
It's amazing what can happen in a split second. I got cocky on my bike today and thought I could zip through traffic and then pop up a curb to get out of harms way...I was wrong. I miscalculated the curb and hit it midway sending my body over my handlebars and my face into the concrete. I woke up to blood gushing out of my nose and mouth and my left front tooth looking at me from the concrete beside me where it laid amidst some pebbles and the like.
After sorting out what had just happened, picking up my bike, taking some paper towel from a nearby cabbie and calling Beth I proceeded to my gym. There I stopped by the smoothie shop and got a glass of milk to put my tooth in, headed to the front desk and got the receptionist to look up my dentists' #, called the doc and headed to the ER where he said there was a chance they could reattach my tooth so long as it happened within 2 hrs of the tooth being smashed out of my face.
I waited about 35 minutes before they took me back and another 35 before I saw the oral surgeon who then shoved my tooth back up into my face, placed titanium chainlink across the front of my teeth and clumsily cemented it across my 6 front teeth to keep the tooth in place in hopes that the nerves will reconnect and all will be well. He also put 3 stitches in my lip and cleaned the road rash on my face. I was lucky enough to enjoy a tetanus shot, IV of morphine and antibiotics and a parting gift of prescriptions for percocet and more antibiotics.
I walked from the hospital (15th & Race) to the 24HR Rite Aid (23 & Walnut) to fill my prescriptions and then put my ass on a bus. I waited patiently, slightly nervous because I had never had to put my bike on the front of a bus before but I figured it wouldn't' be a big deal. Bus came I put my bike on the front but I couldn't get the safety bar to go over my front wheel. I walked to the side where I asked the driver for help. He yelled at me for not knowing what to do and I said "Look at my face, I just got in an accident" and he continued to yell at me and say I had no business taking the bus if I didn't know what to do.
At this point I was emotionally exhausted and began to break down. I took my bike off the rack and defeated, I walked away holding back sobs (mind you, I bent the right hood of my 1 wk old brand new bike when I hit the curb so I couldn't ride it home). In my haste I forgot to put the rack on the front of the bus back up so the driver had to get out and put it up and as he did so he yelled to me "You deserved to get hit after you fucking held up all these people."
I didn't even turn around, instead I continued to walk toward my house (49th & Pine) and I lost it. On the bridge crossing the Schuylkill I felt entirely defeated and just leaned against the wall and sobbed. I tried to contact Beth but she was at a party and no longer able to understand what I was trying to tell her so I continued my long walk home.
Now I am home, attempted to slurp down some macaroni and cheese and waiting for the percocet to kick in because my face is throbbing, my lips are cracked and I am certain that there is an audible WHAAAMP WHAAAAMP coming from my head as it reels in pain.
I feel so utterly alone right now. I finally got home just before 1am. I was taken into the ER at 7:30. I have nothing left.
I was so excited to do the brick tomorrow morning in the Art Museum (Bike/Run). The race coordinator put together a meetup workout tomorrow for anyone participating in the triathlon. It will consist of doing the bike and then run portions of the course I'll be doing for the tri. I can no longer participate. I'm crushed.
1 comment:
I hope you feel better!! AJ had the same problem with the bike rack and a bus driver yelled at him because he didnt know how to use the thing. They are dicks!
Call me if you need anything!
-Melanie
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