Bike Accident :-(

[emily_in_nc]

Hi TE friends,

I haven't been around for a few days because I had a crash on Friday. I guess I am in the Anger stage right now. I really still can't believe this happened. Here are the deets, copied and pasted from my Facebook post:

We had just had a wonderful road ride in Georgia on a beautiful day. We were staying in a COE campground on the shores of Lake Strom Thurmond. On our cool-down loop through the campground, I was coasting around a blind curve, downhill, so probably going a bit faster than I should have, when a tiny little girl (maybe 3 years old) on a teeny-tiny bike pulled out right in front of me, crossing the road.

I couldn't stop or swerve in time and crashed right into her and endo'd. First time I have ever done that. I chin-planted right on the concrete road. I was bleeding quite a bit and felt like I'd lost a bunch of teeth in back as my bite was immediately messed up. Some nice campers at an adjacent site called 911, and an ambulance & sheriff arrived pretty quickly. The little girl's father showed up and felt terrible. She was okay, just a skinned knee and shook up, of course. I feel bad that I hit her, but I blame her parents for not paying attention. I guess Dad was down by the lake nearby (and my mind wonders if he was on his Smartphone, as I see that all too often these days when parents are supposed to be taking care of their kids.) No child of that age should be on a bike in the middle of any road unsupervised, even in a campground. She could have been hit by a car just as easily as by me. But if it had been a flat or uphill section, I would have been able to avoid her, since my speed would have been slower. DH had just gone through that area and had seen her, but at the time she was on the side of the road. He didn't anticipate her pulling out so didn't yell for me to be aware.

I was whisked off to an Augusta hospital about 30 minutes away. I was in the ER for six hours. Got both hands xrayed (have a left thumb fracture and right pinky sprain) and a CT scan of my jaw. The jaw wasn't broken as I'd feared, but I wish I'd thought to ask about dislocation, because it certainly seems to be. My teeth are not matching up anywhere close to right, though it doesn't seem like I actually lost any, thank goodness. I guess I still could, but hopefully NOT. I have been able to brush them, very carefully, but I can't open my mouth very far, my bottom lip and part of my mouth inside is numb, making eating challenging (soft food only), and my face is swollen like I just got all my wisdom teeth out. I look bad.

They sutured cuts above my upper lip and my chin. Have a pretty good strawberry in both place and am cleaning & changing bandages daily. I've got bruising on my neck and a big one on my left quad. I'm sore here and there (ribcage, sternum), but nothing too bad, so I'm getting around fine.

I am going to see a doctor to follow up about my jaw, of course. I'm hoping that once the swelling goes down, it will miraculously fit together again, but I am not counting on that. I'm hoping the lip numbness isn't permanent because I really do like my smile, and I enjoy eating without worrying that I'm dribbling all over myself, like after a dental appointment! My thumb seems to be healing quickly -- I even took the splint off (they told me I could in the ER) so I could type better, and it really doesn't hurt, is just stiff and swollen. I'll put it back on for sleeping.

Each day is a bit better than the one before, so I am trying to remain optimistic. It could have been worse, but as you can imagine, I'm not a very happy camper at the moment!

We just arrived in Hickory, NC, where my mother and step-dad live, yesterday and will be in Chapel Hill next week. Good timing for doc appointments. I already had a routine mammogram scheduled. To add to the fun, it appears that my step-father may have had a mini-stroke about a week ago. So, my 82-year old mother is frantic about that, and now worried about me too. I hate that she is having to do more than usual. I hope my DH can help her out some while we are here. Normally I would, but....

[Crankin]

I am sorry, Emily! What happened is why I do not ride on bike trails, where there are a large number of kids. And kids are unpredictable. And yes, I would blame the parents.
Are you going to see an oral surgeon or a doctor about the jaw?

[ny biker]

So sorry this happened, Emily! I'm glad you and the girl were not more seriously hurt, at least. I hope the numbness and jaw problems subside as the swelling goes down.

[north woods gal]

Emily, my heart goes out to you and my best for a good recovery. Nothing worse than the dreaded endo and it has claimed a lot of lives. Glad you survived it, nasty and painful as it was for you. Have done one, but I landed in sand with nothing more than the wind knocked out of me. I was so lucky, because there were rocks all around me.

