Post by CheshireGrin on Jul 10, 2014 19:37:20 GMT -5
My dad, who is SEVENTY FUCKING YEARS OLD, was out riding his bike ALONE and was found lying on the ground by a passerby. He's okay (for the most part), has a concussion and some facial fractures, and some neck pain that they're still investigating (xray was negative but they're going to do an MRI later to be sure). He doesn't remember anything that happened throughout the day, or what made him fall. His whole left side is pretty banged up. Luckily, he was wearing a helmet. He was in the ER for about 2 hours before they could get ahold of my mom (who was at work).
So they're going to keep him in the hospital overnight for observation, because he's still doing major repetitive questioning (if you've ever seen someone with a decent concussion, they literally ask the same question over and over again every 10 seconds) and my mom will most likely spend the night with him there. My brother is going home to take care of the dog. And of course I did my whole trauma nurse thing over the phone with my mom ("Did they do this? What about this?") and she said they're really doing a great job with him and she feels good about it. (She's a nurse as well.)
Part of me wants to run down there, but it's five hours away, and while I'm totally freaked out because neither one of my parents have ever been in the hospital before, I know objectively that (considering what could have happened) he's really doing okay. And my brother is there. (But I'm the one who takes care of everything when the family is in crisis. That's my role. I don't like not being there to do it.)
FUCK.
ETA: Please don't say anything on FB. I'm friends with a lot of his family and don't want to freak them out.
Oh wow, that is terrifying. My dad has been in some pretty serious bike accidents in recent years, and it's so frustrating to be far away. My thoughts are with your family!
Post by daisyheadmaizie on Jul 10, 2014 19:49:37 GMT -5
I'm sorry. How incredibly scary. I don't think there is anything wrong with going and supporting your family if you think they would want you there and it would help ease your worries.
Post by balletofangels on Jul 10, 2014 19:51:33 GMT -5
I hope he is on the mend soon!
If it is any consolation when I was ten I fell off my bike and had a bad concussion(no helmet) and your description of your dad was exactly me. I could not remember the entire day, no idea what happened to me or how I ended up in ER, asking same questions over and over again. Thankfully my mom was with me and saw me hit a rut in the road and fall off. Hopefully there is no underlying cause and this is just a bad knock on the head that he will quickly recover from.
OMG Chesh I am so sorry! Did this happen in my area? I was just saying to H that LI drivers are some of the scariest ever. People are absolutely HORRIBLE here. I hope your dad is OK.