Life - but mostly the bicycle vs. car crash
March 3 ’06;
Well hello Nathaniel, Boy have I got a lot to write. I am going to write as much as possible in the next 1.5 hr or so. That time will go by very fast. I should time myself (12:40pm start). And yes, I’ve thought about what I’m going to write about. In fact, I’ve had a personal journal on this computer since January, and since then have written 15,096 words on it. Which is surprising, even to me because I try to keep everything condensed. I suppose it goes to show how crazy life has been. I can’t look back now and ask “what have I been doing for the last 2 months?” because now I know.
I am very thankful to be in the current physical condition I am in. On February 8th, when I got hit by a car while riding my bike, things could have turned out very differently. There must have been some divine action which saved me from harm.
I was riding home on Wednesday, February 8th from the UofA. I was heading south down 115 ST and I wanted to go straight through the intersection at 77 ave. Meanwhile a black Honda Civic wanted to travel east through that same intersection at the exact same time. As the road came into view from behind the trees, I saw a car coming towards me. I thought “yikes, I hope that car is going to slow down.” But it didn’t. I didn’t slam on my brakes, because I envisioned myself skidding onto the road and getting run over. I just stayed put, the car hit my bike, I came off my bike, slid up the hood, hit the windshield, and slid back down the front of the hood. I was still conscious, and I remember being thankful that the car came to a stop just as my feet landed in front of the car. I was bent over, resting my hands on my knees. I stood up, and went to look at the license plate number.
I also noticed that the yield sign she had just run was clearly visible. A witness riding his bike right behind me got off his bike, ran up to me and asked if I was alright. (a real nice guy) And the driver (a 22 year old healthy female) got out and asked me if I was okay. I said “I feel okay, but who knows?” (I was somewhat playing dumb because of stupid legal stories I’ve heard - it really felt stupid saying those things. I wasn’t helping anybody, and I felt slimy doing it) (If this ever happens again, I’m going to say exactly how I feel, and screw the lawyers, everybody knows that injuries can show up later). Anyway, the cyclist ran to get help. A moment later, the witness came back with a couple other people; they had called 911, and a young doctor who happened to be nearby actually came out. He told me to take a rest. I was reluctant to leave the scene.
He told me again to rest, and said, “Have you seen the damage you did to the car?” I looked at the car, it’s windshield had a hole in it, the front left quarter-panel had a deep gouge in it, as did the hood. The front left tire had a 5-inch slash in it. My bike was mangled. So I went to rest, and I could only feel minor scrapes and bruises.
A minute later, two fire trucks showed up; 4 firemen jumped out and ran to my aid. They asked me my name, checked where things hurt, checked my spine, put a neck-brace on me, and then the ambulance showed up. The medics did the same, except strapped me to a pallet, and loaded me into the ambulance. I was wheeled into the hospital and waited for a room.
Everyone was very nice, and about 5 doctors all hovered around me when I finally got into a room. They checked out my back, they asked me to move certain parts of the body. And then I was very relieved to have the neck brace off. The police made me write a collision report, and drove me home. Everyone said that I was very lucky to not have sustained serious injury. I had no concussion, no spinal injury, no broken bones, no dislocations, no teeth lost. Only one pulled muscle and a few scrapes.
The next day, I went back to school as if nothing had happened. After my classes, I went to the Scona Police station and got some insurance information.
During reading week I had a talk with an insurance adjustor. She gave me $300 for my bike and ripped pants. I told her that the bike was probably only worth $200 because it had been used so much. I have not yet settled for a claim on my injuries.
But this whole event has made me appreciate being healthy - and I want to do more physical activity to keep injuries from showing up. I think there was some divine action going on to keep me from being seriously injured. But, on the other hand, it was God who decided that it was okay if I get hit in the first place. Perhaps He was mad at me for something, or perhaps I did not have enough faith in him, or perhaps neither. But I’ve never had near-misses as long as I can remember. So it seems odd to me that the first time a see a car violate a yield sign (with such speed [~35km/h]), that I would get hit - with some precision. I guess I regret passing the witness only moments before [both of us on bike]. (then neither of us woulda been hit) I also recommend that cyclists don’t use 115 ST because there’s nothing stopping that event from happening again. (maybe I should purchase bigger yield signs to be installed there. (or maybe suggest stop signs be used) I say stick with 114 ST where there are few intersections - and whenever there is one, you (the cyclist) has to slow down anyway. (whether there are cars, or seemingly not) (1:24pm stopped writing)
March 4 ’06: Nathaniel, I have lots more to write about. (life goes on after the car crash - especially since I have no injuries to speak of) But I’ll save it for later.
