ALIVE.
Ok. So, here's my story...
Today, I just got out of the hospital...big shock, eh? No, this one was a bit more serious...something that required a night of observation, an IV, and a bit of ointment to smooth things out, and help along the healing process. What is this malady, you ask? Well...
Saturday morning, I knew that I had a shit ton of errands to run, appointments to keep, and general goings on...especially before things got hectic that evening. Around 10:30 (early as FUCK for me) I woke up, showered, shaved and got about my day. The house was cleaned, dishes washed, laundry done...and stubble plowed from my face. An uneventful start, thank god. Soon after, I ran out to my car and jetted off to my allergists' office, to renew my prescription of Zyrtec, so I can fight off summer without sneezing and tearing up.
Soon after, I noticed that my car was in shitty shape. The weekend before had been spent driving to Chicago, and then to Madison for a b-boy/emcee battle...which proved to be fun as hell. The car itself looked as though it was being held together by dirt alone...so I decided to spend the money and go get it washed, detailed, and vacuumed. On the way to the car wash...I noticed that the car had begun to overheat...which was odd, as the car itself hadn't been doing so for a very long time...not since I had the radiator replaced.
I figured it might have been the lack of anti-freeze in the car...so I dropped some in...and it seemed to help. Back to business.
Soon after the car wash and detailing...they pulled my car out for me, and I noticed that the car's temerature gauge was dead in the red. Once again...worry ensues. When I pull the car around into the lot of the car wash, I pop the hood and decide to take a gander in.
It is the truth of oddities how one recollects in the moments before a disaster. We can all remember the moments leading up to it, the moment itself, and the pain of the time. But, when pain subsides, or the mind drifts...we forget the aforementioned circumstances.
I honestly remember popping the hood, and smelling the distinct odor of anti-freeze burning. But, the car has always had that problem. Issue: ignored.
I craned my eyes right over the tank, and thought I had seen the tank itself bulged to about twice its size. But, I thought nothing of it. Issue: ignored.
And then it happened.
The moment I got right over the tank, and looked down...BOOM. The tank itself must have built up some significant pressure from the overheating accumulating in the plastic container that held the over-heated anti-freeze. It exploded. But that wasn't the problem.
The problem was the contents. The anti-freeze itself had built up to about 121 degrees, alongside the steam that was in the tank. And I caught all of it...right in my face.
The burning wasn't the first thought that came to mind. It was: "HURRY UP...CLOSE YOUR EYES AND YOUR MOUTH," as I saw it coming. The reaction was just fast enough...it hit, it hurt, and I thought nothing of it at first. I was pissed that my car wash had just gotten ruined. I immediately spit profusely, trying to get anything that was in my mouth out...and after wandering for a bit, I hit the ground hard. When I was able to get up, there were 4 or 5 people around me...one of which was calling an ambulance to my aid. They were flushing my face with buckets of cold water.
The t-shirt I was wearing was burned through in 3 spots. My face hurt..but I didn't realize how bad. When they got me to the hospital, the doctor was muttering about "keep him here..we need to look at that burn."
Burn? Shit...not now. Yep, I hadn't gotten away without a scar...the area underneath my bottom lip on the left side, sporadic parts of my chin, and part of the area under my eye had suffered second-degree burns. They hurt worse after about an hour, and the anti-freeze on raw skin didn't make it better...
Bandages and ointments later, they let me go....it will heal without scars, they said. But they also let me know how lucky I was.
The ant-freeze burn wasn't as bad...however, the steam burn...had I taken it any worse, or not been wearing my glasses, or hadn't closed my mouth right away..I would be blind, dead, or voiceless. That's how hot that steam was.
I'm lucky to be alive, they keep saying. And the more they say it, the more I realize it's true. An inch or two forward would have killed me.
Alive. God bless. Peace.
Today, I just got out of the hospital...big shock, eh? No, this one was a bit more serious...something that required a night of observation, an IV, and a bit of ointment to smooth things out, and help along the healing process. What is this malady, you ask? Well...
Saturday morning, I knew that I had a shit ton of errands to run, appointments to keep, and general goings on...especially before things got hectic that evening. Around 10:30 (early as FUCK for me) I woke up, showered, shaved and got about my day. The house was cleaned, dishes washed, laundry done...and stubble plowed from my face. An uneventful start, thank god. Soon after, I ran out to my car and jetted off to my allergists' office, to renew my prescription of Zyrtec, so I can fight off summer without sneezing and tearing up.
Soon after, I noticed that my car was in shitty shape. The weekend before had been spent driving to Chicago, and then to Madison for a b-boy/emcee battle...which proved to be fun as hell. The car itself looked as though it was being held together by dirt alone...so I decided to spend the money and go get it washed, detailed, and vacuumed. On the way to the car wash...I noticed that the car had begun to overheat...which was odd, as the car itself hadn't been doing so for a very long time...not since I had the radiator replaced.
I figured it might have been the lack of anti-freeze in the car...so I dropped some in...and it seemed to help. Back to business.
Soon after the car wash and detailing...they pulled my car out for me, and I noticed that the car's temerature gauge was dead in the red. Once again...worry ensues. When I pull the car around into the lot of the car wash, I pop the hood and decide to take a gander in.
It is the truth of oddities how one recollects in the moments before a disaster. We can all remember the moments leading up to it, the moment itself, and the pain of the time. But, when pain subsides, or the mind drifts...we forget the aforementioned circumstances.
I honestly remember popping the hood, and smelling the distinct odor of anti-freeze burning. But, the car has always had that problem. Issue: ignored.
I craned my eyes right over the tank, and thought I had seen the tank itself bulged to about twice its size. But, I thought nothing of it. Issue: ignored.
And then it happened.
The moment I got right over the tank, and looked down...BOOM. The tank itself must have built up some significant pressure from the overheating accumulating in the plastic container that held the over-heated anti-freeze. It exploded. But that wasn't the problem.
The problem was the contents. The anti-freeze itself had built up to about 121 degrees, alongside the steam that was in the tank. And I caught all of it...right in my face.
The burning wasn't the first thought that came to mind. It was: "HURRY UP...CLOSE YOUR EYES AND YOUR MOUTH," as I saw it coming. The reaction was just fast enough...it hit, it hurt, and I thought nothing of it at first. I was pissed that my car wash had just gotten ruined. I immediately spit profusely, trying to get anything that was in my mouth out...and after wandering for a bit, I hit the ground hard. When I was able to get up, there were 4 or 5 people around me...one of which was calling an ambulance to my aid. They were flushing my face with buckets of cold water.
The t-shirt I was wearing was burned through in 3 spots. My face hurt..but I didn't realize how bad. When they got me to the hospital, the doctor was muttering about "keep him here..we need to look at that burn."
Burn? Shit...not now. Yep, I hadn't gotten away without a scar...the area underneath my bottom lip on the left side, sporadic parts of my chin, and part of the area under my eye had suffered second-degree burns. They hurt worse after about an hour, and the anti-freeze on raw skin didn't make it better...
Bandages and ointments later, they let me go....it will heal without scars, they said. But they also let me know how lucky I was.
The ant-freeze burn wasn't as bad...however, the steam burn...had I taken it any worse, or not been wearing my glasses, or hadn't closed my mouth right away..I would be blind, dead, or voiceless. That's how hot that steam was.
I'm lucky to be alive, they keep saying. And the more they say it, the more I realize it's true. An inch or two forward would have killed me.
Alive. God bless. Peace.