Chase and I had a motorcycle accident on October 26th, around noon, in San Antonio, Texas. We were going to go see The Alamo and go to a Harley shop or two. We got into San Antonio, drove by The Alamo and then were heading to the Harley shop, I was giving Chase directions using the GPS on my iPhone. We were getting ready to merge, Chase is looking over his shoulder to be able to merge us safely onto the interstate and when he looked ahead again traffic was completely stopped and he had little to no options but to slam on the breaks. Slamming on the breaks caused us to fishtail, Chase had a hold of it for a few seconds, but thinks that we hit a patch of loose gravel or something because his rear break locked up and caused us to go over the bike (says the witnesses.) We landed on the pavement about arms length away from each other. It was the craziest, most terrifying experience I've ever been in.
After I landed on the pavement I took off my helmet, moved my fingers and toes and then felt the blood dripping off my face as I stared up at the blue sky. I teared up a little because I was so scared. I was scared for my husband because I could hear him screaming in pain next to me. Immediately after the accident we were surrounded by people, people that wanted to make sure we were okay and conscious, people that were talking to us, asking if we knew what happened and telling us that help was on the way. There was even an off duty EMT that happened to be in the immediate area that came to my side, asked me some questions and looked at my injuries and then told me that we were both going to be okay. A few minutes later the firefighters showed up and they cut my clothes off and started pressing on my body to make sure nothing was injured that they weren't able to see. They started talking about the gash on my face, the road rash on my hands and arms and then put a c collar on me and strapped me to a backboard. I was loaded up into an ambulance and whisked away to the hospital. Chase went before me because his injuries were more severe than mine were.
A few minutes passed and I was wheeled into the trauma room of the University hospital. I was hooked up to many monitors and machines as they checked all my vital signs and did more pressing on my body. They took off the rest of the jewelry I had on, which was a lot, and soaked up some of the blood coming from my face. After I was deemed well enough to lay in the room, I was moved there to stare at the ceiling and listen to the sounds of the trauma room for the next ten or so hours. I was taken to have an MRI done to make sure there was nothing broken in my neck or back and then I had x-rays done on my left arm and hand. I finally got the c collar off at about eleven o'clock PM. It was THE most uncomfortable thing I've ever worn.
I had gotten to talk to Chase once for about ten minutes while we were both waiting in the trauma room, then I didn't get to see or talk to him until the next afternoon and I absolutely HATED that. I knew that he was okay, but I wanted to see him for myself. I knew that he had a lacerated spleen and they talked about having to do surgery to remove it and that scared the hell out of me, even if it was a routine surgery. They didn't end up having to do surgery because his spleen clotted on it's own and that was great! After getting the c collar off I got to sit up and that was AMAZING, but then the ENT team had to come and stitch up my face and after that a PA had to come and scrub my road rash wounds clean of all the pavement and dirt that was in them and that was terrible. It hurt SO bad and I cried a lot. I was so ready for it to be over. Finally it was over, I got some more pain medicine and was admitted to the sixth floor, mostly because I didn't have anywhere to go or any family close, so they admitted me for the night.
I got to my room and got settled in around one-thirty AM. I slept on and off for about four hours because I was in pain and because I was worried about Chase. I got to go see him that morning, he was in the ICU as a preventative measure in case something happened to his spleen. He was pretty banged up, but hell, so was I. My face was swollen and there was dried blood all over it. Chase's was bloody and bruised, but we were alive and that's all that matters.
I had a deep gash to the side of my face by my left eye that needed eight stitches, pretty nasty road rash on my arms and hands and my left forearm needed five stitches. I have a bruised finger that I think might be broken and a possible fracture to my left elbow. Chase had a lacerated spleen, an orbital fracture of his left eye and mild road rash.
As for the question that's on everyone's mind. Will I ever get back on a motorcycle? My answer is: I don't know. At first I said I wouldn't get back on again even if Chase decided to get another one someday, but the more I think about it, I just don't know. I really LOVE being on the back and I love taking photos of everything as we ride. Only time will tell. I'm not really scared of being on the back of another one, but as of now I think I'll wait a while before I think about getting back on one, but I'm not going to rule it out. I will for sure wear a helmet like I had on and I will wear more protective gear if I decide to get back on someday.
All in all we are blessed to be alive and to have all of our limbs in tact. We are blessed that in comparison to other motorcycle accidents our injuries are pretty minor. I will forever be thankful for my life and I will never take anything for granted again. I'm glad I had on a helmet, because I KNOW it saved my life. It was a terrible, scary experience that I wouldn't wish on anyone. I would not want anyone to have to go through listening to the one person they love more than anything in the world lay on the ground next to them and scream in pain. I'm grateful that my husband and I are going to heal and be okay. The wounds will heal, the bruises will fade, the scars and memories will remain, but we ARE ALIVE and that's what I am most grateful for.
My face a couple of days later.
Chase's face the day after.
My broken phone because it was in my hand.
The front angle of my face.
My helmet.
I'm so glad I was wearing this.
