Entries this day: my_skating_accident

my skating accident

23 September 1994

Well, as you may have heard, my latest Amazing Skating Adventure wasn't as wonderful as some of the others I've had. On Thursday (the 15th) I went downtown to Jone's Plaza area and found my friends watching some skaters jump 2 different ramps while *hundreds* of other skaters watched.

Wow. One of the ramps had 3 boxes stacked behind it- I'm guessing about 9 feet high. Eric, who built that particular ramp, was jumping the boxes consistently, smoothly, beautifuly, capturing the attention of all the hundreds of skaters. It was amazing. He'd come whizzing down the sidewalk [zziiing], shoot up the ramp [shoop], tuck and sail above the boxes [air], then land flawlessly beyond them [smooth].
I was entirely impressed.
[zziiing] [shoop] [air] [smooth]
I was really entirely impressed. I watched how perfectly easily he did it.
[zziiing] [shoop] [air] [smooth]
"MAN, I wish I could do that!!" I was excited.
[zziiing] [shoop] [air] [smooth] (perfect.)
"I bet I could do that!!"
[zziiing] [shoop] [air] [smooth]
(someone took a picture of him tucked in midair.)
"I *know* I can do that!!"

I was going to jump. Eric was stopped near me. He was *right* *there* and I almost asked him for his helmet. He was talking to someone; I didn't want to interrupt. "Aw fuckit" I thought. "What could happen?"

I skated up the sidewalk so that I could get some speed down toward the ramp. The boxes had just gotten knocked over by someone. I remember waiting for them to get stacked back up again.
That is all I remember.

Apparently, I came hauling ass down toward the ramp, hoping that speed would make up for lack of skill and finesse. It didn't. I hit the ramp and went up. Way up. My feet went higher. I *almost* cleared all the boxes. I hit the top of the top box and then fell, nearly head first, and landed splat on my upper back and shoulders, and cracked my head on the sidewalk.
Bad bad bad bad bad.

I sat up... and clunked right back down again, cracking skull against concrete. My body began to spasm as I curled into fetal position. My friend Scott passed out. I'm sure a lot of people wanted to pass out: everyone thought I was dead. A few people approached me, searching for a pulse, but to no avail. (Kudos to Randy who held my head to keep me from smashing it on the ground as I shook. I don't know who the other people were who helped, but I thank them.)

There was blood. A lot of it. It apparently squirted out my right ear just like in the movies but worse. Fortunately, since the place was so packed, an ambulance was close at hand and I was ace number one priority in the ER.

Eight or twelve hours later I began to vaguely realize through cloudy brain waves that I was in a hospital. My entire existance was pure pain. While slipping slowly in and out of consicousness for hours or minutes I don't know which but I hurt and I had to vomit. So I did. God, it hurt.

I remember ripping the IV tube out of my arm because I hurt. I was in no shape to argue when the nurse put it back. NG tubes suck. Catheters suck worse.

I was pretty messed up. Lots of friends and my immediate family came to see me; I just hurt, suffering through consciousness. It was not until 36 hours later that I could actually recognize my friends and family. I had been moved out of intensive care and into a ward room.

I wanted out of the hospital. By Monday afternoon, I was able to shuffle (with a person on each arm) my way around the nurses' station, a whole 100 feet or so. I begged for them to let me out. They did.
My back hurt like hell and if I moved, it hurt worse.
I had a monster headache for over a week. My right ear was ringing for six weeks. My back hurt for nine months. My sense of smell is still not entirely back.
I had fractured my skull, fractured my TMJ, received a double concussion, and chipped one of my vertebra.

- - - -

I didn't skate for ten months. I will be the first to tell you that I am lucky to be alive, much less walking, much much less skating.

Wear a helmet, and be careful when you skate.

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