the forces of motions and kindness....

Riding a motor scooter along a tropical Caribbean coastline has been one of those few things that David has on his very small 'bucket list'.  Somehow it always seems 'so romantic' in the movies... That bucket list also included maybe riding a motorcycle, CanAm or trike.... that is, however, his bucket list, I find that our weekends spent on our seadoos is personally 'enough' for me.... lol.... 

 [our his and hers scooter rental]

Our upcoming cruise to the Caribbean would certainly be the 'the time' to fulfill his fantasy. Now, neither one of us have ever driven a motor scooter, and don't forget I have some wicked vertigo, but I was once a passenger on a scooter back in the early eighty's when Bernie and I were in Cancun.  I've been doing the research to see which of our 5 stop islands would be the optimum experience and the more I read the more 'alarmed' I was becoming. 

It's nothing like the movies!  We are still cruise 'new-bees', only having 'one' under the belt, and the facts would really be that we arrive into the port/harbor part of town on our cruise ship...  we would have to get our selves to a rental office, then navigate the streets of a city [even if small] amidst their morning rush hours of traffic, sometimes on the left side of the road, on smaller streets, with chaos ruling the road.  All to get ourselves out to some country roads [if we survived]  to find ourselves on winding  roads, and in a little more danger than I was looking for.   All of this however, was not a deterrent to David, he still felt it was 'something' he had to do....sigh....

[my first lesson]

So, Last Week, which seems so very long ago, we were on one of the Outer Banks coastal islands. David had classes for three days, and I got to roam around with my camera.  On Friday, I picked him up after class and said I have a surprise for you!  I was really excited!  David is always going out of his way to create romantic gestures for me, the list is long.  And while I try to do the same, finding a way to really surprise him thrills me!

We arrived at Beachside Bikes and I get to tell him, we are going to learn how to ride scooters!  The owner of the small shop took his time with each of us, using his 'proven method'... I was scared silly and vertigo in full swing.... but with patience, I learned, David snapping pictures of me the whole time.... then it was David's turn to learn and he took right to it.  Our teacher took us on a practice run, and then finally guided us through the very quiet streets of Atlantic Beach to bypass the 'big' intersection I was terrified of, and he let us loose!

We had an hour on our scooters, taking the road out to the east end of the Island and arriving at Fort Macon. We rode around the lots and got back on the open road heading back into town, even navigating the 'big intersection', arriving back at Beachside Bikes....  we had a great hour. It was the optimum experience of have a great instructor and very low traffic.  Lol, afterwards we went out to play miniature golf and have a fun dinner.

[my eggplant stuffed with seafood]

David's surf & turf

We got back to our routine that next Monday morning, I was driving in with David for the week, as the Nurse/Medical asst. was on vacation and I was filling in for her.  Often those first few days we talked about the 'scooter experience' and David seemed even more pumped about trying out a motorcycle or getting a CanAm for retirement.  Luckily though, the idea of motor scootering through the islands was satisfied as I breathed a sigh of relief.  I could get back to planning our excursions.  

On Wed. evening as we were driving home, I was mentally planning the evening of expecting to hostess the new book club I am in.  I had snacks prepared, wine chilling, and we needed to pick up only one more thing.  I asked David what movie was on the schedule for the weekend, and what else he would like to do, while I mentioned I would like to go see my chiropractor....  David was AGAIN talking about finding some place to take motorcycle riding lessons....

and then in the blink of a moment, in what now repeats itself in slow motion, we were in a wreck....  the slow motion of the crash and sounds and everything that followed seems to be stuck on rewind....  the things I said, like where is the air bag? the moment before it burst open before me, and the words call 911 in between are you okay?  ... the faces of strangers : "I'm  a nurse" , a man who understood my gestures and opened my door [refusing to let me get out] but rummaging around my feet to find my glasses and my cell...  the peace officer who assisted David to get out of the car and had the EMS there, in what seemed only minutes....  the neck immobilizer and back board of misery, the IV of morphine, the kindness of everyone....  

the night never seemed to end and this had all started about 4:45pm...  we were sent to Wake Med North, a huge triage center... they were already dealing with half of a two school bus crash involving 30 students [thankfully all minor injuries] ... they were busy.  David was in his room, I was in mine, and Michelle got there quickly, she was our liaison..... after my full body CT scan and additional knee X-rays, it was determined I needed to be transported to big Wake, for more extensive neck x-rays and to be admitted, and David was being released with three broken bones in his right foot, and chest contusions,  and all the miseries associated with slamming into an airbag, etc.   He and Michelle settled into my room until my transport arrived.  I could not move my head to see, but within moments, Michelle was in the hall yelling for a nurse.  They came back in and David was 'crashing' in his wheelchair, they quickly got him on a gurney [readmitted] with an open IV, his pressure 80/40 and falling, quickly into a CT machine, thinking the aorta had been damaged.  His pressure came back up, aorta intact and he recovered.  

By now I had been transported, clutching my cellphone waiting on news from Michelle about David.  She eventually drove him home, and somewhere around 1:30am he called and was settling into the recliner.  Shortly after that Clint called me, having hunted me down after getting emails from Shaun, to which Clint woke at the other side of the world...   somewhere around 3 am I was admitted into a room, the neck brace finally removed and somewhere around 6am I managed to fall asleep for the first time in about 24 hours....   it wasn't a long sleep...  hospital routines have to happen....  I was hungry enough to eat my jello and chicken broth breakfast, but was ready to say no to the next morphine shot... they offered a pain pump, my sternum was fractured,a hematoma behind it,  my rib cartilage cracked or broken, and I had not yet moved into a sitting position since I was removed from the car...  I refused the pain pump too...  took a double dose of pain pills and began my determined return.   Somewhere in the morning the aide came and kindly gave me a sponge bath.  That first hot cloth I could wipe across my face was bliss, she made me feel clean. She also order some real food for me, another kindness.  The general surgeon came and went... the list of what was wrong was long, but in my mind, all things that will heal, life will go on.  The list of restrictions is long too... sigh...

My goals of the morning included my first pee without the foley, and sitting...  check...  then determined as I am, I walked the halls, and even more determined, I was ready to leave although they suggested a second night due to high level of pain meds, and the fractures.... I walked more hall some more and I went home.

Michelle brought me home around 5 pm...  there has not been a single move that does not come with the sound of pain from either of us.  Over the last two days David is healing faster than I am.  He is able to move around a little better but with that comes tremendous fatigue.  Any time spent on his foot is painful.  Enterprise has delivered the rental car.  On Friday morning, I discovered email that a 'Meal Train' had been placed in effect for us from my bookclub ladies....  these women barely know me.....  they have signed up to bring us meals over the next few days. And they have delivered!  What an amazing kindness!  When I read that ~ I was overcome to tears, and crying hurts far worse than laughing.    We took our first showers yesterday morning, David offering to step in there and wash my hair, since I can not raise my arms up... and last night when I so desperately wanted to sleep in the bed instead of my recliner, he thought up the answers to making that work too..... 

I am sitting here writing this morning, with a ice pack on my knee, one on my ribs, one across my chest, one on an elbow and one at the nape of my neck... we are going to rest today, David's kids have all been finding a niche of how they can help, my neighbors and new friends have all rallied and I know we have been in the prayers of those who are not here....  for all that ~ I am very thankful ....  every kindness is appreciated....

PS...  David has crossed all non-automotive travel off of his bucket list....  I  am thankful for that too, [winks] ~  and this week I will have to cancel the cruise and airline tickets,  I bought trip insurance in the event of anything happening to his mom, but my restrictions are too limiting to enjoy the time....  can you imagine me not being able to lift my camera!!??