Reading these posts makes me think I am some kind of a disaster! (And I am only going to get into ER visits for ME - If I included my kids and DH, this post could take me all night!)

As a child :

ER and stitches - in my head from my brother pushing me into the corner of a table (still have the scar under my hair)

ER and stitches - from a classmate and a PENCIL going into my hand in the 2nd grade

Neither of these seemed like a big deal to me - but I'll bet it did to my Mom!!

As an adult :

ER and yet more stitches in my head from chasing after my oldest child (then only about 18 months) and crashing head-first into a window sill. Still have the scar under my hairline.

Sept. 2005. ER for 5 stitches in middle finger of right hand, sliced open while helping son # 3 rebuilding computer. (Did you ever realize how SHARP the metal sides of a computer tower can be??) Still do not have any feeling in that finger. I think the nerve was sliced. Hoping for regrowth someday.

Bike-Related:

Broken Pelvis from following too closely in a paceline ( 9-09-01). Taken to ER on body board. Kept overnight plus one day. Absolutely HORRIBLE week from He** as I lay helpless, just home from the hospital, watching the TV and all the horrendous 9-11 events unfold.) Diagnosed with concussion, too.

Feb. 2002 - Wiped out on bike after being rear-ended by another bike rider. Concussion and minor road rash. Taken to ER for head x-ray. SCARY! Dam*! Don't need to have brain shook up so soon again!

Oct. 2003. Close encounter with a car. Choice - Get hit by car/take the curb.
I took the curb. My bike stopped. I did not. (law of motion in action!). I kept going. Slid on my face (mostly) and stopped at a brick wall. Called my DH (tho' I don't remember doing so and repeatedly asked him on the way to the ER how DID he know where to find me). Yet another concussion and major road rash on my face. (Denise - You are brave to show your photos. Maybe I will show mine sometime.) I looked much worse than I felt. Still have some slight scarring, but I feel extremely lucky to have gotten off with so few injuries.

August, 2004. On RAGBRAI. In Fort Dodge, IA. Hit by a hit-and-run-driver when going to my campgrounds after the evening entertainment. It was my first year self-supported. I credit my panniers with saving me from worse injury. I was hit on the rear pannier and I honestly think that absorbed most of the impact. Woke up on the side of the road. The rider following me witnessed the whole thing. Called 911. Ambulance came, whisked me to the ER. Had x-rays. Was there for over 4 hours. Finally told that nothing was broken and I could leave. Leave???? I had no bike. It was trashed. I knew perfectly well I had been unconcious for some time....... Thank the PTB's that the person who'd witnessed the "accident" had friends in town that took me in for the night and rescued my bike and all my "stuff." That's RAGBRAI for you. People take care of each other. Anyway, I called home, arranged for a ride home the next day, and came back and healed up. VERY sore, but not broken or sprained ankle. Still have the mark where the pedal ripped into my ankle. Weird, but it's almost a mark of pride............ it's a star shape. When I look at it, I think, F***! I could have quit riding then. I'd had so many accidents in the past few years. So Many People, including people I care for deeply, thought I should quit biking. Yet I didn't. I couldn't. As long as I am able to bike, I will do so. It is so much apart of who I am. I had ridden, seriously, for over 15 years, and never had ANY major injuries or accidents. It finally caught up with me. I still wouldn't change a thing. I continue to ride and honestly, I am very safety-conscious, but haven't really changed the way I ride or where I ride. Life is short and oh so capricious. I will ride my bike and be happy.

Sorry to get so philosophical!!! Its late. At night. I should be sleeping. I don't post much........ it seems everyone else says what I would say before I get a chance to say it. And that is great! I feel almost related to many of you wonderful women of TE. Ride on, Ladies. Keep posting. I will join in when I have something to share.

annie