My day in A&E...
thegreatdivide
Posts: 5,807
I've just spent my Saturday in A&E after a spectacular faceplant a la Laurens TD. But luck was on my side...
We were coming down a country road off the back of a fast descent to a single lane humpback bridge. My mate at the front saw a Land Rover Discovery too late, broke hard causing a concertina effect and I was at the back. Hit the front break harder than the back and decked it. I can distinctly remember pirouetting on the front wheel and looking down at the road. I'm still picking through the flashbacks but from my mate's stories it's pretty mental. The car behind us was being driven by a Professor of Surgery at Ninewells in Dundee. He was out the car in a flash and started to attend to me (as I sprayed blood all over his shirt). He had to force me to sit down because I was running about shouting 'my fuxking bike! my fuxking bike! is my fuxking bike ok?'
Then out of nowhere this tall black guy appeared and said 'do you need an ambulance? There's two of them over'. Turns out they were attending a crash where a van had rolled in the next field. One of them was on the scene in few minutes. I'm then strapped down and put in the back but not before one of the ambulance crew said we couldn't go without my bike because 'it looks like it's worth a bit' so put it in the back with me! Blue light to Dundee and me and the bike are then wheeled into A&E. I started to come round to normality just after we arrived to the sound of the Sea King landing next to my window.
The results of the crash are:
Concussion.
My front teeth were pointing backwards and had to be pushed back into their sockets. I have a splint glued into my mouth to hold them in place.
Teeth chipped and a big bite on the inside of my cheek.
Lower left side of face/chin has been rubbed away. Lots of scrubbing and tweezers to pick the road out. I'm now seeping 'ooze'.
I obviously tried to bring my arms up to protect my face but ended up bending my wrist badly on the right arm and punched myself full-on in the throat with my left hand resulting in a crushed wind pipe and sprained wrist. They had to stick a camera up my nose and down my throat to inspect it - grim.
The usual road rash on arms and leg.
A very bashed nose.
But no broken bones!!!
The bike must have landed on my back because apart from a small graze to a shifter and a bit of grazing to the rear mech it's intact - that's if you don't include the non drive side Look Keo Blade which i snapped in two
Wrecked my new Radar Lock lenses (first ride in them
) a Wiggle Goldline jersey and my Rapha mitts (repair service here we come).
My helmet hit the ground but didn't split.
So all in all I was bloody lucky! I look and feel like sh+t but I'm alive and nothing is broken. I can only speculate on the state I would have been in if I wasn't wearing my helmet but the Professor told my mate that when he saw me crash he was so glad I had one on and and all the staff in A&E and the ambulance crew said they were glad I'd had one on too.
All the cars that arrived on the scene stopped and everyone was very concerned...all apart from the Land Rover driver who fuxked off.
The guy from the van crash ended up in the recovery bed opposite me.
I'm eating through a straw.
We were coming down a country road off the back of a fast descent to a single lane humpback bridge. My mate at the front saw a Land Rover Discovery too late, broke hard causing a concertina effect and I was at the back. Hit the front break harder than the back and decked it. I can distinctly remember pirouetting on the front wheel and looking down at the road. I'm still picking through the flashbacks but from my mate's stories it's pretty mental. The car behind us was being driven by a Professor of Surgery at Ninewells in Dundee. He was out the car in a flash and started to attend to me (as I sprayed blood all over his shirt). He had to force me to sit down because I was running about shouting 'my fuxking bike! my fuxking bike! is my fuxking bike ok?'
Then out of nowhere this tall black guy appeared and said 'do you need an ambulance? There's two of them over'. Turns out they were attending a crash where a van had rolled in the next field. One of them was on the scene in few minutes. I'm then strapped down and put in the back but not before one of the ambulance crew said we couldn't go without my bike because 'it looks like it's worth a bit' so put it in the back with me! Blue light to Dundee and me and the bike are then wheeled into A&E. I started to come round to normality just after we arrived to the sound of the Sea King landing next to my window.The results of the crash are:
Concussion.
My front teeth were pointing backwards and had to be pushed back into their sockets. I have a splint glued into my mouth to hold them in place.
Teeth chipped and a big bite on the inside of my cheek.
Lower left side of face/chin has been rubbed away. Lots of scrubbing and tweezers to pick the road out. I'm now seeping 'ooze'.
