In May 2009, I was involved in a spectacularly amazing car crashed. Basically it was a dark and rainy night. I was in my car, and suddenly, the rear wheels gave way and I was tired so I tapped on the breaks and my mind screamed NOooo! So the car aquaplaned gracefully, and I would have gone over the cliff if not for the concrete light pole that was in the way. Anyway after the obligatory tires screeching, crash bang and busting of glass, the car lifted and flipped and rolled three to five times (Sorry for the lack of accuracy as I was a bit preoccupied causing me to lose count). When it finally stopped, the car was upside and so was I, stuck in my seat, held up by the safety belt.
I was finding it hard to breathe, so my first thought was to release the safety belt that was restricting my breathing or so I thought. I forgot about gravity, apparently as the moment I pressed the release button, I fell to the floor (which was actually the roof, being that the car was upside down). So I straighten my self up and still found it hard to breathe. I tried to straighten my legs but one of my knees was stuck behind the steering wheel. I remember then trying to move all my limbs including my neck to assess if anything was broken or bleeding. Everything seem OK except that it was hard to breathe.
Then there was a nice man who asked if there was anyone in the car. I say ya, would you mind helping me out? He was being careful, as he told me later, there was a lot of smoke coming from the car. So they were afraid of an explosion or at the least a fire. Anyway, a couple of minutes later, he came back and asked me if I broke my legs. I said no, but would he mind doing a small favor for me. I then told him that there was a small lever behind the steering, would he mind releasing it, then lift the steering and push it back in. He did and now both my legs were on the ground making it a lot easier to breathe.
The next thing they wanted was to get me out of the car and I couldn't fault their plan. So the door was in the way. It took 4 guys to pry the door open. Which is saying something about BMWs. Remember that this door was partially crushed in due to the hitting of the concrete poll earlier. But they did, and I help kicked at the gear box, and I was out of the car. There was a moment of confusion, as they were trying to decide whether to elevate my head or my legs on the pavement. They decided on my head (which is wrong :) legs take up a lot of blood). I didn't have the heart to tell them.
Waited for about 20 minutes for the ambulance to arrive and I remember telling someone that I wanted to go to Gleaneagles Medical Center as my records were there and there were doctors there that I trust. This was in case I passed out. When the ambulance arrived, I told the paramedics the same thing. And gosh, the 15 minute ride to the hospital was painful. Everything looked fine (I asked the paramedics) but somehow there was pain especially when I breathed deeply.
As I reached the hospital, the male nurse did a rudimentary check on me. It was chilling because the AC was turned on high and also that I knew what each test was for and the consequences of what falling each test will entail. I didn't fail any except for the pain I felt when I was being moved. My blood pressure and pulse were high, which is good because of the adrenalin flowing through me, but more importantly it showed that there was no internal bleeding. The next part was painful as they had to take x-rays of me. And I had to bend and twist in every possible combination. They must have took at least 30 x-rays. No broken bones, except for the chest area. So my doctor, who's a orthopedic surgeon, referred me to a cardio thoracic surgeon who incidentally was the only one in the whole of Penang and the northern region. Talk about a blessing. Anyway long story short, the doctor came in, looked at the x-rays for about 30 minutes, and came over to tell me that I broke 9 ribs, my collar bone and cracked my shoulder blade.
The nurse asked me if I wanted them to call my parents. I asked him for the time and if I was in a stable condition. He told me it was 2:30 am and what did I mean if I was in a stable condition. So I replied, if there's a chance I might die, then yeah it's a good idea to call them. Else wait till 6am (when they usually get up) before calling. No point worrying them or them rushing to the hospital. I found it hard to breathe, so I told the nurse and they gave me a oxygen mask to help me do that. I then slept peacefully.
No comments:
Post a Comment