Thursday, June 7, 2012
Suckiest 30th Birthday Ever: Jonathan's Accident (aka WEAR YOUR HELMET)
As some of you may have seen on Twitter the other night, Jonathan was in a bike accident on Tuesday, his 30th birthday. He had just picked up a gallon of milk from Freddie's after work and was heading down the steep hill back to our house. I guess bystanders say he had to hit his front brake because a car did something crazy and he flipped over the front of his bike on the hill and whacked his head. The ambulance wasn't going to take his bike and so a good Samaritan held onto it for safekeeping, giving the EMTs his info so Jonathan or someone could pick the bike up later. (Jonathan's bike is his BABY. I can't believe the EMTs were just going to leave it.)
I got a call from an EMT telling me Jonathan was in a bike accident and that he was okay and to meet them at the ER. I got there and they'd shown up not long beforehand. J was still in a C-collar and still very much in shock, completely shaking and crying a little bit and totally freaked out. When the nurse took him to get a CAT scan and x-rays I went to pick up Jonathan's bike. The guy was SO nice and helped take off the front wheel and load it into the car. I am so thankful there are honest people like him out there.
I got back and Jonathan had just been wheeled back into the room. He had some really bad road rash on his left shoulder and a little bit on his face and a pretty good bruise going. He had a concussion from hitting his head so hard and blacking out. He has the bruise shape of his helmet across his forehead. He was still very contussed, and kept asking the same questions over and over. We finally got to leave ER around 9pm, three hours later, went to get pizza and milk (wouldn't that be evil if I didn't even get milk?!) from Freddie's, Percocet from Walgreen's and headed home. He rested on the couch while I cleaned up the milk mess inside his bag. He had no short term memory. He would ask what happened to him, so then I'd answer him. He'd ask that he probably needed a new helmet? Then immediately ask again what happened to him. He was concerned about the same things, so when I had to leave him to clean up his bag I wrote down the answers to all of his questions, which seemed to keep him calm when I wasn't there.
I had to clean off his face and change all the bandages on him, which took quite awhile. He was a mess! They hadn't cleaned off his face at all, so he had a bunch of dried blood in his beard that was a pain to get out.
Thankfully, yesterday morning I got up because I heard him up and around and he was back to his normal self, albeit one with a bad headache and very woozy. Scary thing! I'm so glad he's okay. He probably would have been seriously injured or killed if he hadn't been wearing his helmet. I can't believe this all happened on his birthday, too. We are both thankful that we haven't had a chance to celebrate his birthday, because he wouldn't remember it! So we will celebrate tonight or tomorrow when he can really enjoy it. Some of his birthday presents were alcohol, which he can't enjoy until tomorrow, due to the concussion.
Some photos taken on Tuesday night:
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Moral of the story is: WEAR YOUR HELMET! Jonathan is one of the safest cyclists I know and this still happened to him. Sometimes there's nothing you can do in a situation, which is why pre-planning (wearing the helmet) is important. We'll be going to get him a new helmet in a few days, when he feels up to leaving the house again. I'm completely thankful that he's going to be okay and that his bike is okay!
P.S. Something funny that he kept asking (that we are laughing about now) is that he'd go, "What day is it?" and I'd say, "It's your birthday," and he'd go, "It's my fucking birthday?!" A minute or two later... "What day is it?" "It's your birthday." "It's my fucking birthday?!"
In the beginning when he was really stressed still he was really upset that it was his birthday, so I started telling him it was Tuesday. Then he started saying, "Tuesday. But what is the date?" "It's the Fifth." "It's my fucking birthday?!" As he started moving through the levels of the concussion we'd go through the routine and he finally started laughing and said, "Oh, man, it's my fucking birthday?!"
After answering the same questions no less than fifty times it became awesome and funny when his brain did something different. I was in another room and heard him laughing. When I came out he said, "Look! Providence gave me a new middle name on my birthday! They said it was 'David' instead of 'Walter!'" Which is really funny! Then a half hour later he'd start laughing and be all, "Oh my god, my middle name is David!"
Also, when we first got home I told him Artoo was going to be really excited to see him and he got all excited and said, "We should tell him that witches did this to me!" which is really funny because it's one of our jokes that whenever we leave the apartment we always tell Artoo to keep the witches away. The fact that his brain knew this on some level was pretty funny.
Remember, kids, concussions CAN be fun! :oD
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Oh my god! How scary. I was biking with my brother once when he had a similar flipping over the front incident. It was terrifying. I'm glad Jonathan is more or less OK. Hope he heals quickly!
ReplyDeleteYes, definitely more or less okay! We are thankful for no broken bones and he's alive! Plus, his bike only sustained a little bit of damage in that his grip tape was ripped in one area. I shudder to think if he were a less-careful cyclist. Scary!!
DeleteOh Brittany I'm so sorry to hear about this! And so glad that he's okay. Those photos look awful, he looks so sad! What a shitty way to spend a birthday. I hope you guys get to have a fun celebration when he's all healed up. :) Also, is it awful that I find the last sentence on that list a little bit funny?
ReplyDeleteNo, it IS funny! It was interesting that, even though he wasn't making any new memories and had short term memory loss, as soon as he discovered something new, it was somewhere in his brain. He didn't discover his chipped tooth right off the bat, so he didn't ask about it or mention it. As soon as he realized he had a chipped tooth it was part of his mental repertoire. He'd go, "Oh, man, I chipped a tooth!" and I'd say, "I know, don't touch it! You have blood on your face." I didn't want him to unintentionally get blood or goo everywhere, forget about it, and then do it again! When I had to run into Freddie's I told him, "You stay here! DON'T TOUCH YOUR FACE: THERE IS BLOOD ON IT!"
DeleteHi love! Oh my gosh. I am so sorry to hear this. That looks just horrible!!! I do ALWAYS wear my helmet!! That was sort of funny that he kept saying: Ut's my fucking birthday?! Again, so sorry! I can't even imagine how scared you must have been! Healing thoughts to Jonathan!
ReplyDeleteHim saying "It's my fucking birthday?!" in all the many different tones of voice was hilarious!! I should have video-ed it. I told him that I could have given him his birthday presents to see if he liked them and then taken them and hid them again. ;o)
Deletethank god for helmets!
ReplyDeleteSeriously! He has a stripey helmet bruise across his forehead. :o/
DeleteOh my! Shocking! So sorry! I knew someone who had a similar accident & broke both arms. Jonathan is quite fortunate, even though he may not feel like it right now. I hope he has a happy belated birthday and "expedited" healing.
ReplyDeleteOh, this is Rene'. Not that Renee' or Renea, or any other Renai, just me. Not really Elaine, either. Not anymore.
ReplyDeleteSorry. This is a test. I have chronic issues with gmail accounts. I think it just deleted the important post.
ReplyDeleteOh, so sorry to hear this! I hope he has a very happy belated birthday to help ease the pain, suffering, and recovery! Poor Jonathan! I just showed Kaden (who always wears his helmet and tells other kids that they are breaking the law if they don't) and told him that there's a very good reason for bike helmets! He just wanted to see more pictures. Must be a boy thing. Show me MORE gross stuff, Mama!!! BTW, this is Rene', in case the "Kaden" didn't tip you off. I'm incognito.
ReplyDeleteHoly shit! I had no idea!! Poor Jonathan!!! Yeeks. I am so glad he is ok!!!
ReplyDeleteCan I just say this was one of the saddest and cutest things ever? I love your note. So much.
You broke your tooth. Don't touch it!!
Love you both so much! Stay safe you kids!
XOXOXXX.
Happy belated bday to J!!! I hope you have a great make-up day!
ReplyDelete