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I had my physical license less than two days before my first crash yesterday.
I was with Pete. I just wanted to practice on a Saturday morning where there were fewer cars on the road. Things were going well and I was feeling more comfortable than my first street ride this past Tuesday.
We went down a road in Boxford and it had a few turns, all of which went smoothly. Then we decided to turn around and come back the way we came to try going the opposite direction. Everything was fine, and Pete said "there's a stop sign coming up ahead", and then proceeded to coach me through the turn we were entering. I was going maybe 20 mph entering the turn (curve in the road, really). As I'm leaned over going through the turn, I see the stop sign literally right at the end of the turn. I'm coming up on it way too fast, I won't have enough time to stop once I finish turning. I panic, and grab the front brake. The bike goes down to my right and before I even know what has happened I'm rolling across the pavement.
I manage to roll over to the side of the road, which is where my bike slides anyhow, and I'm screaming for Pete to call 911. I know I'm going to be okay, but I just saw my knee bone where the skin has torn completely across. The pain is unbearable and I keep pleading with Pete to call 911, and to call my mom. A mailman comes up shortly after I've gone down, and Pete asks him to call 911. Pete calls my mom and tells her I "took a spill" and that I'm ok, but she can hear me screaming in the background.
Finally adrenaline kicks in and the pain in my knee subsides. The ambulance comes, they finally take me to the hospital, and give me 4-5 rounds of morphine while I'm there. Jamie stops in and brings coffee and soda for Pete and my mom (so nice of him, thank you again!). Alex comes to the hospital with my purse (and health insurance card). He also went to Boxford to pick up mine and Pete's bikes and assures me the ninja isn't in bad shape.
I have a cat scan of my stomach, where I have minor road rash, and an xray of my knee. Nothing is broken or fractured. The doctor is concerned, though, that the gash on my knee may have run into the joint. An orthopedist comes in and they poke and prod at it (painful), but the orthopedist concludes that my joint is fine, so the massive gash can just be washed out and stitched up. I also attracted the interest of many other professional staff at the hospital, because my gash was so "impressive." They denied my request to charge a cover fee, unfortunately. Pete also has several pictures of it for those weird people with ridiculously strong stomachs who think its "awesome."
Pete holds my hand throughout the entire washing/stitching procedure, which isn't too painful after multiple rounds of lidocaine injections. They get me some crutches, a Vicodin prescription, and send me home.
Pete ends up taking the entire night off from work. Comes over bringing pizza for my mom, step father, himself, and me. He goes upstairs to get stuff from my room, brings food/water to me, and helps me move around when needed. Finally it's time for bed and he helps me up the stairs and makes sure both my Vicodin and antibiotics as well as a full glass of water are right beside my bed. He also throws in a package of crackers, apparently incase I get hungry for a midnight snack? Lol. Pete was great, the entire day and night. I'm lucky to have had him there with me.
I apologized profusely to my mother, because I know she wasn't wild on the bike idea for this reason. She tells me it's okay, to heal up, and "get back on the horse." I was shocked to hear her say that.
I'm very weary of it, though, to be honest. That was scary as hell and I've slept maybe three hours tonight because the Vicodin isn't keeping the pain out for more than 2 hours at a time. I can't imagine what my knee is going to look like after the stitches are out, and I'm bummed because I have (had?) pretty nice legs.
Upon hearing the news many NESR'ians have offered to help in whatever ways they can, including free replacement parts for the bike. I know everyone on here is great and always willing to lend a hand, but I'm still in awe at the kindness I was shown yesterday. Lots of people have already encouraged me not to let this incident spook me, and that now that I've gotten this out of the way I should be good. I'm not making any promises, but we'll see how I'm feeling once my knee heals. Regardless, I'm still going to make frequent appearances at the track, bike nights, TTT's, etc. Thank you to everyone I know on here for being a great friend to me.
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Originally Posted by Chippertheripper
