cycling
18. Juli, 13:24 Uhr
Hey all, (PHOTOS [https://imgur.com/a/091BqKv](https://imgur.com/a/091BqKv))
I (27 M) wanted to post about my accident for awhile as I feel it's important for all of us riders to be aware of the possible road dangers/the importance of wearing a helmet. Last September, I was biking to work on a normal sunny day and stopped at a red light. There was a giant semi-truck beside me, who rode parallel to me once the light turned green. Past the intersection, I could see there were a bunch of parked cars on the right side, but while it all happened so fast, I remember thinking "there's enough space between the truck and parked cars for me to get through there".
It was tight, but nothing crazy. I was going about 15kmph when a man opened his door extremely fast, a perfect timing where I smashed into his door, went flying ahead and sadly landed in the wheel of the moving semi-truck, which pulled my right arm under the wheel and alas, crushed my elbow. The only way to describe getting run over by a truck would be: I expected to just hit the ground but while mid-air, I felt like my body was being overtaken by something EXTREMELY heavy, as if suddenly my right arm was being twisted in some sort of grinder or metal machinery, although there was 0 pain. At the time, I remember traffic stopping and while lying on the pavement, I thought to myself "I'm dead or paralyzed at minimum", feeling nothing. Wiggled my legs and felt some relief. My entire arm/hand immediately swelled to a size I didn't know was humanly possible. Guy who doored me just stood there, looking helpless but very panicked. Someone called 911, they came to the rescue and I remember just feeling so confused in the ambulance as I genuinely didn't believe a cyclist like me could be in this situation. In retrospect, having cycled daily for the past 4 years, I was clearly in a "I'm invincible" headspace where I truly felt that something like this could never happen to me. As for my GIANT bike, it simply had to get a new front wheel and was scratched, that's it.
Went to hospital, got x-rayed, feared that my arm would be amputated or something of that nature. Turns out I was lucky and just shattered my elbow, while my hand was somehow not shattered (apparently the grooves in tires can make it less likely to crush bones LOL). Went into surgery, got metal plates/screws to replace the shattered bone (comminuted fracture) and woke up a few hours later with incredible pain, a giant cast and a whole new life ahead of me. I wondered if I'd ever ride again, if I'd be able to play sports, play music... it was all too surreal but I couldn't process anything. That being said, I was grateful to still have my arm! The healing was hard but I felt confident in my ability to heal fully and was determined from day 1 to remain optimistic. I did physio 3 times a week, and kept at it ever since (now going once a week). Ate healthy, rested all throughout winter and although Corona fucked up my original plans, I was ready to get back on the saddle...
April 1st, I got back on my bike and just celebrated my 1000th KM since! I lost 10 degrees of full extension but my arm is slowly getting back to a new normal, can't complain at all. While the accident was so shit, I was never scared to get back on because I felt that I had gained a whole new perspective on life and on riding in general. After a wild year, I really want to share some final thoughts with all of you that I hope you will consider:
**-Wear a fucking helmet. I would be dead had I not been wearing mine.**
**-Don't commute with a laptop. Everything in my bag was destroyed.**
**-Don't listen to music while riding on busy streets. It's just asking for trouble.**
**-In those moments of quick-thinking, where you contemplate running the red light, or passing something fast, or feel you can just make it by a hair... fucking stop. Just stop. It's not worth it and I can tell you firsthand that while 95% of times you'll be fine, it's only a matter of time before you're in a stretcher. Risk-taking, adrenaline-rush riding is playing Russian roulette, no matter how fast and experienced you are.**
**-If you get injured, save all records, document license plates or make sure someone gets an incident report. While in the ambulance, I obviously couldn't think of those details but later I had to play detective to figure out all the details, person who doored me, license plates, insurances etc.**
**-Keep a distance from parked cars. Don't chance it, unless you have to, in which case, slow the fuck down to 5kmph and pass by.**
Stay safe guys and happy riding,X
(I'll post pictures of my arm in r/bicycling)