By-Tor.com

awip2062 wrote:

Walkinghairball wrote:We kinda thought of doing that in a spur of the moment moment.

Truth disclaimer: Leon came up with the idea and thought you all would have fun with it. We just agreed and joined in the fun.

awip2062 wrote:Pfffffffft! First of all, she hardly ever comes here. Second of all, I am her mum, so if she is one, I must be too!

awip2062 wrote:My mom just laughed and said I can't be an angel because she isn't one.

Saturday 4th October 2008, approximately 11.20am - this could possibly have been the time and date of my death.

However, it seems I'm meant to be alive on this planet for some time yet.

For those of you who don't know, my primary form of transportation is a blue & white Honda 50cc scooter. Navigating around Vancouver (BC) & surrounds can be dicey at times, given the 'fucknut' quotient of drivers around here, but I get along just fine.

Until yesterday.

I was sideswiped and knocked off my scooter yesterday...by a truck.

Driving west down Hastings Street, the truck was to my left. I was going straight, he appeared to be doing straight. Not so, grasshoppers. He decides to make a right turn onto Victoria Drive WITHOUT INDICATING.

It was one of those moments where you could see what's about to happen, yet you're powerless to stop it. I slammed on my brakes, to no avail. The thought that flashed through my mind: "I'm dead."

What unfolded next was moments of sheer terror, cracks, brakes, pavement, rolling. At one point, I could swear I felt wheels on me, thinking "Fuck, I'm gonna be crushed, I'm gonna die." It would seem it was merely the scooter falling on top of me as I rolled, but...I really can't find words to describe the terror of those moments.

A few passersby rushed over to see if I was alright. An ambulance arrived a few minutes later, plus two fire trucks (how embarrassing...). Got checked out by the ambulance guys, other people got the relevant details. I have it on good authority that the truck driver felt very bad. Damn right, he should be.

The scooter was towed to the Busters holding yard. I have an assessment appointment with ICBC next Wednesday. Fortunately, I am covered but the damage is quite serious - the taillight assembly was ripped out, the right wheel cover ripped off entirely, apparently the rear wheel was bent and it seems the fuel tank was also ruptured, as there was fuel leaking as well. It'll be a major repair job at the very least. I won't be surprised if it turns out to be a write-off entirely. If the latter comes to pass, it'd be as if my scooter gave it's life to save mine. I spent some of yesterday afternoon lying down, with my foot elevated & in ice. I managed to make it out to a play party last night. Everyone there was so sweet and supportive. Didn't do much, though, spent most of the night with my right foot on a chair with an icepack & towel. Ultimately, I wasn't in the headspace to be sitting alone in my room, staring at the walls. It was good to be amongst friends for a few hours.

The aftermath: as I write this, I have bruises galore on my right foot. I can bear weight on it (hence the lack of a hospital trip yesterday) but I have had to adapt a piece of my old art easel as a makeshift cane. I've also got some spectacular bruising on my upper left arm, plus a few other bruises scattered around elsewhere and generally feeling rather sore and stiff. Not quite sure what the aftereffects of all this are going to be, but given what I know and have heard about ICBC, methinks a trip by the ER of New Westminster Hospital this afternoon would be a good idea.

The last 24 hours have been very strange. Knowing that I could have died yesterday does tend to be the proverbial kick in the ass and changes one's perspective in a hurry. Seems the God & Goddess are still keeping an eye on me, methinks. All I can say is that I'm lucky. Very. Fucking. Lucky.

OUCH Pix, no more Daredeviling for you kiddo. *HUGS*


"It ain't no fun becoming road pizza well done."<----- (A lyric I wrote to a tune after my car wreck 13 years ago.)


Get checked so you know whats fully hurt.

awip2062 wrote:

^^^^
a few pics of me!

Thanks for the support, advice and kind words, everyone. Means a lot at a time like this.

OK, an update:

Firstly, just to clarify, my riding position was somewhat to the right on the road, close to the parking lane. Scooters tend to do this quite a lot in Vancouver, given the lack of power of a scooter (versus cars) and the general fucknuttery of the drivers up here. Ultimately, that doesn't really matter squat. The blunt fact is that truck driver turned without indicating, ergo he's at fault.

