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Oh Yeah...Hi Mom, I broke my thumb!
and here's the story...
It happened S0 quickly ...
That's what they ALL say. I was driving to meet a friend to work out at the YMCA Wednesday
night (4/19/2000) after work...and came up to the stoplight going westbound on Trimble near
First Street in San Jose.
I was about 1/2 block away and saw the light turn yellow...and knew I had to stop. (and
had room to do so.) I was in the middle lane of 3 straight lanes...and in the middle of
the lane. (This intersection has a LONG light cycle.)
I pulled in the hand brake and slightly depressed the rear brake. I had slowed down from
40MPH to about 20MPH. Then Snap...the handlebars moved, so the right bar shoved against
the lower part of my thumb...and next thing I knew, I was sliding my body along the
street. My bike was on the left side...and I had my helmet, knees, shoulder, and toes
straight down in the pavement...and the bike was behind me pushing me along.
I got to my knees…and wiggled my feet and hands after I came to a stop. Took a deep
breath and groaned, because my left ribs hurt. A guy I had passed on a recumbent bicycle
pulled over to help. We picked up pieces of my windshield and some of the pins from my
vest…went over to the bike…by this time a truck had pulled up to the
stoplight…and the driver got out to help me right my bike.
I got the bike up and the side stand down…threw a leg over her and pushed her to the
side of the road…damn, my right hand was starting to hurt.
Was able to start her up…and by that time, the guy on the bicycle was calling 911 for
an ambulance. Turned off my bike, got off it, took off my helmet, and then the entourage
arrived.
First a Fire engine…they took my pulse, and BP (100/70) Why does one remember this
stuff??? Then the cop car came…I had to get one of the guys to take my wallet out of
my right rear pocket, as my hand was really hurting and starting to swell up. The cops
asked for my insurance and registration…I had to have them open up the left Givi
bag…and unclasp an area where the paperwork was. At this point….I was getting
tired.
The ambulance came…and they wanted to take me straight to the hospital. I told them I
wanted to call my husband…and see if he could come for the bike. I borrowed the
bicyclist’s phone…and called Chuck…he ended up getting a ride out to the
“scene” and riding my bike back to his work. My ribs, knees, and right thumb
really hurt. I told the ambulance folks that I’d like to go with them to the
hospital. (Note: up to this time I had considered riding 6 miles home.)
The cops gave me an incident report card…no ticket. I took my jacket, helmet and
purse (see Shawn, I listened to what you said in our meeting!) and they belted me into a
gurney. The guy on the bicycle gave me his card…I thanked him profusely.
Then they got me in the ambulance (my first…and hopefully only time). We went to SJ
Medical Center in downtown SJ…the Cops waited for Chuck…as we did a U-turn in
the ambulance, I saw Chuck getting to my bike. It took 10 minutes to get to the hospital.
I wanted to use my celphone, but they said NO for in the ambulance! Begged for an Icepack
for my hand...I was swelling a lot by then.
So when we got to the hospital, I asked the ambulance guys to let me call before they took
me in!…Left a message for Chuck…and as they’re about to bring me in to ER,
the Head ER nurse comes out and he says…”I thought she was a
TRAUMA…she’s on a celphone!”….Prissy to boot! I had to laugh…it
WAS so funny.
So they downgraded me from “TRAUMA” immediately…put me in Room 3A and that
was about 6:30PM….
I was there till Midnight. Tetanus shot, IV, wrapped hand…after X-rays of ribs and
hand…then a CT scan of spleen area…since there was bruising of my ribs on my
left side. The results from the last test took forever!
They discharged me with a prescription for Vicodin 500mg 2 tabs every 4 hrs, if
needed….and told me to see a bone doctor for my thumb, as it WAS fractured.
So here’s the result:
Left Givi Bag
scraped up
Left footpeg
broken off
Gas tank dent left side near handlebars
Left turn signal scraped up
Windshield
(TOAST!)
Clutch Handle scraped
Shift lever bent
Left crash bar scraped
Left freeway peg scraped
Left lock of steering too much(seems to turn too far)
Left mirror scratched on back
Speedometer chrome case scratched
Boot on clutch cable at handlebar scratched
Helmet & Face Shield decimated - Left Side
Front
Right Side
Jacket/Vest damage (leather scrapes on both arms, front of
Vest, snaps)
Left Steel-toe boot scraped to steel—dime sized area
Jeans scraped…but no holes/tears
and $500.00 deductible.
I’m having surgery Monday night to put my hand together. (2 pins…no riding for 4
weeks, at least)!
Not to mention, I need to get a NEW SHOEI (helmet) A-G-A-I-N!!! and some of the other
stuff.
Quite frankly, I’m amazed I’m in such good shape! I’m taking Vicodin at
night...and Ibuprofen during the day.
Other than this, I haven’t updated the web page from the April meeting…I’ll
try to get it done before the May meeting…I’ll bring my
clothing for Show-and-tell.
What I learned from this:
1. I need to remember if I’m going through a well-traveled street/intersection to NOT
ride in the center of the lane. Especially in commuting areas/city streets. I handled the
bike well…and I’m clear I lost traction on something in the lane.
2. I’m wearing my full-faced helmet, period. I basically slid down the street on my
chin/nose area…and I would have been hamburger, if I hadn’t worn my Shoei.
3. K-Mart jeans aren’t Kevlar…but they’re damn good, if you’re going
20MPH or so and go down.
4. Remember when you last had a tetanus shot…(My arm still hurts from the damn shot!)
5. It doesn’t matter if you’ve ridden a lot or a little (By the
way…I’ve put 3,000 miles on my 1998 Virago!) You can still go down…and VERY
quickly!
6. People who stop to help you are generally wonderful!
7. Oh yeah, there are a lot of “3's” involved here.
* Re: Chuck & Jodie: CP car overheats, JT car vs Tree, and Bike
* Re: WITW - Kristan, Jamie, & Jodie accidents
* Re: WOW - Laureen, Jamie, & Jodie accidents
* Re: JT work - Accidents for Todd, Dan, and Jodie
* And I was in Emergency Room 3A !
8. And my biorhythms for the day??? Critical day (Physical)
Pretty wild…huh?
To all I ride with, see you at the May meeting (WITW or WOW or both!)
Ride SAFE
Jodie (a.k.a. “Lucky2”)
