hopkins81.com

As some of you will already know I had a nasty accident on my motorbike last week. A car pulled out in front of me at the Park Street Roundabout. I swerved to go around her, but she managed to clip the back of my bike which sent my bike sideways and me with it. I bounced along the ground a bit, hit a curb and finished up crashing into the central reservation. I shouldn’t really say too much more as its all going through the legal process now. I damaged my left leg pretty bad and the doctors were worried (not half as much as I was) that I might have ruptured my spleen. Thankfully after some further examinations they told me it wasn’t anything too serious and thankfully my leg wasn’t broken.

I must admit that one of least pleasant things about the whole experience was in the hospital. It was quite surreal being taken away from the scene of carnage in an ambulance and in a lot of pain but I had hoped upon arrival at the hospital would have come relief both physical and psychological. I found that I got neither. I was wheeled into a cubical where I lay and waited for ages. I wasn’t sure whom to expect; a doctor? a nurse? a cleaner? God? Thankfully I got only 3 out of those 4 but the worst bit was not knowing who was coming. As I have said it was not life threatening but laying there on that bed, I had no idea as to the extent of my injuries. And it wasn’t as though there were no staff. Numerous nurses congregated about the place, chatting and laughing and pushing paper. But it was left to me to call out and ask for some painkillers. I even suggested an ice pack for my knee. Which got me a sandwich bag filled with a few ice cubes, which might I add leaked everywhere! Looking back now, what I really needed was some bedside manner. I don’t know maybe I’m a big whoss but I reckon I just needed someone to talk to on arrival and at least try and put my mind at ease.

As the pictures show, my bike is very much off the road at the moment. But as for riding again in the future, the jury is still out. I mean I have been driving a car on and off for over 6 years and never been injured. Plus, everyone’s immediate reaction when they speak to me is “So that’s it for you and bikes now is it?”. But I still cannot make up my mind. I have decided to take one step at a time and get my leg sorted, as well as the insurance then make a decision. Part of me still wants to get back on. I definitely think this accident would make me a better/safer rider. And the zen inside me says when your time is up, your time is up. Still, when you see government safety campaigns like this one, it really hits home.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, February 9th, 2006 at 8:58 pm by Hopkins and is filed under Personal. Comments are currently closed.