I obviously tried to bring my arms up to protect my face but ended up bending my wrist badly on the right arm and punched myself full-on in the throat with my left hand resulting in a crushed wind pipe and sprained wrist. They had to stick a camera up my nose and down my throat to inspect it - grim.
The usual road rash on arms and leg.
A very bashed nose.
But no broken bones!!!
The bike must have landed on my back because apart from a small graze to a shifter and a bit of grazing to the rear mech it's intact - that's if you don't include the non drive side Look Keo Blade which i snapped in two
Wrecked my new Radar Lock lenses (first ride in them
) a Wiggle Goldline jersey and my Rapha mitts (repair service here we come).My helmet hit the ground but didn't split.
So all in all I was bloody lucky! I look and feel like sh+t but I'm alive and nothing is broken. I can only speculate on the state I would have been in if I wasn't wearing my helmet but the Professor told my mate that when he saw me crash he was so glad I had one on and and all the staff in A&E and the ambulance crew said they were glad I'd had one on too.
All the cars that arrived on the scene stopped and everyone was very concerned...all apart from the Land Rover driver who fuxked off.
The guy from the van crash ended up in the recovery bed opposite me.
I'm eating through a straw.
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Comments
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feck - decent crash. Glad you are relatively ok0
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Sounds awful, hope you have a speedy recovery.
I could've easily been in a similar situation today, had a front tyre blow-out/puncture coming down Cheddar Gorge. Just started to brake before going round one of the tight left hand bands about 2/3rds of the way down and for a split second thought I'd over braked and skidded before realising I could hear the rims on the road. :shock:
Absolutely sh1t myself knowing I had to stay as upright as possible on a tight corner, had no option other than to shoot across the other side of the road with the back brake on. By some miracle there was nothing coming up which on a busy Sunday in the summer is a huge slice of luck. I had only been talking to my mate a couple of hours before about how I'd never had a puncture in about 3000 miles on my GP4000s....I really should learn the lesson and keep my gob shut.Vaaru Titanium Sram Red eTap
Moda Chord with drop bars and Rival shifters - winter/do it all bike
Orbea Rise0 -
Pics or it didnt happen!
Seriously though, glad you are ok and on road to recovery already. Sounds very nasty. Just take it easy and you should be back on the bike in no time.Scott Speedster S20 Roadie for Speed
Specialized Hardrock MTB for Lumps
Specialized Langster SS for Ease
Cinelli Mash Bolt Fixed for Pain
n+1 is well and truly on track
Strava http://app.strava.com/athletes/16088750 -
Strava flagged my ride - killed it on the KOM's on the way back
http://app.strava.com/activities/1509421930 -
Glad you survived to tell the tale.0
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I would class your story as a bad karma/good karma day. I think you were amazingly lucky overall, but a shame it happened in the first place.
Good war story for the pub (through a straw )...All the gear, but no idea...0 -
Wow, glad you and the bike came through without any major damage.
Well done for faceplanting right in front of a surgeon.
I think turning off your tracker would be the last thing on your mind in that situation.
Find the file and crop it at the crash then re upload.I used to just ride my bike to work but now I find myself going out looking for bigger and bigger hills.0 -
nasty, glad it seems you'll recover ok
have a souper dinnermy bike - faster than god's and twice as shiny0 -
Sounds like a lucky escape of sorts, you didn't end up embedded in the back of the vehicle and no broken bones.
Last time I went over the handlebars I had a similar reaction, put my arms out and snapped bot my wrists back against my arms ~ Meh, 'orrible
Hope your teeth stay put though, that's a bit roughThe path of my life is strewn with cowpats from the devil's own satanic herd.0 -
Sounds bad mate, hope you recover quickly.x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Commuting / Winter rides - Jamis Renegade Expert
Pootling / Offroad - All-City Macho Man Disc
Fast rides Cannondale SuperSix Ultegra0 -
Strava suffer score "54" think is should be higher for that ride.
hopes for a fast recovery---
Sensa Trentino SL Custom 2013 - 105 Compact - Aksium Race0 -
Nasty! Get well soon.0
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Thanks folks. Just inspected my helmet and the front left side is actually caved in :shock:0
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glad you are ok (well ok-ish!)
if i was you i'd lose the teeth, imagine the weight savings!
just to check, you mean your bike helmet, right? otherwise that sounds horrific!!!www.conjunctivitis.com - a site for sore eyes0 -
Glad you are still in one piece. I hope you intend to still replace the helmet if it hit the ground. Not worth the risk.
