Watch Out for Motorcycles
Please, please, please guys. Pay attention out there.
Yes, it's a fun little video. And yes, I failed it the first few times around, too. But last Monday I received what what is likely the most terrifying phone call of my existence: "Your dad was in an accident and they are flying him to the hospital."
My dad has been riding motorcycles since he was twelve years old. He is very, very aware of his surroundings any time his is on the road and doubly so when he is riding the bike. But despite the fact that he was doing everything right, he didn't have time to stop when a seventeen-year-old in a car crossed the road in front of him. The fact that he survived is nothing short of a miracle. He had a concussion, a tear in his aorta that required emergency surgery, a gash in his left knee, road rash up and down his arms and legs, and an impressive and ever-changing collection of bruises (how he avoided broken bones is a mystery). He remembers leaving for work on Monday morning and then waking up in the critical care unit on Tuesday morning with nothing in between. This is probably a blessing. The kid swears he never saw the bike, just heard tires squealing, felt an impact, and looked up to see a man flying through the air.
As of today, almost two weeks later, Dad can hobble around without his cane for short stretches. We got the staples taken out of his knee. His appetite is getting better and his sleep schedule is mostly normalized. He might be able to go back to work in the next few weeks. He is his same old self -- cracking jokes and worrying about everyone but himself and getting frustrated with having to spend so much of the day sitting still. I thank God for him every day.
But it could have so, so easily gone the other way. He's blessed to have survived at all. We met a young woman at the hospital whose husband had been brought in the same day for the same reason, only it was an old woman who pulled out in front of him. This man had a ruptured aorta as well, but lower down in his abdomen where surgery was difficult. He lost his left leg and his spine was broken. And still, it could have been worse. It could have been so much worse.
No matter how much you are running late, no matter how badly you want to impress your friends, no matter how annoying traffic is being, it is never, ever worth risking your life or someone else's to drive recklessly or carelessly. Pay attention out there.
Click to viewYes, it's a fun little video. And yes, I failed it the first few times around, too. But last Monday I received what what is likely the most terrifying phone call of my existence: "Your dad was in an accident and they are flying him to the hospital."
My dad has been riding motorcycles since he was twelve years old. He is very, very aware of his surroundings any time his is on the road and doubly so when he is riding the bike. But despite the fact that he was doing everything right, he didn't have time to stop when a seventeen-year-old in a car crossed the road in front of him. The fact that he survived is nothing short of a miracle. He had a concussion, a tear in his aorta that required emergency surgery, a gash in his left knee, road rash up and down his arms and legs, and an impressive and ever-changing collection of bruises (how he avoided broken bones is a mystery). He remembers leaving for work on Monday morning and then waking up in the critical care unit on Tuesday morning with nothing in between. This is probably a blessing. The kid swears he never saw the bike, just heard tires squealing, felt an impact, and looked up to see a man flying through the air.
As of today, almost two weeks later, Dad can hobble around without his cane for short stretches. We got the staples taken out of his knee. His appetite is getting better and his sleep schedule is mostly normalized. He might be able to go back to work in the next few weeks. He is his same old self -- cracking jokes and worrying about everyone but himself and getting frustrated with having to spend so much of the day sitting still. I thank God for him every day.
But it could have so, so easily gone the other way. He's blessed to have survived at all. We met a young woman at the hospital whose husband had been brought in the same day for the same reason, only it was an old woman who pulled out in front of him. This man had a ruptured aorta as well, but lower down in his abdomen where surgery was difficult. He lost his left leg and his spine was broken. And still, it could have been worse. It could have been so much worse.
No matter how much you are running late, no matter how badly you want to impress your friends, no matter how annoying traffic is being, it is never, ever worth risking your life or someone else's to drive recklessly or carelessly. Pay attention out there.