...I wouldn't have any luck at all. Seriously. These past two weeks can be summarized like this: hit the deck, resist medical care, finally agree to a hospital trip, excruciating pain, no food or drink, possibly surgery, 4 fractures, good drugs, bad food, good friends and crutches. I could just leave it like that, but then I wouldn't be true to my "rambling" ways.
As far as what happened, I can only rely on witness accounts because I remember going really fast thinking I would maybe make a jump after the turn into the headwind and then oh-shit, asphalt, curled into the fetal position, bikes and bodies on top of me. A brief aside: seeing the race roll past as you're laying on the ground lends an interesting perspective. Witness accounts tell me that the girl in front of the pack swerved to miss a pothole/manhole cover and clipped my front wheel. Really ? We passed over that cover a dozen times in laps before. RIDE OVER IT- yeah, it's bumpy but it's less bumpy than hitting the ground. Really.
(dinner one night at hospital - thank you ,LJ, for saving me from this !)One lesson learned in this debacle - Don't Listen to the Girl With the Concussion. That would be me, by the way. The question: Do you want to go to the hospital ? I guarantee if you asked that in a crowded room, not one person would say yes. My reaction was that of any sane person: No. And bless them, my friends and concerned citizens listened. EMT's carried me over to a random lawn chair, where I proceeded to hang out for about an hour. Trying to stand up, almost passing out from the effort and deciding to wait a little longer to see if things magically improved. They didn't. Eventually the adrenaline from the race started wearing off and the pain increased exponentially. Dammit. Something was very wrong.
Z and LJ were super supportive and helpful, managing logistics of car jockeying. Brigham put my mind at ease by assuring me that aside from a deraileur hanger and maybe truing a wheel, my bike was absolutely fine. Christine helped LJ carry me to my awaiting car and Erin, seeing that I couldn't walk at all, came through with an assist. Z quickly chauffered me to St. Agnes, the nearest hospital to my house. Noting Christine's concern regarding my offensive odor, I somehow managed to change out of my lycra and into the sundress I wore to the race. Don't ask why this was important to me, I had a concussion, remember ?
Fast forward to the ER,,where more than one nurse complimented me on my dress. Transferring bed to table for xrays, then again for cat scans. Having to explain that No, I could not twist sideways for a better shot. Sobbing when they told me I was broken. 2 fractures on the pelvic bone. Sobbing again when they added a 3rd fracture and (4) a lateral fracture to the sacrum for good measure. The strange feeling of morphine as it enters the bloodstream. LJ and Erik, kindly bringing food because thats what we do in hospitals, and then being informed by nurses that I could not eat or drink because I might need surgery. ER does NOT believe in sleep. Literally passing out when the PT girls had me stand up. They learned to believe me when I said it wasn't a good idea. FINALLY getting food/water after 25 hrs. Unfortunately it was hospital food.
The roommate who couldn't sleep without the TV on . The roommate who couldn't stop talking. The visits from friends when I least expected them but most needed them. Gorgeous flowers. A Harry & David basket that provided sustenance in lieu of aforementioned hospital food. A walker, then a wheelchair - I was hell on wheels, as you can imagine - finally, crutches.
I'm out and getting back in action- it's amazing how the human body heals itself after trauma. BIG thank you to LJ and Z, who tag teamed me in the hospital and took care of logistics. Thank you to everyone who sent well wishes or made the time to call or visit. Half of what keeps me coming back to the madness that is bike racing is the community. Teammate or competitor, in the end, we take care of our own. Call me tenacious or call me crazy - I'm down but I'm not out.