Hope you are back out on the road soon0 -
Talk about falling with style!
Glad you're still intact and don't forget you can still get down to the Fishermans in Broughty Ferry to drink beer through a straw!! Best wishes for a quick recovery.0 -
thegreatdivide wrote:Thanks folks. Just inspected my helmet and the front left side is actually caved in :shock:
Still wont convince the doubters...
Good story though. 8)0 -
thegreatdivide wrote:Strava flagged my ride - killed it on the KOM's on the way back
http://app.strava.com/activities/150942193
KOM's don't count when you were in the ambulance :P
Hopefully you'll be riding again soon "Arran, you are like the Tony Benn of smut. You have never diluted your depravity and always stand by your beliefs. You have my respect sir and your wife my pity"
seanoconn0 -
thegreatdivide wrote:Strava flagged my ride - killed it on the KOM's on the way back
http://app.strava.com/activities/150942193
There really needs to be a category for "KOMs gained whilst in an ambulance". There's a kudos to them!
Glad you are sort of OK.Faster than a tent.......0 -
The ambulance ride really got your heart racing again!0
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Glad your ok OP.
See too many guys going too fast into potentially dangerous scenarios mind. Road bike breaking is still pretty naff.
Out on a ride today two guys came hurtling down the hill into a bend way out wide causing the car in front of me to brake hard and skid.
Stupid idiots just carried on their merry way no apology.0 -
Yeesh, that sounds nasty, particularly the teeth... :shock: but glad to hear you were able to get help so quickly!0
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Sounds very traumatic, hope the injuries heal. The problem with teeth is that the nerves are very susceptible to trauma and can often suffer necrosis at some later date. I have to keep an eye on my front teeth after a spill on Dartmoor a couple of years ago...I didn't look too pretty after that one (or before, come to think of it).
I know people say "what about the bike" but I have had a few bad spills and in cases like that I don't think the bike matters a sh!t. No point having a top of the range machine and being unable to ride it.
Take it easy and let your mind and body sort themselves out. Turbo will help keep you active and a few sessions of spinning to the Criterium de Dauphine may help your recovery
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good luck for a speedy recovery. least its worth a few days/weeks of work and being waited on hand and food when you get home?Cube Cross 2016
Willier GTR 20140 -
Yeah, sadly I don't think I'll have these two teeth for long.
I think it was the adrenalin kicking in that made me run around around like a headless chicken worrying about my bikes. I love my bikes ;-)
I reckon N East Scotland must be the best place in the UK to have an accident. When I was knocked down by a car a few years ago and my mate couldn't get a signal on the mobile to call an ambulance the first car to come along was being driven by a GP on her way home from work! She had me bundled into her car and speeding off to A&E in a flash. I still feel embarrassed about all the swearing I did on that journey :oops:0 -
It is indeed one of the best places, in terms of the quality of ambulance services (plus light traffic to get you there quick) and A&E (although it's gone downhill since Mrs Bomp left a few years ago ;-)). If it was Bob Steele who picked you up then he is a very practical and experienced surgeon.thegreatdivide wrote:Yeah, sadly I don't think I'll have these two teeth for long.
I think it was the adrenalin kicking in that made me run around around like a headless chicken worrying about my bikes. I love my bikes ;-)
I reckon N East Scotland must be the best place in the UK to have an accident. When I was knocked down by a car a few years ago and my mate couldn't get a signal on the mobile to call an ambulance the first car to come along was being driven by a GP on her way home from work! She had me bundled into her car and speeding off to A&E in a flash. I still feel embarrassed about all the swearing I did on that journey :oops: sounds like my friend Wendy, most people react like that to her driving.
Glad you're not in as bad a state as you might be, hope the recovery goes well and you're speeding round the roads of Tayside and Fife again soon.0 -
Glad you made it out in one piece.
Get well soon.N2 - SW1
Canyon Endurace 9.00 -
What shocked me is that you become instantly dependent and quite detached from what is going on around you. I now appreciate the NHS a heck of a lot more than I used to. A year on from mine and I still ride very defensively and won't do fast descents...
Pleased you are relatively ok0
