Two Dizzy Days

#1. A big piece of flesh missing from
my big toe!











#2. Cuts and scrapes on my arms,
what doesn't show up is the purple
bruising and swelling.












#3. More cuts, scrapes, and pieces of
skin missing.











#4. This scrape doesn't look bad but
hurts the most. My wrist feels very
weak and is very painful.












#5. Another leg shot, with the iodine soulution from the hospital. Unless it's dripping blood like my big toes was they apparently don't bandage the wounds.

What a morning…Monday morning I woke up and made Michelle breakfast in bed. She still hasn’t been the same since that killer massage. Then I went to the usual store and picked eggs, and was on my way for a scenic bike ride to pick Michelle up some more cereal…when I woke up on the pavement…bleeding, dizzy, and several Taiwanese people standing over me!! Yeah, it was pretty scary. I had been slowing down on my bike, cause the light was red, and there were no cars beside me, then as the light turned green I continued to bike a bit faster. I thought I’d go straight and check out some new stores when…boom…I was just about to check to my left to see if the road was clear…when an SUV rammed into my body…hitting the whole left side of me knocking me off the bike.

It was a few seconds later..I think..that several Taiwanese were standing over me shouting all sorts of words…words of which I did not understand. Fortuantely an ambulance was on the scene immediately, it just happened to be driving by when it happened. My foot was bleeding, my memory blurred, a feeling of embarrassment ..look another white forgiener in an accident…only I did nothing wrong.

There was just so much confusion. For a few seconds I actually thought, “am I dying”, I was shaking… I was hot and cold…and Michelle kept flashing in my mind.

Evenetually I was able to stand and give what little info they understood in English. They wanted to see my passport, or know my phone #, or my home address…all of which I didn’t have or didn’t know off hand. So with what little line of communication there was, the ambulance driver drove me to my school where, I got Karen to call Michelle with the details, and Giant talked to the ambulance driver, and explained to me that I was going to the hospital, and that Giant would pick up Michelle and meet me there right away. So off to the hospital, my beaten and brusied self with a backpack full of crushed eggs!!

Michelle and Giant got there as soon as we did. Michelle got her first scooter ride out of the situation. I limped in and on to a hospital bed, where everyone there was eager to come over and have a look at the injured white guy. I had about 3-4 different nurses and doctors working me over. Touching me to see if anything was broken, loading some very strong burning iodine solution all over my scraps and wounds…all the while talking to Giant who was translating. I was in a lot of pain. Sweating through my clothes, feeling hot and cold, and very worried.

The worst of the injuries is the constant dizziness and nauseous feeling. After realizing nothing was broken, I was told to rest, which was difficult with the room constantly spinning.

Then I was given a needle. Well it’s a good thing I was already laying down. Those of you who know me well know I am not good with needles at all. But with my head spinning in so many directions, I couldn’t even notice it really. However we had to make sure there was no ibuprofen in the needle as I am deathly allergic to it. So with showing great concern and using Giant to translate, he assured us it would be ok, that the needle was to fight off infection.
Then while laying in the hospital, the 2 men in the SUV that hit me came walking in, and a police officer who took my statement and had me verify what happened. Then I had to sign about 4-5 papers, and dip my thumb in red ink and leave my thumb-print on every page also. Then he they went into a different room to take their report.

The hospitals here are not very private. There were two other emergency room patients in the same little room that I was in, as well as huge glass windows and sliding doors where anyone could stand and watch what was going on with a great view.

Michelle was going to put her purse down at one point when she noticed dried drops of blood on the floor. When I was taken to lay down in another bed, the shelf above my head was covered with old sprayings of blood. The general appearance of the hospital seemed clean…just not if you looked very close.

My pain and anti-infection medication was paid for by the people who drove into me. Oh yeah and guess what the man does for a living…he teaches people in our town how to drive. YEAH RIGHT!!! But he seriously does! Can you believe it? When it was time to go the most awkward thing happened. Giant had already taken Michelle back earlier cause she had to teach., so I was now expecting to get a ride on the scooter with Giant…oh no! The 2 men who crashed into me, and who spoke absoultly NO English, drove me home. How weird is that!!! I can’t believe the whole ordeal.

Once home, I had a lot of stairs to take to get to our room. Giant walked me up, and then left me to rest. The motion of swinging my body into bed caused me to immediately run to the washroom stumbling from the dizziness and gagging from this naseous feeling that stayed with me all night. The medication did work for the pain of my body—but after throwing up my lunch, I knew this was going to be an unpleasant evening. The motion of laying down, or moving my body, even slowing kept making me feel sick all night.
So after reading, checking e-mails, and playing internet games, I went to bed exhausted at 7am and slept through until 1pm.

The next day:
I felt a lot better, a lot of the pain was gone. However a small bump on my head had formed, I was unsure weather or not I had hit my head but I must have, and possibly suffered from a small concusion. Even today I am feeling very naseous. I did manage to go for a walk…to get eggs….with Michelle, and I felt a lot better. Then Giant took us to the hospital again for more medication and a bandage change.
I was given medication this time for my upset stomach and the dizziness. I am feeling better already.

This town, this country is so heavily populated you just can’t let your guard down. Back home we have sidewalks…a safe place for pedestrians, and in the city bike trails…things that we take for granted. Here the streets are a free-for-all!!! But I won’t give up the fight.
I’ll just have to be more cautious.

Don’t worry all, I’m fine, and will be fully recovered soon. I might need another killer massage to fix me up again!!!

Cheers all
Jeff