As some of you may know, part of my exercise routine is riding my bike. Being in Prescott, there are lots of hills and I don’t do hills. So I put the bike in the back of the truck and drive to Prescott Valley where it is flatter. Lots of traffic in PV, so I stick to the residential streets and alleys. I don’t know how many close calls I’ve had with cars while on my bike, but there have been a few. I ride very defensively and that has kept me out of trouble for the last 15 or so years of riding. Also I ride early to avoid the traffic. Today changed all that.
I was getting ready to make a left turn and there was a car approaching. I slowed to a near stop waiting for the car to past. I had crept out of the bike lane slightly in preparation for my turn. The car pasted, I began my left turn and, WHAM! Before I knew it I was on the ground on my back. Somewhat dazed, I just laid there. Within seconds there was someone standing over me asking if I was ok. (This was the guy that hit me). First sitting up and not noticing anything broken, nor was I covered in blood. I got up and made sure my bike was ok. Hey, it’s an expensive bike. It was, so I got out of the middle of the street.
I realized pretty quickly that I had turned into the guy standing next to me. Totally my fault. I didn’t signal, I didn’t look, nor did I hear him approaching. The only part of me that was hurting was my left arm and shoulder. The driver of the truck said he was trying to give me plenty of room but I kept turning into him. Turns out it was his mirror that hit me and knocked me down. The first stroke of good luck was that I didn’t turn a tad sooner or I would have been stuck in the grill of his truck.
So as any bike rider who was up and walking around would do, I got back on my bike and finished my ride. Even made a loop around the local hospital as it is on my route. When I got back to the truck and took off my helmet, I noticed that it was cracked in several places and had an indentation on it made by the surface of the road. Well, my head didn’t hurt and my next stop was the coffee shop, so I went to coffee and read the paper. I started feeling a little light headed, and I noticed that my jaws hurt and also my hip. I vacillated back an forth wether or not I should go to the hospital. Thoughts of long waits and spending the day in a place where there are more germs than a gas station bathroom was not how I wanted to spend my time. But on the way home I decided, in an abundance of caution, to head for the ER.
I wasn’t looking forward to this, but my luck continued to hold. First I was alive, at least for now and there was a patient parking spot right next to the ER doors. I figured they would have the required mask for me, but my luck held as they didn’t require them. As I entered the waiting room, luck was still with me….there was no one waiting. When I spoke to the nurse, I told her I felt a little light headed. Turns out that was the thing to say as within seconds the Trauma Nurse arrived, put me in a wheel chair and wheel me right into the Trauma Room.
After Lora, the nurse took my story, Dr. Kec arrived and asked me some questions about my condition and where I hurt. He left, spoke to the nurse, went to a computer somewhere out of sight and ordered a Cat Scan of my head and jaws. Minutes later I was being wheeled to X-Ray. Cat Scan and X-Ray of my hip completed within 30 minutes of my arrival. My luck is still holding.
Another 30 minutes go by and Dr. Kec comes in to tell me the results. Drum Roll Please…..Nothing broken, no brain bleeds, and I really do have a brain. It takes longer to be discharged than to be treated. But as my luck stayed with me I was given a 25% discount on my co-pay because I was able to pay on the day of my treatment. After the passing of about 2 hours, I was walking out of the hospital through the packed waiting room.
So thanks are in order to the Doctors and nurses at the Yavapai Regional Medical Center, to the guy who hit me for stopping, all the sick people who waited to go the the Emergency Room till after I arrived and my helmet. As for me, tomorrow I will ride my bike….nah, I’ll walk and stay off the street.