If there's any good news in this, you're right, at least the child wasn't seriously hurt. I would have had a hard time living with that, otherwise.

Go slow and lot's of love from this girl.

Joanie

[Pax]

Oh no, Emily!! I'm so sorry to hear and this, and doubly glad you weren't more severely injured. Hope you heal up quickly and the jaw slides right back into place once the swelling goes down.

[Helene2013]

Sending good vibes that you heal quickly and without bad consequences. What a nasty but preventable accident.

Reminds me 2-3 years ago at a campground. We're walking 2 dogs, one that is blind. He is on grass, on leash. 2-3 boys on a bike came down the hill carelessy and saw us too late. Their handling was not at best and first thing we knew they rammed into my tiny blind dog. He flipped under the wheel, near the chain ring, etc... I was scared he was injured. He just got up and walked away no harm. I could not help but talk loudly to the kids to slow down as the campground was crowded. I saw their parents down the hill and no apologies or checking on us. I did not see the boys (about 8-9) for the time we were there.

So now we are even more overly careful with kids and bikes. Those things can happen so fast.

[emily_in_nc]

I am sorry, Emily! What happened is why I do not ride on bike trails, where there are a large number of kids. And kids are unpredictable. And yes, I would blame the parents.
Are you going to see an oral surgeon or a doctor about the jaw?

This was not on a bike trail but a campground road. We dealt with kids all the time on the paved paths in Florida but most had much better lines of sight, very few blind curves, and not many hills. I do blame myself for going faster downhill than I probably should have, but this is the first time in two visits to this park that I have ever seen a child in the road.

I am going to my PCP first as a follow-up on both my thumb and jaw and have her refer me to specialists as needed. She'll be getting all the records from the ER that did the x-rays and CT scan. Also, she is a pretty serious cyclist and runner so is aware of these types of things. I feel very comfortable starting with her.

I am trying to avoid getting into the "dental" realm, if at all possible, since I have health insurance but no dental insurance, so this could make a big difference in the out-of-pocket cost.

[redrhodie]

Emily, I just saw this. I'm so sorry this happened to you! You're such a sweet person. You don't deserve this! I hope you're feeling better, and I hope your jaw realigns without more medical intervention.

What a horrible crash!





Sent from my BLU LIFE ONE X using Tapatalk

[emily_in_nc]

Thanks, red!

I agree, I don't deserve this. Then again, no one does. I only hope I didn't traumatize the little girl so much she never wants to ride her tiny bike again!

Thank you for your kind words. <3

[emily_in_nc]

UPDATE: I got in to see my PCP today. She pretty much confirmed my thoughts that I am healing well except for my jaw malocclusion, which is not resolving, despite the fact that much of the swelling is gone. She thinks the numbness will heal naturally in time, but she did refer me to an oral surgeon to check out my jaw further.

Trying to get an appointment was a real illustration of our crazy health-care system in this country. Despite marking my need as "Urgent/Stat", and being a Duke doctor herself, when the referral coordinator tried to get me an appointment at Duke's Oral-Maxillofacial clinic, the best they could offer me was an appointment on June 5. That's ridiculous. The other referral coordinator in the office overheard our discussion and frustration with that so called UNC, but they require a written letter from a physician, and I knew that would add extra time and complexity, so I mentioned that one DMD in private practice was also on my insurance company's list of covered physicians. They called his office and were able to get me set up for an appointment next Tuesday, May 9. Not quite as soon as I'd hoped, but better than June!

After I have my consultation, we'll know what our summer will look like, if I require surgery, etc.... It's hard to wait, but at least I feel like I'm one step closer as of today.

[ny biker]

I hope you get good news from the oral surgeon. I'm going on Monday to a new doctor for my ankle, which is now hurting more since I walked to get lunch yesterday for the first time since things started to hurt in late January. So perhaps we will both know what our summers will look like by early next week.

[Pax]

Glad you got that stepin the process underway, seems like actually getting appointments is what drags the recovery out so long.

[Catrin]

Good luck Emily! So glad you were able to get in, though this week would have been better for your stress level if you're anything like me. Please keep us posted and hoping for good news!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

[emily_in_nc]

Thanks all, will keep you posted!

[Helene2013]

Crossing fingers that all will go well for all of you and that your cycling season can resume quickly.