I spent about 3-4 hours yesterday afternoon & early evening in the ER of Royal Columbian Hospital, New Westminster. Despite my refusal of ambulance transport to a hospital the previous day, I woke up feeling sore all over and my right foot did not look good at all. Got a bit of a run-around during admission, due to the fact I lack a Care Card, but I told them bluntly it would be an ICBC claim. I did feel a tad embarrassed, being scooted about in a wheelchair after admission, but it certainly saved me some unneccesary hobbling about.

Went in for X-Rays twice (two of the films were screwed up the first time around). Fortunately, no broken bones or torn ligaments showed up. I suspected that would be the case, given that my right foot is able to bear SOME of my weight.

One of the ER doctors looked me over - official diagnosis is a nasty ankle sprain, coupled with various bruises (including a rather spectacular shiner on my upper left arm). Again, very damn lucky.

I'm now the proud owner of a new Tensor bandage and a set of aluminum crutches. I did make enquiries about an AirCast (or similar), but given past history with patients taking longer to recuperate and said injuries not healing very well, the bandage/crutches situation was the best way to go. At least I no longer need to hobble about on my makeshift cane (a piece of wood from my old art easel ). Not sure how long I'll be in this situation, but I have been advised to alternate rest and walking around, to prevent stiffness.

I now have a medical assessment appointment with ICBC this coming Thursday afternoon and a medical claim number to go with it. I'll be contacting RCH for a copy of the X-Rays & records noted during my ER visit. A number of people have also advised me that a chat with a Personal Injury Lawyer might not be a bad idea either. At the very least, I'm going to make damn sure it's all claimed through ICBC. Given my visa situation, I currently have no medical coverage, but I'm in the process of checking to see if and how I can rectify that. On top of that, Muggins here isn't at fault, so I'll be damned if I'm going to pay for it. Methinks nearly losing my life was enough, no?

To answer some of your questions:

No, the police did not attend the scene. Yes, the truck driver stopped and someone else got his details for me, which were passed to ICBC. Also a couple of witnesses provided their details as well.

@JackRelax - Was I wearing a helmet? OH HELL YES!!!

British Columbia may have a mandatory helmet law, but personally I couldn't give a flying fuck whether that is the case or not. Anyone scootering/biking/motorcycling around without a helmet is asking for trouble and deserves what they get, IMO. Indeed, I saw many scooterists zooming around sans helmets in Hawaii a couple of years ago. Sure, Hawaiian traffic may be much more tolerant of scooters than elsewhere, but there's no point in taking chances. Better a slightly bad hair day than...the alternative.
An interesting piece of trivia - there were no scratches, bumps or anything on my helmet following the accident. Didn't hit my head in any major way at all. Seems the scooter took the brunt of it for me.

As I've been typing this, I'm at my first day of a new temp job. Fortunately, it's desk work at this point. Been pretty quiet today, just killing time on the Net, sipping coffee, my crutches leaning on the desk next to me. Who would have thought crappy brewed coffee could taste so good?

The last 48 hours have been...odd. I've been very calm & collected throughout all of this. I would have thought something would have "hit" by now, but it hasn't and I feel no impending sense of "crack-up" or anything of the sort. Something IS different, though and I'm still trying to put my finger on it. Certain situations that were impacting me to the point of emotional turmoil and fury no longer affect me that way. If anything, it's more "eh, whatever" and indeed, turning to look at positive possibilities and outcomes.

I also seemed to have snapped out of the depressive fog that I've been in over the last few weeks. Now, I've hardly mutated overnight into the Grand Poobah of the Optimists Tribe, nor am I dancing happy jigs (bit hard to do with a busted ankle ) but I'm feeling more...neutral. Even something as mundane as a cloudy October day in Vancouver used to send me into a "Black Puppy" state of mind (as opposed to Black Dog ) but I'm now looking at the sky outside and feeling...grateful??

One thing is for sure - the idea of the Universe giving you what you want does seem to hold true. It is said that reality does conform to the shape of your thoughts. If you think about something often enough, it usually comes to pass.

During a particularly nasty bout of aforementioned "Black Dog" a couple of weeks ago, the thought of wanting to die was constantly on my mind. Two days ago, the Universe came VERY close to granting me that wish.

Turns out living is the better option, no?