I was very excited to report that I bought a spiffy new 24-speed Marin Navato hybrid bike. I say "was" because, Friday morning, the bike and I got in our first accident. The bike will not be seeing much action for several months.
What happened? Nothing exciting--just accident-prone me and the asphalt. I was on my way to school, had just come down a pretty steep hill, and was turning into a parking lot that I usually cut through. I braked and swerved to avoid some chunks of loose asphalt in the road... and skidded out. Fortunately, a contractor working on a house nearby cleaned me up and took me to the hospital.
Most of the force of the fall went into my left arm. The result is a break in my elbow and a fracture in my wrist (for those who want the wonky terms: a displaced medial epicondylar fracture of the elbow and a non-displaced scaphoid fracture). Both require surgery, which has been scheduled for this Thursday. An orthopedic surgeon specializing in "upper extremities" will perform the procedure.
As for the bike, it will not need a trip to the shop although sadly it is no longer shiny and new.
I'll post again when I've emerged from surgery and slept off the anesthesia. In the meantime, I leave you with one request: wear a helmet and slooow down when you're riding your bike. They're really more dangerous than we let ourselves believe, and it doesn't have to be a collision to cause injury!
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4 comments:
wow Meghan! what a bummer, here's to a quick recovery! "bon courage"
as they say here.....hope you're not in too much pain, i.e. hope the pain meds are working!!
Hey guess what, the assistant d'anglais here at the high school is from Chicago! I haven't met her yet, a group of us 'anglophones, francophones" are getting together tomorrow night so I might meet her then. She lived in Lyon for two years before coming here.
Well, take care and good luck with the op!!
Margie :)
Oh no. So sorry to hear about your accident. We will be praying for a quick recovery.
Meg - oh no! I am glad to hear you are ok (relatively). I hope your surgery goes well - I'll be sending you good thoughts!
Hey Meghan --
Hope the recovery is going well. By now I assume you're well on your way to a shiny new humerus. Sorry bikes don't heal as well :( And ditto about the helmet. I blew a helmet into little pieces once by flipping my bike and landing on my head. Made a convert out of me. Incidentally, the helmet companies will often send you a free replacement if you break yours in an accident.
I'm ensconced in Seattle now. Phil (the cat) and I made the journey at a cool 900 miles a day--no kidding. I had an ipod, an auxilliary jack in the truck stereo, a full moon, and my PhD finally in hand. So I was a happy trucker on the trusty interstate 80.
Seattle is thus far delightful. One more week off before I start my new job at the University of Washington.
Hope the landscapes are treating you well. Nice collages by the way. Cheers --Dale
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