Surviving my first Road Traffic Accident

about 1 year ago

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Source and Infinix Hot20i Camera

It was the end of July and I went to the gym like usual. It was chest day. Time to train my pectoralis major. It was supposed to be a normal evening but what happened later would change the course of the next 2 weeks.

I would end up limping and being depressed over the fact that short distances were bothersome for me to consider moving through. The pain would come over my right knee every time I flexed it so I wasn't able to move downstairs as it would require me to flex the joint while applying weight on it.

It was the 17th of July, I finished ward duty in the hospital and went to the gym. It wasn't a particularly pleasurable gym session. I have always liked using bike public transport so that I can save time and rest after running home.

You don't have to wait for any of the other options (like kekes and cars) to fill up if you use a bike. It's just you alone or one other person. That day I chose to travel with one other person at the back.

The Accident

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I ended up with multiple soft tissue injuries over the right side of my body as it was that part that made contact with the tarred road first and was dragged along the road.

I had 8 abrasive superficial injuries most of which were on my right upper limb (probably in an attempt to catch myself) as flew off the bike and landed.

But upon landing, I realized that there were other bigger issues, not with me but with the other people involved. As my fright and flight mechanisms kicked in I turned back and noticed the other bike man we had hit was lying flat on the ground and I went to assess him for life.

As I tried to help him up I noticed his forearm was like jelly. There was abnormal abduction and adduction of the joint and the possible fracture of his right arm.

My bike man who was behind the other bike man that we hit was on the tarred road and his fingers were caught on the bike wheel spoke and to make matters worse he began to convulse. That was when I noticed that my accident might have been more serious (at least for others involved) than I initially thought.

My First aid training kicked in and I started resuscitation immediately. I laid him in the left lateral position and instructed the group that had started gathering to stop pouring water in the man's face. They in an attempt to wake him up were instead drowning him.

I went shop to shop seeking to give the man Diazepam to break through the seizures but I couldn't find any pharmacies close by. My next thought was to take him to the hospital as soon as we could.

I and the group of people who had gathered began to beg people who had vehicles to drive us to the hospital.

It was dark, it was around 8 p.m. No one stopped and I don't blame them...I don't know if I would too if I were the one.

We eventually had to take my convulsing bike man on a bike as he was unconscious. I picked up the bike man's money before anyone else could grab hold of it and a few of the bike man's friends drove him to my hospital as I led them down a road filled with potholes.

When we got to the hospital the gate was swung open and we rode in. There we were in my emergency room as I was explaining to the doctor on duty what had happened. We made assessments of the patient and found that there was blood dripping down his right ear...a sign of basilar injury (skull fracture).

We explained the cost of management to the bikeman who was slowly becoming conscious and his friends, an amount they could not afford.

We had to refer them to a government hospital where they would start care without the money.

After the Acident

Source: Infinix Hot20i Camera

After the accident, I was in pain...all sorts. Burning pain from air touching the abrasive injuries. Deep sharp pain from flexing my knee joint. I had similar deep pains from my knuckle injuries but they quickly healed seeing as they're small joints and I figure the blood supply to those areas is less complicated.

But the knee joint is such an annoying joint. It is so big that the tendon over it needs a bone (patella) not many animals have this bone. Humans, horses and I think ostriches (some dogs and cats though).

After the injury, I began to limp and quickly realized that I didn't have the proper clothes for my new illness. I first went to my house within the hospital premises. I washed my clothes with the abrasive injuries I had on my hand...resighting to myself a remix of the Dettol slogan "If I don't take care of myself, who will?"

I had my bath and called a friend and my younger sister to inform them of what had happened.

I went to the A&E department and I had a TT shot to prevent tetanus. I was placed on Tramadol (my first time taking opiates), vitamin C (orange ones, I finished those sooner than I should have), Metronidazole (antibiotics for tissue injury), and ??Bedrest (I never got this because I had lots of work to do).

It took 2 long and painful weeks for me to heal. During that time people would beg me not to go to work, not to go to the gym, and to get some sleep...but what did I do...I didn't listen to any of them.

Looking forward

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After this accident, I have a new perspective on working out. It's like I have an additional layer of confidence in the activity. I know that it's not easy to stay in tune. But whoever said it's supposed to be easy.

There was a prayer I used to have any time I wanted to obtain IV access from a patient. I would hope that it would be easy. Now I just hope that I'll be able to do it no matter how hard it is. I pray for strength to keep on going and that's all I'll keep praying for, from myself and for others.