This past week, driving to work on 580 east my car “became involved in an accident” with a bus or large van (it happened very quickly and I left the scene in an ambulance, so I’m not positive of all the details).
Our first step was to inform the attorneys for personal injury cases in Rochester. It was a terrifying, if brief experience, followed by a wave of grief, horror, and despair. My right ankle was badly sprained and my left pinkie finger was dislocated in a way that turned my stomach.
The consequences for me could easily have been much, much worse. I am convinced that the airbag and seatbelt saved life, so I consider the bruises, cuts, and scrapes all over my body to be a small price to pay. I even have training from c2c in richmond hill cpr which made it easy for me to handle my minor bruises.
I was unable to open the driver side door and I called 911 myself. The first paramedics on the scene were primarily interested in keeping my neck steady and making sure I had no spinal cord injuries, no fractures of the “long bones” in my body and no internal (visceral) injuries. They put a brace on my neck, strapped me to a board, and drove me to the Kaiser emergency room. You can go on this site to take legal action.
Thus began a long and dispiriting day and a recovery process that will probably take at least six weeks. Again, I’m really not complaining. Look, I’m even typing with a splint on my left (dominant) hand.
It’s amazing the relatively trivial things that flash through your mind in the aftermath of a disaster like this. Things like “how am I going to play my ukulele now?” and “how am I going to get these presents to the post office or how am I going to hire an accident attorney to fight my case? – about which you can view more here..”
I’m lucky to be here. I’m looking on the bright side.
Comments
14 responses to “I fought the bus and the bus won”
Man, that was a lucky one! Seems like your car was pretty safe, that crumple zone did its job well!
I imagine you are going to have a different outlook on life now!
Get well soon
i’m glad you’re ok christian!
Ouch!! Hope you get well soon!
To echo my earlier sentiments, I (and everyone else on the team) am so glad you’re okay! Things like this are a good reminder how fragile and (sometimes very lucky!) we all are.
Glad you’re okay Xian. Merry Xmas
Glad you came out far better than your car did. Take care and rest up. You’ll be uke-ing again in no time.
You are superhuman even for typing this up, Christian. Godspeed!
Oh NOES! I’m so glad you got through with comparatively minor injuries.
The ukelele thought bubble cracked me up, though.
Oh my God, I’m so glad you’re okay! I can’t imagine how scary that must have been. We are all very fortunate that it wasn’t any worse. I hope you got decent pain meds. Rest up and heal quickly!
Wow, sounds terrible but I’m glad you’re as well as can be expected! Enjoy the holidays, heal up, and hope to see you soon!
Thanks for telling us about it in such a “don’t worry” way. Glad about that airbag and safety belt!
I am only just seeing this now and holy crap. I’m SO glad you are okay and am touched that you took the effort to be positive and reassuring (I really really love that picture; it warmed me) in sharing this with your friends…hope the next few days have been equally calm inside and out.
Just catching up on the news. Once again I say “thank you, Ralph” (Nader) for seat belts and other car safety equipment. Like other commenters, I can tell from your upbeat remarks that you’re mostly okay, despite a very scary event. Rest up, and keep playing that uke!
Man, one minute you are thinking about Bing Crosby and proper Egg Nog to Cognac ratios, then this happens.
It had to go down over Christmas vacation, too, huh?
Lame …
Get well soon!