Less Than Helpful

[ladysprite]

So. As of yesterday I was cleared by my doctor for mild activity. Things like low-impact exercise and, in particular, local driving.

So today I went to pick up metaphysick and drive him back to my house so we could spend the day together. It's not a long drive; less than four miles, all on local roads that have been well-plowed. No big deal, right?

Until I was stopped at a small intersection, with one car ahead of me and another behind me. All stopped, all well and truly at a stop, for long enough to register and look around. And then the chowderhead in front of me decided to drive backwards into my car at full force.

I was far enough from him that I was leaning on my horn for at least two seconds before he hit me - I couldn't back out of the way; there was another car behind me. And in spite of my frantic honking, he continued to crunch into me. And yes, I was wearing my seat belt, but I was still tossed pretty significantly forward and back by the impact.

To his credit, said chowderhead immediately pulled around the corner, came out to check on me, admitted freely that he hadn't been paying attention and gave me all his contact info. And the woman in the car behind me witnessed the whole thing and gave me her contact info in case I need confirmation of whose fault the whole thing was. And, blessedly, this is what cars have bumpers for; my vehicle doesn't seem any the worse for wear.

Me, on the other hand....

My doctor is pretty confident that, given the low speed and the fact that I was buckled in, there probably hasn't been any damage to the bone graft or the plates. But they've also let me know that this will likely create a significant setback in my muscle healing. I'm under orders to double up on my muscle relaxants and add in NSAIDs (usually contraindicated, but needed for the ant-inflammatory purposes right now), rest thoroughly, and try to get a massage ASAP - and that, even with this, I'm likely to be in a metric buttload of pain for the next 3-4 days.

And I'm shaken and scared and stressed and frustrated and what the hell kind of idiot, after coming to a complete stop, DRIVES BACKWARDS INTO ANOTHER CAR?

I really didn't need this right now....

Comments

[dagibbs.livejournal.com]

Ouch! Yes, an utter chowderhead. I'm so sorry.

[pixel.livejournal.com]

*hugs* I'm sorry about your accident hun.

Now for some unsolicited advice:
If you haven't already, you should call his & your insurance companies and report the accident, in particular making it clear to them your status as a recent back surgery patient and give them your doctor's contact info. That way if you feel worse or there are other problems, they have record of your status *before* you call them to tell them what new issues & medical costs the accident has caused.
Probably wouldn't be a bad idea to have the car looked at by a body shop or insurance agent. It is possible for the metal bumper behind the plastic cover to get bent, then the bumper to pop back out, making everything look fine.

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

...done, and thank you for the advice; it was much appreciated. I'm shake enough that it probably wouldn't have occurred to me to mention the medical stuff....

[arachne8x.livejournal.com]

* hugs* I'm glad you took this suggestion. I hope tonight is cozy and healing (at least emotionally) for you.

[fractalgeek.livejournal.com]

Poor you, good advice from Pixel; I don't like ambulance chasers, but this is clearly pertinent and significant.

BTW, we have both booked for Intercon, so hopefully I will see you there.

[cyan-blue.livejournal.com]

Oh man! Many hugs...

[z-gryphon.livejournal.com]

(epic facepalm)

[virtualvirtue.livejournal.com]

*gentle hugs and Good Thoughts (tm) sent*

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

AUGH.

*sends you extra healing vibes*

[mindways]

AAAAAA NO BAD CHOWDERHEAD

:(

That is *nuts*. "Chowderhead" is a good deal kinder than the words I'd be using.

*ginger virtual hugs*

[starcat-jewel.livejournal.com]

At a guess, he felt as though he'd pulled a little too far into the intersection, backed up a bit, forgot to put the car back into drive, and then when he hit the gas to pull out, didn't immediately notice that the car was moving the wrong way. I've had someone do that in front of me, but I was lucky -- I noticed that his backup lights were still on and laid into the horn before he started moving, which made him realize it.

Glad it was no worse, at least!

[grum]

wait what! gah! no!
I hope nothing significant comes of this misfortune.
jimminy!

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

So very sorry you have been subjected to this! Wish I could offer something more useful than sympathy and encouragement...

[evcelt.livejournal.com]

::hugs:: That sucks.

Continuing to keep you in my prayers...

[johnpalmer.livejournal.com]

Oh, my heavens, my deepest sympathies.

There's something about snow, maybe. I once saw a guy turn a corner that's got to be a hundred feet from the red light. It's easily 2-3 full seconds in which you can see that the light is red. And I was making a left turn on snowy roads, on the left-turn arrow, and if I hadn't been using tire chains, he'd have broadsided me.

(I say "he" but I have no idea of the actual sex of the other driver.)

Kept on driving without so much as a wobble indicating nervousness over the close call.

To this day, it still has a kind of aura of unreality of it. Every time I drive around that corner myself, I get a fresh notion of how incredibly stupid that was. Yep, red light is plainly visible, from a good distance, plenty of time to stop, even on ice (it was only snowing), etc..