(ABOVE: That blue helmet kept me from being seriously injured.)
Thank you Julie Chin! On Sunday morning May 17th, Julie filled in for me on short notice. I wasn't on TV last Sunday morning as I had an unscheduled day off.
Hours earlier I laid in a hospital bed trama room at St. Francis hospital. Doctors gave my head its first ever CAT scan while later my face received over a dozen stitches. I spent the morning hours at St. Francis because I crash landed in an awful bicycle accident. Hopefully it's the first and only bad wreck I'll ever experience. Here's what happened:
I was riding my bicycle in an empty parking lot in Broken Arrow on the evening of Saturday, May 16, 2009. I like to ride there because it's isolated-- I'm afraid of cars and unleashed barking things with sharp teeth. I choose my riding locations carefully, and I thought I was safe. I began my ride around 7pm and was pedaling my last lap near 8:30pm.
Near dusk I circled the parking lot maintaining speeds near 20mph. I consider myself "in training" for the Tulsa Tough in two weeks. I hope to improve my results over last year.
(BELOW: I "t-boned" this curb that I didn't see near sunset.)
On my last lap I changed my course slightly and rode into an unfamiliar area. It was getting dark, and I couldn't see as well. I normally change into my clear/yellow sunglasses, but I forgot them. A handicap parking area with a long concrete curb jutting outward ended my ride. No one witnessed what happened next.
(ABOVE: My tire blew a hole in the sidewall. I have to replace the damaged rim too.)
The evening shadows shielded that concrete curb extension-- I found it. I slammed into the 6 inch high concrete slab at high speed. A loud "pow" echoed off buildings as my tire exploded, the air tube forced its way through the side of the front tire. I ungracefully flew over the handbars, splatting face-first into the parking lot. It wasn't my first choice, but my chin slowed me to a stop. The front of my helmet slammed into the ground, cracking it on the pavement. I tried to catch myself with my right arm too, and it's now a colorful mess as well.
(ABOVE: My swollen finger points to where my helmet cracked. Deep scratches cover the front of the helmet.)
I then donated a quart of blood to the parking lot as blood dripped from my face. My mouth filled with blood. My gums were cut. I checked my teeth, and they all seemed to be in place though my lip was split open. Blood also oozed from somewhere above my lip and from the tip of my nose. I created ugly art work in the parking lot, dripping red dots to the white concrete. No bones felt broken, but my face felt like it resembled a scary Halloween movie.
(BELOW: My now scratched sunglasses protected my brow from cuts and scars. If I wore my "clear" glasses, I probably wouldn't have wrecked.)
I stumbled to my bike, found my emergency kit and cell phoned my wife. Blood dripped on my phone as my fingers had small cuts. I could barely speak due to my hurt mouth and broken lips.
I spoke in short sentences, "Shyla. I need you. Had bike wreck. Come get me."
I didn't tell her I was hurt because I didn't want her to know I was injured-- she might kill herself driving 100mph to come rescue me!
(ABOVE: I'm not sure how I accomplished this, but the back of my jersey ripped. Those are blood spots along the shoulder area.)
After I hung up, I took a self portrait with my cell phone camera so that I could see what I looked like. The image has lots of color-- I won't post that picture here or anywhere on-line.
My wife arrived a few minutes later. She first saw me in her headlights. My face was red and dripping.
She drove me to our house (though she wanted to take me to the hospital) as I told her that I wanted to shower first. (I'm a guy-- I don't get sick, take medicine or go to hospitals!)
In the bathroom I looked at myself in the mirror. My chin had a hole in it! Skin dangled. Blood covered everything. I told her to take me to hospital-- she was already packing stuff in the car for the trip.
The next part was the scariest as I started shaking violently as I couldn't get warm. I guess this was shock?! I don't know-- I've never been badly hurt before. My wife's friend Shayna who was at our house at the time held my hand in the car while my wife locked the house and put up the dogs. I shook for 10 minutes before I warmed under blankets. I held a towel under my chin to catch the dripping blood.
Shyla drove me to St. Francis hospital by 9:30pm, about 45 minutes after my wipeout. The emergency room was busy as I slumped down on the floor holding my towel. My bleeding slowed, but my face hurt badly. After a 45 minute wait, they took me into a trama room.
The near hour wait to be seen by a physician wasn't ideal, but the doctors and nurses were great. I was fine and will be ok.
Though I was "just" bloody, they took precautionary x-rays and CAT scans. Nothing was broken, no permanent injuries.
I received internal and external stitches around my mouth and chin. Just a bloody mess and stiches, nothing more.
As I write this 48 hours later, I'm typing with my left hand as my right hand is swollen. I'm unintentionally dieting too as I can't do much more than slurping noodles due to the swelling in my mouth!
....
The frustrating part of this bike wreck was that it shouldn't have happened. I was riding in an area away from traffic and hazards that I deemed safe. I still got hurt. This is the worst injury and scariest thing that's ever happened to me.
If I wasn't wearing a helmet my injuries would have been so much worse! Due to the helmet, my only head injuries were some minor scratches on my forehead from the padding where the helmet broke and flexed.
(Today I reordered the exact same helmet: Louis Garneau Oz-zy Helmet-- it performed perfectly!)
(ABOVE: My bracelet from the hospital. My wife might disagree sometimes, but I'm not a big risk taker!)
....
Please, please, please, if you read this, make sure you wear a helmet! It terrifies me to see children in my neighborhood without them-- I wrecked when I thought I was perfectly safe.
Today my face looks awful, it's still a bloody mess. But I'm able to return to work soon as I was wearing a helmet-- I'll be back on TV this Saturday morning.
And I hope to ride again soon, especially as the Tulsa Tough is the end of this month!
After I return this weekend I'll then be off on Saturday May 29 for the 100km Tulsa Tough ride.
Please, always wear a helmet and be safe... and don't ride into dark areas after dark. Thanks for reading!
(BELOW: Though now offered in different colors, I ordered the exact same model of helmet (Louis Garneau Oz-zy model size "L") as I know it works. More expensive helmets like these come in different sizes for a perfect, safer fit.)
