Well now...

[DGPEAKE@AOL.COM]

In a message dated 10/30/00 11:29:02 AM Pacific Standard Time, 
nhunt@jagat.com writes:

<< Dear Friends,
 
 I have done it again, gotten myself into a nice pickle.
 
 Yesterday, Saturday, a little after 2:00 I was walking home,
 hurrying because I needed to visit the boy's room, when a
 car whipped around making a left hand turn and preceded to
 break my left leg and bruise my tailbone and small of my
 back.
 
 I was taken to the hospital by our local volunteer EMS crew
 and I want to tell you that a ride in a ambulance is to
 fun.  I HATE not being able to see where I am going and have
 no control over my body, strapped in and all.  Those neck
 braces _work_, you can only see where you balls roll.
 
 X-rays showed a crack in the bone behind the tibia (forget
 the name right now).  They put a brace on my leg and told me
 not to put any pressure one it.  Yeah right!
 
 I have Fibromyalgia and have lost enough upper torso
 strength that I can no longer lift my own weight to use
 crutches easily so they gave me a walker.  I have a hard
 time with that as well.
 
 So here I am, bed bound, alone, with an occasional friend to
 drop by and give me a few scraps of food and fetch and carry
 for me.  Nothing to do but sleep, take drugs, read and play
 with my laptop.  I don't have a phone line in here so
 somehow I have to get to the office to send this and get the
 rest of the messages.  Monday I will try to find a source of
 a daily helping hand, I hope.  It will be about three or
 four days before I can regain good control of my body to be
 able to get around well enough to cook for myself,
 hopefully.
 
 So, this guy hits me, a little after 2:00 pm on a beautiful
 day while I was in the cross walk and had the light with
 me.  As far as I am concerned, no excuse and I think my
 lawyer is likely to take a dim view of this behavior as
 well.  And I am a blind man as well.  Wonder what my lawyer
 will make of that?
 
 I am so grateful I am alive and no more injured than I am
 but this comes at a real inconvenient time.  Hmm, what
 accident does?  I have to cancel my class tomorrow, cancel a
 repair on Tuesday, not hang the ceiling fan, not work on the
 piano, not paint the bedroom walls and not do other
 interesting things.
 
 I had real quick action because the police, fire and EMS
 stations are just three blocks down the street from where I
 was lying in the street telling the driver who asked, "Are
 you ok?:  I said, "no I'm not"  he called 911 on his cell
 phone since I could not find mine.
 
 Six and a half hours later I am at home in bed with a
 wonderful bowl of Minestrone my former wife brought with her
 when she picked me up at the hospital.
 
 They do not feed you in the ER and they wait forever before
 giving you any pain medication.
 
 Lesson, don't walk cross the street and don't go to the ER
 if you do.  
 
 You can get hit, starved, tortured, ignored and they'll take
 your pants off.
 
 Hope everyone else has a good week.
 
        Newton (hobbled and caged)
 
  >>


Take care, Newton. My thoughts and prayers are with you. It was almost a year 
ago when I broke my left wrist and it is no fun to be off your feet when you 
are booked with work.

Dave Peake, RPT
Portland Chapter
Oregon City, OR
www.davespianoworks.locality.com