I was in a bicycle accident last weekend.
I was riding at night — with my lights on — going fairly fast down a hill. I approached an intersection which looked clear of cars, but the cars parked on the side of the street were blocking the view. All the sudden I realized there was a car at the intersection — it looked like it was stopped, so I kept my speed up.
Right when I entered the intersection I noticed the car started to move so I slammed on my brakes without thinking, which caused me to be thrown off my bike on to the road. It felt similar to other times when I’ve crashed on a trail mountain biking — it was crazy, but not life-threatening.
Andrew Brand | Argonaut
I immediately got up and everything seemed to be OK — my head didn’t hurt and I could walk.
I apologized to the person driving the car because I should have stopped or at least slowed down for the intersection, even if I didn’t see a car coming. The person driving the car and a nearby bystander asked if I was OK and if they could do anything to help me, I said I was fine then hopped on my bike and started riding again. I was definitely shaken up, but I felt pretty good considering what just happened.
However, upon inspection, I noticed blood on my right pant leg. When I took a look at my knee I noticed that this wasn’t a minor injury. When I saw my exposed kneecap — my initial reaction was anger, because I really didn’t want to have to deal with a serious injury at that moment. I wanted to get on with the night — I had friends coming over for and no time for a serious injury. I grabbed some gauze from the nearest first-aid kit and wrapped up my knee then called my roommate for a ride to the emergency room.
The staff at the ER is amazing. And the staff at the UI Student Health Clinic has been super helpful.
After receiving seven stitches on my knee, I now have to refrain from bending it until I get the stitches out, which makes it a little difficult to walk. I can’t ride my bike anymore — or hike, or climb, or run or do a bunch of things I love. Even after I get the stitches out the doctor said it will be as long as a year before my knee is 100 percent back to normal.
Sometimes things don’t go the way we want or the way we planned. But, we have a choice. We can either choose to complain or move on.
If you’re trying to find something to complain about, you will. There is an abundance of problems in the world and troubles in our lives, but what is the point of dwelling on them? I can either sit here angry that I can’t bend my knee, or I can be happy that I’m still alive.
Don’t just look for the silver lining, look for the gold — because you will find it if you’re looking for it. Every day is a beautiful gift.
Andrew Brand can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @theandrewbrand