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-23 02:14 am (UTC)I hope things swing upward, and darn quick about it!
no subject
Date: 2012-10-24 01:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-23 03:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-24 01:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-23 04:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-24 01:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-24 01:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-23 04:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-23 05:17 am (UTC)I forgot my helmet once. But then nothing bad happened. So there's an I-forgot-my-helmet story with a happy ending :-)
I think the dizziness was from shock - brought on in part by seeing how bad the scrape was. Looks bad, right on your face there, but your brain isn't under your cheek :-)
I'm glad you got checked out. Always a wise thing to do. And had a friend with you. Very reassuring.
Take care!
no subject
Date: 2012-10-24 01:30 am (UTC)I hadn't thought about the dizziness being related to seeing it -- I'm certainly not squeamish about my own blood -- but that would make sense given the timing.
no subject
Date: 2012-10-23 06:52 am (UTC)*hugs*
no subject
Date: 2012-10-24 01:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-23 10:19 am (UTC)-TG
no subject
Date: 2012-10-24 01:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-23 11:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-24 01:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-23 02:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-24 01:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-23 02:25 pm (UTC)Try a bit of Tiger Balm on the bruising (but NOT on any road rash), to increase the circulation near the surface and help clear it out faster. Yeah, and some anti-inflammatories would probably help a lot, too.
On a bit of a tangent, I once knew a fellow art school student who had painted her bicycle helmet to resemble a melon... with part of it smashed in. :P
no subject
Date: 2012-10-24 01:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-24 03:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-23 03:57 pm (UTC)It doesn't actually *look* that bad, but those symptoms sound scary yes. x.x And the rest of the day is just... ugh.
It's wierd -- growing up nobody ever wore helmets, and I didn't even realize there was any such thing as a 'bike helmet' until college when I'd already stopped riding bikes.
no subject
Date: 2012-10-24 01:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-23 04:03 pm (UTC)...
I would be very happy if you didn't smack the road with your face anymore. Yes. Very happy indeed. O_O
no subject
Date: 2012-10-24 01:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-23 08:35 pm (UTC)It's funny, actually. Being injured is something you can practice. It's not something you WANT to practice or HOPE to practice... but in an odd way, I wish I had more experience being injured so I would be less likely to freak out or otherwise react badly.
Maybe I need to look at more grue. :P
no subject
Date: 2012-10-24 01:41 am (UTC)Also: finally! Some life base xp!
no subject
Date: 2012-10-24 02:53 pm (UTC)