I am accident prone. Mostly during sports. ESPECIALLY during a sport i have just picked up. Me thinks it stems from my gung ho, "I must conquer this sport ASAP" attitude, leading me to a state where i'd try to copy stuff i see more experienced people doing, quite naturally leading me to trouble.
All of which have never actually been serious. At most, a scraped knee or a twisted ankle at worst (when i tried to chip a football really really high but my foot dug into the ground instead).
I bought a mountain bike 3 months ago. Always wanted one after last June's 128km bike rally where i fell absolutely in love with my rental 21 speed Polygon. I used 2 bikes btw during the rally. The first one died after numerous jumps off curbs and hard pumping and rapid gear shifting 30 clicks into the rally. The replacement was a similar bike.
And then i started reading mountain biking blogs and websites A LOT and the desire to own my own machine grew and grew until i finally splurged on a spiffing new Jamis Trail X2. I wanted something unique , and Jamis' are pretty rare in Singapore. Something cheaper and different from the armies of Cannondales, Treks and Scotts i normally see.
I loved it. My first foray was a long ride to NUS, followed by a feeble attempt at the notorious Kent Ridge trail.
Immediately the following weekend, i rode to the Bukit Timah area and tackled the trail alone. And my gung ho attitude got me my first tumble and an expensive repair. The rear wheel was dented and the poor bike had to be half carried/half wheeled almost 3 clicks out of the jungle.
And i started toying with the idea of upgrading. My Shimano Alivio rear derailleur could not keep up with my demands on the Bkt Timah trail. And so i made the switch the Deore LX.
By now, i had infected my Roomie with the bike fever, and he splurged 200bucks to tune and fix up his Wheeler and we made expeditions into the Clementi area and around Boon Lay for supper and shopping.
By now i had plans to go really serious into biking. And i signed up for a 20km bike bashing Bike Hash through jungles with a group of like minded crazy bike fanatics called the Singapore Bike Hash. The ride was supposed to be on last Sunday, and then this happened:
Yeah, those are paramedics trying to move me into an ambulance
Now I kid you not. I am good at controlling my bike downhill and at high speeds. The tuesday before the bike hash, i was training for the killer pace for 20 clicks by pushing my bike uphill on NTU's notoriously long hills without using the low gears.
There was this one particular favourite of mine, cos it had:
1) A long steep, hard climb
2) A longer steeper downhill with 2 tight turns i normally tackle full speed.
And i so, i broke out my bike gloves at 10.30pm and very soon was huffing up said hill. And then i switched to my high gears for the descent and was flying when i came to tight turn # 1. Problem was, the rode was wet and when i touched my brakes to check my speed a little for more control, the front brake stuck to the rim and the bike started wobbling.
I panicked and pressed gently down on my rear brakes. They stuck as well and the bike's tyres screeched as the bike slid downhill at almost 30km/h. The turn came up fast. I made the decision and shift my weight to the left to prepare for a controlled fall and skid downhill. Will probably escape with a badly scraped leg and arm, but my expensive derailler on the right would be saved.
And then the darn bike gave a violent wobble and flipped onto its right. I flew and stupidly put out my right arm to stop myself. Hit the ground hard and flipped over my head before sliding a bit more downhill. Lay there for a while and slowly picked myself up. And my right arm was wobbling like Jell-O and i saw bit of white poking out with something that looked like tar on the end of it.
I felt faint and sat down again. Headlights pierced the darkness and i saw a van with 2 men jump out. Campus security.
They moved me to the roadside and in the process, tortured me quite unknowingly. My bike was picked up and heaved to the side as well.
Now i was in deep trouble. I had no phone, no wallet, and my exams were a month away. I called one guy over and asked him to call my handphone. It was one of those lucky days my Roomie actually picked up the phone and immediately sent word out to Garen and Raj and Ain whom were in the South Spine at the moment, and then he rushed out.
Garen, Raj and Ain arrived first. Roomie came second and the freaking ambulance was last. There was this paramedic i quite liked, cos she was crapping most of the time to keep me occupied while she fastened my mangled right arm to a splint. And then she finally told me to do the decisive action:
" Hey, try to move your fingers"
I struggled and moved all 5 and my Roomie heaved a sigh of relief. And then i was quickly picked up like a piece of fish and tossed onto a strecher and then into the ambulance.
I was pretty depressed at this point with thoughts of exams and of losing an arm and what not. Garen called Audrey and handed the phone to me. It was very comforting to hear the familiar cheerful voice.
I was wheeled into emergency. My brother had already been called and he came in after they injected me with morphine.
My folks were called and the doc explained what happened and that i needed surgery. He explained the procedure and got the go ahead.
I have a bone to pick by the way with one chap doing his housemanship in emergency. Chap tried to inject a saline drip into my hand, made a furious click after some time and gave me a sympathetic look:
"Dude, this is the worst day of your life"
Chap had failed to locate my vein and mis injected me. The first needle was pulled out, the bleeding was stopped and a second succesful attempt was made.
And then i was sent for an xray which was torture. X Ray dude twisted my arm in various positions to get a proper shot for the surgeons. And then i was wheeled into surgery and i went into a blissful sleep.
Woke up and saw my brother's face looking curiously at me. Apparently i had been blabbing under sedation. No idea what i had let slip.
Extent of Injury
(consults medical report)
err....open fracture on right radius and closed fracture on right ulna. I hit tarmac hard and my right hand buckled. The bone tore through the skin and muscle and dug slightly into the road. Apparently there was some tar on it and the surgeons had to saw off that bit.
My arm has been reinforced by 2 stainless steel plates, measuring 9cm and 7cm in length respectively. They will remain as a permanent addition to my arm. Maybe now i can be like Wolverine or something hoho.
Boy, getting thru customs now would be quite a challenge.
Hospital is depressing. At least for someone used to good health and an active lifestyle. And i sure was glad when my besties came around to visit me on both days of full hospital stay. I was formerly of opinion i can take any lonely condition i can be dumped into. Being in pain and boredom, having people laughing and joking around you really helps.
I guess the cutest person i saw whom really brightened my day was Wenyan's 10 year old sis i saw on thursday night. Woman, if you're reading this, thanks for the cereal and crackers and that act cute sis u brought along.
All in all, I have got to be one of the luckiest chaps around. No head or neck injuries, hardly any abrasions, tons of close pals who stuck by me in a time i really needed them all and an uber responsible big brother.
Right, tired out from one hand typing, so am out.
Cheers from a glad to be alive,
Matrix
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