Headline:
I am alive, I am not paralyzed, I’ll get better.
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The following are the events of a “unhappy“ accident.
On the morning of June 24, 2022 I was on my way to work at 10:45 on my mountain bike with the electric front wheel. I was going 10 - 12 miles an hour on the overpass on Ocean Avenue over Highway 280. A tree had pushed up the sidewalk a good
10 inches causing me to lose control of the bike as I went over it.
I slammed into a fence which stopped the bike but I kept going, landing on my head and especially my right hand knuckles. I was dazed but I did not lose consciousness. My helmet saved my life. The only reason I had it was because I wanted a helmet that had speakers for my music. It took me a few minutes to gather myself enough to get up and sit on the ledge of a lamp post. I managed to pull out my phone and dial 911. The operator was very helpful sending the SFFD ambulance and the police. The medics took off my helmet and fastened a neck brace around my neck and got me into the ambulance on a stretcher and took me to Kaiser emergency room on Geary. Each moment was very painful. In the emergency room I had my hand x-rayed
and my neck went through a CAT scan. Moving on and off the tables was agony. It was determined that I should go to the spine specialist at San Jose Kaiser. I was transported in an ambulance Friday evening and put it into a room. I had a an MRI on my neck performed-15 minute procedure. The determination was I needed to have screws and pins put in my spine to support my skull. The C-1 disk had been pulverized by the impact on the right side. I was only able to be scheduled for the operation on Monday which meant a three day wait. I faced the clock in my room and counted minutes until it was time to be taken to the operating room. Any movement was excruciatingly painful. But I had a lot of morphine. They didn’t hesitate to keep me shot up.
The surgeon I was given was Dr. Jaspaul Singh Gogia of the Sikh religion. I couldn’t have asked for a better doctor. He was very helpful, answered all my questions,and had maximum respect from his fellow surgeons. Plus when I told my daughter he was a Sikh she said one of their major tenants was being helpful. That made me feel even better. I talked with Dr. Gogia and he agreed to let a nurse take photos of the operation.
After the usual prep I was put out and had a very weird awakening. I thought I was shooting a movie like the Godfather. I thought I was an actor playing a patient who had just been operated on. I stood it as long as I could and then yelled "cut- get me out of this." I was told that this was really happening and it wasn’t a movie. Weirdest recovery I’ve had from an operation. Now it felt like I had a stiff neck. Much better than the excruciating pain I had been experiencing. I still needed occasional pain meds but I was feeling much better.
Screws attached to a metal plate anchored to my skull.
Tuesday morning at 5:30 AM I took my first walk with my very pleasant nurse who was very encouraging.
I was surprised to learn that I was going to be able to go home right away. I was given medical supplies as needed and told I would be wearing this brace on my neck 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for six weeks. I may loose a little weight because it's hard to open my mouth very wide. Cookies do fit in nicely though. Then I would remove it for one hour each day adding an hour being off. This was because they wanted my neck muscles to get stronger after being in a brace for so long. Then I would only have to wear the brace at night for another eight weeks. Life has been going so well for me and this is certainly a setback but I’m going to be OK. I look forward to getting back to my wonderful students who have been so hopeful, helpful and loving. I thank them for being patient with me and getting back into action. I am shooting for three weeks but there may be adjustments.
I hope that answers all your questions. Thanks again for your prayers and support. All the prayers and love that flowed from my family and friends were truly appreciated. Thank you all.
