It is one of those disconcerting things, but I have absolutely no memory of turning around and going down Blake. It is one of those gaps that will probably haunt me for some time. Anyway, witnesses basically just said I fell off my bike (and wasn't hit by a car), so the doctors did a number of checks to see if I had a stroke or seizure (but I am getting a bit ahead of myself). This seems implausible, but I can't completely rule it out. What I do recall is being surrounded by doctors and nurses and wondering if this was just a terrible dream. Sadly not.
As I came around to this conclusion, I learned that my bike had been put into storage at a community centre near the school, and that it didn't appear to have been run over. I went through a bunch of tests at the hospital. The main concern was whether my neck had been broken or very badly sprained, so they put me in an immobilization collar for a while. That was extremely frustrating, not least because I wasn't allowed to stand up. The only way to go to the bathroom (and I had to go 3 times) was to get a portable urinal that was basically pressed cardboard. Not so nice, but better than the alternatives. I was pretty happy after my neck checked out, and after that, they let me go to the bathroom on my own.
The next thing was to wait for x-rays of my leg (which had a bad contusion, which is actually still causing me some pain) and my chest. But nothing broken there either. I do have some small broken bones on the right side of my face (and the right side is slightly collapsed from where I landed on it), but I suppose in the grand scheme of things, not really all much to complain about. I underwent two CT scans, since there was some bleeding in the brain, but they thought that was clearing up fairly well. I should report back if I still have bad headaches or if my vision doesn't improve. While the helmet didn't prevent all these injuries, I can only imagine it would have been so much worse without it. So wear your helmet, folks!
I did get five stitches near my right eye, and those will have to come out next week, but I can go to almost any clinic for that. While most of my stuff was stashed under my bed, I did have access to my work phone and home phone. I told them at work I wasn't coming in, and I notified my wife (who was certainly worried about why I hadn't beat her home from the school). By the end of the stay, my home phone battery had completely run down, but the work phone was still going strong.
I got out in the early afternoon and took a cab home. I made just a couple of calls, then crashed. Friday evening was kind of vague, though Sat. I was more myself. My swollen right eye has gotten better. It still feels slightly out of sync with the left eye, but I'm fairly sure with a bit more time, I'll be more or less back to normal. I have quite a few painful scabs on my face, and it is very hard to leave them alone, but I'll try to be good and let the body heal itself on its own timeline.
In a way it is too bad that Halloween is so far away, as I would make a pretty good evil clown. See for yourself...
I'll try to remember to post a picture next week. Already the right eye (left in the photo) looks much, much better.
After sleeping in a bit on Sat., I went to retrieve my bike. It did not appear to have been hit, but there was definitely something wrong with the front wheel. It just didn't turn properly at all, and the front fender had been completely detached. The guy at the bike shop said that if anything had gotten wedged in there, it would have been just like slamming on the front brakes, and I would have gone right over. While I didn't see any smoking guns on Blake (where I would have landed and just bled for a while), I did see a dead squirrel in the road. I wonder if some kamikaze squirrel had gotten tangled in the front wheel. It's about as plausible as any other explanation.
I don't really know when I will be going back to work (most likely next Wed.) and when I will be willing to bike further than around the neighbourhood (maybe another week after that?). For that matter, my hands are in a bit of pain (probably from trying to break my fall), and if I do go to the gym next week, it would only be for cardio and no weight-lifting. But I am thankful that things weren't any worse, and that my body is working so hard to heal itself. In fact, I really ought to go back to bed and see how I feel in the morning.
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