There Was Another Incident

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So here we are, a week after Thanksgiving and I've been staying on schedule. I fully intended for this blog to be about our wonderful Thai version of Thanksgiving, but that all became slightly less exciting after the events that occurred this past Tuesday night. brace yourselves, it gets ugly.

I am generally a cautious, careful, calculated type person. As my friends know, I am also a very safe driver, because I have a very deep-rooted sense on how dangerous motor vehicles can be. So it may come as a shock for you all to hear that on Tuesday night I was in a motorbike accident.

Tuesday was a very normal day. It had poured all night, so the gray skies made it hard to get out of bed. At school, the kids were slightly bonkers because of the heat and humidity. It rained the whole ride home from work, so I drove slowly and safely. That evening, John and I were out to dinner at one of our usual haunts, Nok and Jo's restaurant in Bang Tao. We know the owners well as they helped us out a lot when we were in the TEFL course. We got the check and I realized I had forgotten my money at home (and John didn't bring his wallet because he asked me to bring mine). So John agreed to wait at the table while I made the quick 15 minute round trip drive. Note: I did not go to an ATM because I think it is absurd to pay a $5 flat rate fee, when our bill was $10.

Now, being high season, Bang Tao has become flooded with tourists (mostly Russians) who love to stroll aimlessly in the middle of the road with no concern for vehicles. Then there are the tuk-tuks, waiting to take said tourists to their evening destinations, so they drive like snails along the streets looking for their next prey. So what should have been a quick zip home, had now taken twice as long as it should have, and I wasn't even half way home. The final straw was the car that decided to stop in the middle of the road, the same time a taxi stopped at a standstill on the opposite side of the road, making it impossible to pass. The car finally crept forward, at about 5 mph. As it was making the same right hand turn as I was, I checked for cars, saw my chance, and went to pass. Normally this would have been fine. But the torrential rains the past few days had left the roads wet and sandy, and my bike did not like this. I knew I was going to skid into the car, and as a reflex grabbed my brake. The lesson I learned the hard way: the brake on the right is for the front. Being a righty, this is what I grabbed, and just as my tire made contact with her front right headlight, I flipped over my falling handlebars, and caught myself with my chin on the pavement. The rest of my body came tumbling over after, and I landed sitting criss-cross-style in the middle of the road.

In the mere seconds this whole event took to occur, I remember thinking "there goes my face, and there goes my brain on the road". But since I am a good girl and always wear my helmet (and was really only going 10 mph) the rest of my head was fine and I didn't even black out. So sitting in the road, I composed myself, grabbed my jaw to make sure it wasn't broken, checked the damages, and within a minute stood up. The driver got out of her car, made sure I was ok, and all the men from the taxi stand rushed over to help me out. They picked up my bike and drove it over to the stand - yes it still worked!- and then escorted me over to one of their benches. They offered me tissues and wiped the dirt off my legs. They grabbed my phone from the bike and I called John to break the bad news. Once everyone knew I was ok, I wrapped my jaw in tissues and then got back up on the bike. I drove SLOWLY back to the restaurant where John and Jo greeted me. They checked out my chin, made sure I still had all my teeth as this had not yet occurred to me, then decided I should go see a doctor.

Up until this point I thought I was fine, I just felt bruised. So John drove me to the doctor's office 20 minutes before it was set to close. The doctor took one look at my chin and said "hospital". Not having seen my face yet, and not quite feeling the extent of the damage, I immediately became nauseous. So John took me straight home, got me some water, and I rinsed off the rest of the dirt and scrapes on my body except for my chin. And I did all this without looking in a mirror for fear of passing out. We drove to the nearest ER about 30 minutes away, and as soon as I walked in the receptionist asks "motorbike accident?". Did I mention this is the number one cause of tourist death in Thailand? So they get this a lot. I filled out the paperwork, got my blood pressure taken, and within 30 minutes was lead to a hospital bed.

When I pulled the tissues off my chin for the doctor to see the damage I could tell by her widening eyes it wasn't pretty. They gave me 3 shots of local anesthetic, and then scrubbed the dirt out of the gaping hole on my face. This did not hurt, but felt sickeningly weird, as I could feel a flap of skin where I should not have one. The nurse eventually stopped cleaning and the doctor began to stitch me up. After what I guessed to be 6 stitches, I felt the doctor stop, get more cotton balls and start scrubbing again. After a few minutes of picking, she proceeded to take out my stitches, informing me that the cut was still dirty and needed more cleaning. By this point the anesthetic was wearing off so I asked for more, but this time received only one shot. then I felt them pouring water into the wound, dripping it down my neck until my hair and the pillow under me were soaked. The water was accompanied by more horrible scrubbing, and what I assumed to be the further peeling back of my skin to ensure all the dirt was gone. For a second time the doctor began to stitch up my face, but due to the lack of anesthetic, I felt the last 3 stitches. At this point I didn't even care, I just wanted the process to be over.

When the work was finished I was handed a mirror for the first time and took a glimpse of my Frankenstein face. The nurse counted out 7 stitches for me. For someone who has never broken a bone, let alone had stitches, I felt this was a gruesome injury. Then they bandaged me up, sent me to pay my bill, and gave me some antibiotics and pain killers. John drove us home and we both went straight to bed. I did not sleep well as every position I tried hurt some part of my body. I took Wednesday off from work, went to my follow-up appointment to get my wound redressed, and then napped the rest of the day. I also took Thursday off, as having stitches in my face makes talking slightly difficult, and I don't know if my kids would be able to understand me. I am hoping to return tomorrow. The stitches are set to come out next week, and then I'll start the process of making sure I don't scar .

I'm still beating myself up over this one because it was my fault and I wasn't being careful on the wet roads. But I also know how lucky I am that nothing worse happened. My bike has a few scratches, when it could been destroyed. I hit my chin, when I could've just as easily smashed my teeth, nose, or head. None of my bones were broken. And most importantly my spine wasn't injured. As much as the pain I'm in now isn't ideal, I am thankful I walked away with so little damage. So the moral of my story is remember you are not invincible, that being safe is more important than being prompt, and patience is a virtue. Oh, and kids, always wear your helmet 😊

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Photos

24 hours after the accident
There is still medical tape over the stitches and the yellowing is from the iodine. Check out that swelling!

TLC
Getting some extra love from a still-pregnant Gray Cat after a rough few days

Comments

[Maureen Kelly]

Hi Kristin, Wow! You are one lucky girl. I like to do things too quickly also... must be in our genes. So glad you are on the mend. Thank you for the Birthday Greeting. We continue to enjoy your blogs. Love and a hug Aunt Maureen