Well hello Nathaniel, Boy have I got a lot to write. I am going to write as much as possible in the next 1.5 hr or so. That time will go by very fast. I should time myself (12:40pm start). And yes, I’ve thought about what I’m going to write about. In fact, I’ve had a personal journal on this computer since January, and since then have written 15,096 words on it. Which is surprising, even to me because I try to keep everything condensed. I suppose it goes to show how crazy life has been. I can’t look back now and ask “what have I been doing for the last 2 months?” because now I know.
I am very thankful to be in the current physical condition I am in. On February 8th, when I got hit by a car while riding my bike, things could have turned out very differently. There must have been some divine action which saved me from harm.
I was riding home on Wednesday, February 8th from the UofA. I was heading south down 115 ST and I wanted to go straight through the intersection at 77 ave. Meanwhile a black Honda Civic wanted to travel east through that same intersection at the exact same time. As the road came into view from behind the trees, I saw a car coming towards me. I thought “yikes, I hope that car is going to slow down.” But it didn’t. I didn’t slam on my brakes, because I envisioned myself skidding onto the road and getting run over. I just stayed put, the car hit my bike, I came off my bike, slid up the hood, hit the windshield, and slid back down the front of the hood. I was still conscious, and I remember being thankful that the car came to a stop just as my feet landed in front of the car. I was bent over, resting my hands on my knees. I stood up, and went to look at the license plate number.
I also noticed that the yield sign she had just run was clearly visible. A witness riding his bike right behind me got off his bike, ran up to me and asked if I was alright. (a real nice guy) And the driver (a 22 year old healthy female) got out and asked me if I was okay. I said “I feel okay, but who knows?” (I was somewhat playing dumb because of stupid legal stories I’ve heard - it really felt stupid saying those things. I wasn’t helping anybody, and I felt slimy doing it) (If this ever happens again, I’m going to say exactly how I feel, and screw the lawyers, everybody knows that injuries can show up later). Anyway, the cyclist ran to get help. A moment later, the witness came back with a couple other people; they had called 911, and a young doctor who happened to be nearby actually came out. He told me to take a rest. I was reluctant to leave the scene.
He told me again to rest, and said, “Have you seen the damage you did to the car?” I looked at the car, it’s windshield had a hole in it, the front left quarter-panel had a deep gouge in it, as did the hood. The front left tire had a 5-inch slash in it. My bike was mangled. So I went to rest, and I could only feel minor scrapes and bruises.
A minute later, two fire trucks showed up; 4 firemen jumped out and ran to my aid. They asked me my name, checked where things hurt, checked my spine, put a neck-brace on me, and then the ambulance showed up. The medics did the same, except strapped me to a pallet, and loaded me into the ambulance. I was wheeled into the hospital and waited for a room.
Everyone was very nice, and about 5 doctors all hovered around me when I finally got into a room. They checked out my back, they asked me to move certain parts of the body. And then I was very relieved to have the neck brace off. The police made me write a collision report, and drove me home. Everyone said that I was very lucky to not have sustained serious injury. I had no concussion, no spinal injury, no broken bones, no dislocations, no teeth lost. Only one pulled muscle and a few scrapes.
The next day, I went back to school as if nothing had happened. After my classes, I went to the Scona Police station and got some insurance information.
During reading week I had a talk with an insurance adjustor. She gave me $300 for my bike and ripped pants. I told her that the bike was probably only worth $200 because it had been used so much. I have not yet settled for a claim on my injuries.
But this whole event has made me appreciate being healthy - and I want to do more physical activity to keep injuries from showing up. I think there was some divine action going on to keep me from being seriously injured. But, on the other hand, it was God who decided that it was okay if I get hit in the first place. Perhaps He was mad at me for something, or perhaps I did not have enough faith in him, or perhaps neither. But I’ve never had near-misses as long as I can remember. So it seems odd to me that the first time a see a car violate a yield sign (with such speed [~35km/h]), that I would get hit - with some precision. I guess I regret passing the witness only moments before [both of us on bike]. (then neither of us woulda been hit) I also recommend that cyclists don’t use 115 ST because there’s nothing stopping that event from happening again. (maybe I should purchase bigger yield signs to be installed there. (or maybe suggest stop signs be used) I say stick with 114 ST where there are few intersections - and whenever there is one, you (the cyclist) has to slow down anyway. (whether there are cars, or seemingly not) (1:24pm stopped writing)
March 4 ’06: Nathaniel, I have lots more to write about. (life goes on after the car crash - especially since I have no injuries to speak of) But I’ll save it for later.