Hey Kiwi biker friends,
Its FknAmerican. I was in a bad wreck over the weekend. My R-6 is totaled and I'm not much better. I remmeber I was going into a sweeping corner and, at the last second, saw a rock in the road and attempted to alter my line to avoid it but it caused my front end to just enter the edge of the road where the grass/debris build up.........
I tried to hold that line as long as I could but the traction wasnt there and I ended up running wide and low siding. Tried to hold it on the grass but there was a sharp ditch just off the road...bike just slid right out....nothing I could do at that point. When my helmet hit the ground the visor popped off and I went face first into a street sign (the sign was "sharp curves ahead".......go figure. You can guess what happened. There was a witness to the accident who said he thought I was dead on impact I hit so hard. He said it looked like my neck had just snapped when I hit the sign. He was amazed when I got up and started walking towards him. (I didnt even know I was walking towards anybody....I was just trying to get to the first house I saw). He also was worred I would bleed to death. They saved the gear they cut off me and from all the blood I have to agree. It looks like I jumped into a lake of blood. Inside my helmet it looks like somebody stuck a shotgun up in there and blew my head off. Its pretty unreal.
Anyway, somehow I managed to walk across the street and get help. I even managed to phone my mother to tell her I was "ok" before I collapsed in the grass. I dont know why I told her I was ok. I knew I wasnt. I just didnt want here to worry.
I remmember I coudnt see when they layed me down in the ambulance because all the blood pooled up in my eyes despite them wiping it. They finally just put a towel or something over my eyes and told me to keep my eyes shut and try to keep talking. I remmember listening to them work on me and warn ahead to the hospital of my condition and getting worried because it was bad. I could hear the stress increasing in thier voices and I could hear them trying to wisper the bad things so I would hear. That worried me.
My neck hurt so bad I couldnt keep my head up straight for awhile and everyone thought I had a broken neck and they took several scans. For awhile there I was really worried. I kept wiggling my toe's to reassure myself but I also knew that you can break your neck and then slowly deteriorate. Its not always a sudden lack of movement. All this time I could not see at all. I have always had a fear of going blind so it was hard. Just had to stay calm and listen to the world around me. That first day in the ER I just kept wiggling my toes like an idiot checking to see I still had movement hehe. I remmember I could feel them putting me in the scanner and getting worried because they kept taking scans over and over and over. I remmember thinking to myself "shit thats not a good sign....they shouldnt be taking so many scans unless they spotted something bad".......
Injuries include:
partially (mostly) severed tongue (reattached at hospital)
fractured face
pulverized nose (rebuilt with steel plate and surgery)
shattered jaw
missing several teeth
my face was split open from my forehead down to my upper lip. It basically looks like I got hit in the face by an axe.
As of now I've had two surgeries on my face. My jaw is wired shut, Im in unending pain, I cant speak, and Im eating through a tube and drooling all over myself. As I type this I have my little "drool cup" in front of my keyboard for the drool/blood to go in. I also have my writing pad for communicating to family and friends. Luckily they have also gotten good at interpreting my grunts and gestures when I cant be bothered to write shit out hehe.
I look in the mirror and see an alien looking back hehehe. Most of my face is bandaged up too so Im not looking forward to seeing whats under all that when it comes off in two weeks for a check up. What I can see it pretty ugly. I dont recongnize myself at all. Not one bit of my face looks the same. It even looks like my eyes have been moved. Fun times. I remmember well enough from when I walked up to the house. I could see my own reflection in his front glass door and blood was spraying out all over the door as I reached for the handle. My face wasnt so swollen then...but I remmember I could see the blood all over and I realized my teeth were gone. Thats all I really need to know until the bandages come off hehe. Its only when I lay down in the gass after people started shouting at me to lay down and not move that I lost my vision because of all the blood pooling into my eyes and all the swelling. I dont think I ever "lost" my vision. Its just the last time I could see anything for awhile because my eyes were wither covered up or covered in blood.
Right now my biggest worry (other then infection) is not throwing up because my mouth is wired shut and just before they did that I threw up all the blood I swallowed. Im a bit worried about choking to death on my own puke. That would really suck to survive this shit only to die in a pool of vomit days later!!! I've pretty much gotten used to the constant pain. Even the morphine didnt help. In the movies people get thier legs blown off and ask for morphine and then they seem alright pain wise. Well, its not really like that. Best way I can desvribe it is that it makes the pain appear "far off". Your still aware of it....just less so. Oh, and it doesnt last long at all. I remmember constantly asking for more and being told it wasnt time yet. There was always about a 45 minute to 1 hour waiting game from the time I asked for more until I actually got more. That sucked.
Oh and just to add insult to unjury. Guess whats in my fridge right now!?!?!
A huge lasagna, an entire quiche, BBQ chicken, coffee ice cream, and a cake......all of which I cant touch. Oh the torture of it!!! If I werent so happy to be alive (and able to move and still have my arms/legs/vision/etc... it would actually bother me.
Guess what I get to eat though: One cup of milk, one half scoop protien powder with vitamins/minerals, one spoonfull peanut butter, one cup water to thin it out so I can swallow it easier....all mixed up in my new best friend: the trusty blender. Yum Yum.
Anyway, sorry if this has gotten long. I think typing all this has helped me with the pain. My tongue hurts especially right now as do my teath. All my teeth that werent knocked out were nicely rearanged when my upper jaw shattered and the wires in my jaw are slowly forcing them back into place......so it hurts.............
One more thing: WEAR YOUR GEAR. If I hadnt been in my full face helmet the top of my head would have been cut off by the street sign. (it wasnt a nice round pole like some signs...it was shaped more like a dull blade). Also on the good side is that from the neck down Im alright. Just a little bruising and soreness. I have my leathers to thank for that. So wear them. Trust me guys (and girls).....it makes such a huge difference. I can only imagine how tough this would all be if I had mangled arms or legs to deal with on top of my face.
Anyway, please send some thought my way. I'd really appreciate it.
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