Daily commute 6 years back, track standing at traffic lights with feet strapped in…
Hear car screeching to a halt behind me turn to look twisting bars as I spin round, start to topple furiously trying to free a foot from the dam straps to balance myself… managed to get my left foot down between the big ring and the tarmac as I collapsed in a heap with the bike. Jump straight back on the bike embarrassed as hell. Rode home noticed a cut on my ankle so stopped to pick up detol etc to clean it up. Put my leg in the shower washed away the blood then noticed the nice big tear in my skin area bout the size of a pound coin right down to the bone.
Trip to medical drop in centre who sent me on to A&E saying they’d phone ahead, tell A&E receptionist “Yeah yeah take a seat”, hour later adrenalins all gone and it starts to hurt so I hobbled up to a group of nurses to ask for a pain killer while I waited, one look and the blood pooling in my shoe meant I got assessed next. Asked for an x-ray as my foot started to swell up, was told it was clean no break. 7 very tight stitches later I was on my way home at 4 in the morning (friday night Queens Med in Nottingham is a nightmare staff do a great job just far too many drink related incidents) with the grudging loan of some crutches.
After a week of pain killers, beer and pizza with my foot up, I started walking again and my leg turned purple. Back to hospital another x-ray this time they spotted the fracture. 3 months in a caste no cycling or swimming and 1 sweaty festering leg with muscle wasting away. Bad times.
