Holy Crap

That is all I have to say about this week. Holy crap. It has been an eventful one to say the least.

On Wednesday I took the boys to school in the bike trailer. I have been trying to ride my bike as much as possible. Taking the boys to school is almost the perfect thing because I get some exercise, they're learning by example to exercise and the commute is only about 5 minutes longer then in the car. I do worry about cars but I wear a dorky construction reflector vest and I try to stay on side streets as much as possible.

So I dropped the boys at school, was riding home when a friend of mine saw me and invited me to breakfast. Awesome. I hadn't seen my friend for a long time and it seemed like the perfect thing. I went home, dropped off the trailer and put my cable lock and fanny pack on the rack with a bungee cord. I haven't ridden without the trailer in months. Seriously. As I rode down the street I was amazed how easy it was to ride without it. That thing creates LOTS of drag. I went to breakfast, caught up with my friend and her family and then headed home. Again, I was so happy about the freedom of riding without the trailer.

When I was 100' from my house the bungee cord broke. The rubber band part separated from the hook. Ahhhh.... It started to get caught up in my back wheel along with my cable lock and fanny pack. "Oh crap! I don't want to ruin my bike!" I immediately grab the brakes (these are my brand new, really good brakes) and go over the front of the bike. Luckily I come to an immediate halt when I land on my face. Yes ladies and gentlemen, I stopped courtesy of my face, more specifically my chin. I scrapped my hands up, banged my knee but really most of my injury was my chin.

I laid in the middle of the street for a couple seconds taking inventory and trying to figure out if I was alright. I seemed to be. My neighbor Jay came over and assisted me off the street and up the side walk. He asked me, "Are you going to be OK?" I, being the kid of a doctor replied, "Oh yeah, I'll be fine." Meanwhile I was almost passing out. I am pretty sure I was in shock. I barely made it into the house and I collapsed on the couch. After about 10 minutes I was able to get up and put some ice on my chin and take a peek. "Yowza, that looks nasty."

My "friend" Nolee called, I told her what happened and she stopped what she was doing, went and got coffee and came right over. I say, "friend" because she and our house guest, Nancy, as soon and they knew I was going to be alright, started making fun of me and my big, purple chin. Nice. In all seriousness, I was glad to have them here. I felt fine for the next 4 hours. I put band aids on my chin just to save others from being shocked when I went to pick up my kids. I took the car this time. People were still shocked. Later I went to Sophia's school to pick her up. We walked. More shocked people. A bunch of people told me to go get checked out. I'm a doctor's kid. We don't go to the doctor. I did call them though to see if I could get some muscle relaxers. The doctor's office said, "You need to come in ASAP."

As soon as Bob got home my friend Sarah drove me to the urgent care center. She is so funny. Not only did she take me but she made sure I got checked in and seated comfortably with some good magazines. When I got in the diagnosis was a mild concussion. They gave me a tetanus shot (that hurts) and say to take some Ibuprofen and rest. The rest part almost makes me laugh out loud. Tell that to my kids. IBUPROFEN? Have you seen my face? I want the good stuff. I ask for some muscle relaxers and the guy says, "I don't really believe in them." What? That they exist or work or what? I tell him I do and I want some. Not a ton but now I am in pain. He finally agrees. I get my meds and Tina, my sister in law picks me up. I get in the car and say, "What do you think?" She says, "I thought it would be worse." The big purple protrusion isn't impressive enough? Anyway, she gets me home safely.

So today, Saturday, I have a headache from the concussion but I am recovering. I decide to sleep in since I have not had time to rest and recover at all. At 10:30 I get a call from Bob. He took the kids and the dog to a preschool get together in SE Portland. He says, "You need to come over here right now. Iva (our dog) was running (and she runs really fast) and ran straight into a pole."

I jump out of bed, get dressed and go straight over there. She does not look good and Bob's hand is bleeding pretty bad. Apparently, she bit Bob when she was freaked out. He said that he thought she was dead when it happened. She was all bent up and screaming. Sophia saw the whole thing and was terrified and hysterical. I decide that he should take the kids and I'll take Iva to the doggie hospital. We go our separate directions.

Iva is whimpering in the back of the car and trying to get up on the seat in the back. She gets up there but is crying the whole time. Poor baby. I get her to the hospital and they meet me out at the car and carry her in. After an hour and a half they have given her sedation medication and a pain killer. SEE even the vet believes in good meds! They take some x-rays and there is only one little area of concern on her left shoulder. They'll have to wait until Monday to talk to the radiologist. Iva wouldn't walk for them so it's really hard to tell where she's hurt. I call everyone and tell them she should be alright. She can't play or be off leash for at least 2 weeks. Right now she is laying on the floor. I don't think she can get up. It's hard to tell how badly she is hurt but it looks pretty bad.

AND...... Bob had to go to the urgent care for his hand. I told the vet about the bite and he insisted that Bob go to the doctor. He went, they cleaned up the bite and got him some antibiotics.

So I am hoping that all will settle down now. You know how things happen in threes? Right after I crashed I thought, "Oh no, what are the next 2 things going to be?" I am praying that the dog and the bite are the other two and not considered by the powers that be, just one incident. The dog and I are resting well and taking our meds. I sure hope she gets better soon.



Be careful out there. You know I will be.