the_siobhan | head like a hole

Welp, it's been an eventful couple of days at the Gin Palace.

Axel was in a somewhat serious bicycle accident in the wee hours of Monday morning. And when I say serious I mean that he knocked himself cold and had to be picked up off the ground by an ambulence. I spent Monday morning at the hospital with him in emergency until they got him a bed, and then the afternoon running around sorting out things like a toothbrush and a change of clothes that weren't completely covered in blood. (I've said this before in my stories about the ways in which I and my fellow humans manage to maim themselves, but man it's a good thing I know ahead of time how much head injuries bleed. Even still, when I first walked into emerg and saw him - Holy Shit.)

He was groggy and out of it Monday morning; thirsty, exhausted, and in pain but mostly coherent by Monday night and bored and cheerful by Tuesday. A couple of CT scans later he is now home and largely back to normal. He has what the release papers described as a "non-mobile fracture" in his skull, which I'm guessing means that the bone is broken, but all the important squishy bits are still safely contained. He's still kinda dizzy and a little more scattered than usual but every time I talk to him he's a little improved.

Deep breath.

So now that the meat suit is safe and in one piece, he has one remaining concern. What the hell happened to his bike?

I went to the spot where the ambulence picked him up. I called the ambulence dispatch. I called the police. Nobody seems to be able to answer the question of what happens to somebody's stuff when the ambulence carts them away from an accident. I mean a wallet, they'd toss into the ambulence. A car would what, get impounded just to get it out of the way? I assume? But nobody seems to know what happens when it's a bicycle.

Just to be clear I don't have an issue AT ALL with the EMT's not dealing with it, their priority is "get dude who landed on his head to a hospital ASAP", which is exactly what it should be. But I do find the fact that nobody knows what happens afterwards to be kind of bizarre.

Whatever. We have insurance for a reason.

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elusis

Jesus, that's scary stuff. Head injuries are NOT fucking fun, as I'm sure you know, Bob.

Apparently the best treatment is rest, including mental rest: limiting activities that take brain power as well as those involving physical exertion.

I would think police would have taken the bicycle in case it's needed as evidence in a civil or criminal trial.

If those of us far away can be of any help, do sing out.

the_siobhan

I think he would explode if I didn't let him watch TV or play video games.

The police didn't even bother to show up - apparently they chose not to answer the dispatch call because there wasn't another vehicle involved.

So it wasn't being hit by a car? Any idea what happened? :(

I went by the spot where he was picked up and I think what happened is that he was cutting through a parking lot to get to the next street. There's just enough space between one of those arms that comes down to block cars and the opposite fence to fit a bicycle with tons of elbow room. Unfortunately there is also a four-inch lip on the across the concrete.

He doesn't remember a thing after leaving the party, but the EMT dispatch gave me the address from the call.

Edited Date: 2017-07-28 10:12 pm (UTC)

sabotabby

Thanks for the update. I can't imagine what you must be going through; I've been super-freaked out.

I'm back in town tomorrow night; if there's anything I can do, please let me know. I haven't wanted to bug you since I imagine you have your hands full and all I can do from here is flail uselessly.

That's weird about the bike.

He's been taking short walks and he's getting his balance back pretty quickly. I'm still a little wary of letting him travel to your place alone so we'll have to figure something out around that.

Oh, I forgot to mention that he burst one of his eardrums (the left one) so he's a bit deaf on that side.

I figured.

So I'm in transit most of tomorrow and getting in at 8:45 pm or so, in theory. In a better world, mum could swing by after picking me up from the airport, but I suspect she won't be willing to do that. In a less good world, cabs are a thing or I could come over Sunday if he's up to company.

Yeah, cab might be an idea.

D & I are going to that Rancid gig on Saturday night. I could potentially drop him off beforehand if you don't mind him being in the house before you get home.

That would work out perfectly, actually! Also, have fun! You need some distraction.

greylock

I'm glad to hear Axel's okay.

(Was he wearing a helmet? Are they mandatory there?)

Nope and only for children.

Edited Date: 2017-07-28 04:20 pm (UTC)

Since (not so amusingly) I was reading one of the many articles railing against our mandatory (but largely ignored) compulsory helmet laws less than an hour before I read this, it was on my mind.

Being completely incapable of riding a bike, I find the topic interesting.

It seems perverse to say, but at least it's only a head injury and he remains mobile.

cincinnatus_c

I recall Axel arguing on a.g. that it's safer to bike without a helmet because cars give you more room ... and, well, just cuz you lost a game doesn't mean you weren't playing the winning percentages. ;) Glad he's OK, anyway; hell of a thing!

I asked him if he was going to start wearing a helmet now.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because the plural of anecdote is not data."

Ha! Brain's working normally, then. ;)

That was my assessment. :-)

... Dude, once you have Head Injury #1, Head Injuries #2 and 3 and etc. are exponentially more dangerous.

50ftqueenie

Precisely. My mother was an emergency room nurse and because of the stories she's told me, I always wear a helmet. I honestly don't understand people who bike without helmets.