getting to the other side

on july 1 i was launched into the street by a ford focus.  my friend, camera, was destroyed but alot of people witnessed and even tried to warn me before impact.  i may have been hit worse had i not turned and slightly reacted to the oncoming car. i'd have been completed blindsided.  the car was going somewhat fast but in reverse.  i'd checked the road and was particularly alert, still, it seemed to come out of nowhere.  the people say i was thrown, that i went over the car.  one particular guy really helped me out.  seemed trained, at least at basic first-aid or response.  a nice woman got a clean towel for me to wrap my dripping arm and the guy helped to wrap it up keep it elevated and apply pressure.  the guy asked if i needed water, i said yes, and the woman went off to a nearby bar or gallery to get me some.

as i was sitting on the curb continuing to be asked routine questions for trauma victims, i noticed what other people had already seen and known,  the back window of the car had a huge hole in it like someone had blasted it with a shotgun.  at the time i figured perhaps my camera went through the window, but the glass in my elbow and the type of lacerations were proof otherwise(the fire dept. paramedics and later-on doctor would confirm this).

it wasn't a surreal experience but it did happen faster than the senses seem to be able to record.
when i turned to see those reverse lights and sensing the speed of the car i had this sense of doom, not negative doom, but that this was going to be bad; something that i might not be able to walk away from or maybe survive.  still i saw or felt more practical or perhaps observant of everything.

i did what a creature does.  i was helped  up and i took it slow, in case i was more broken than i could detect.  i seemed to be able to get up without pain or crunching sounds. so i responded to the help to get me to the curb.  i was hoping nothing was damaged but as soon as i was getting up i could feel blood coming from somewhere. at the time i thought maybe i had some severe road-rash.  the wounds were on my elbow, the side hardest to see without a mirror.  i couldn't see the gnarly evidence, others could.

i was told by the paramedics i'd definitely need stitches, but they said i'd need at least three. i went to the closest er after getting a courtesy ride by the police to my car.  oh yeah. i declined for the firedept to take me.  i mean, if it was severe enough, wouldn't they just take me?  they gave me a choice with a hint of liability-feeling issues or stance, probably because i was conscious.  how was i supposed to know i had a lacerated artery in my elbow.  how could they know?  i don't know.
i was fortunate in that i made it to the er nearest my house, after not getting much help at the first er.  i was bleeding through my original bandages but i suppose many people in an er(that first er) are used to seeing that stuff, not to mention i didn't look too beat up except for the blood all over my pants.  i was dissapointed in the first er.

the er by my house was unusully light for a friday (they told me), so i was seen right away.
i drove about thirty minutes to the er by my house and it had been about 40 minutes since the accident.
the initial dressing kept things together enough, but i couldn't have gone much longer without dripping from my bandages.  i started bleeding pretty good when the doctor took the bandages off.  there was an excellent nurse aiding and together they got everything under control.  i had to have some cat scan and xrays and glass had to be removed.

i am waiting to see an ortho-something-or-other to double check an unusual shadow on my elbow xray.  i'm sure my elbow is gnarly, i have some crazy missing skin patches that couldn't be sutured.

from around 10pm to 4+am in the morning was my ordeal.  i got to see "under siege," well partly, and "invasion" - almost all of it.