Table of Contents: The Big Bike Accident - September 1, 2004

I only became fully conscious once I was in the E.R. and in a bay on a bed. I was told that witnesses had seen me fly over my handlebars, and that my teeth had been found and were intact. I had been placed on a stiff board, probably in case any major bones were broken. My neck was in an uncomfortable brace.

Ian arrived, and I was glad to see him. I knew I must have looked frightful, and I waited to see how he would react, but he was pretty stoic. I didn't feel much emotion myself. I wasn't happy about my situation, but I wasn't feeling terrible about it either.

At this point, no one knew all the things that might be wrong with me. We just knew that my teeth had come out and that my lower lip was severely lacerated. They would have to do X-rays and whatever other tests were required to determine the full extent of the damage.

For some reason, I did not talk. I don't know exactly why; I think I just did not feel like talking. I motioned for Ian to find something I could write on. He found something, and we began to communicate. At first, I wrote what I had to say, and he started to write his response. I thought this was funny, because there was nothing wrong with his mouth or voice. I indicated to him that he could just talk, and he saw the humor, too.

For quite awhile, I wrote, and he spoke. When there was no one around but us, he talked just to keep me company, and maybe to have something to do. He told me about things that had gone on that day. Our friend Jason had interviewed at Ian's lab, so he told me about that. I was very glad that Jason might get a job there. He'd been looking for a long time for something in his field, as opposed to something just to pay the bills.

Then the doctor showed up. He looked nerdy, kind of like Bill Gates. I thought this was funny. But he was very kind, and was the first person to ask me why I wasn't talking, and whether I could talk. I tried out my voice, and said that I could croak. He agreed, it did sound like croaking. Apparently, my vocal cords had been traumatized in the accident.

He checked me out in a cursory way. He moved my legs had me stand up. My back was pretty sore, but it had been sore before I'd left on my ride. My legs were fine, and I had no trouble standing up. He also took a look inside my mouth. He told me I would be X-rayed and that I would be given a CAT scan. Obviously, we were going to be here for awhile.

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Table of Contents: The Big Bike Accident - September 1, 2004