Modern Vespa

I always assumed that if my scooter ever landed me in need of the tender ministrations of the medical community, it would be because of some high speed collision.  

But assumptions are designed to make fools of us all, and the hours (so far) today I've spent getting poked, prodded, X-rayed, bandaged, injected, and dosed are but a prelude to what awaits me this afternoon at the orthopedist... and though as a result of my scooter, speed and traffic had nothing whatsoever to do with it.

The story begins with an otherwise routine commute home last night.  The temperature was unseasonably warm... a mostly full moon peeked out from gently drifting clouds to illuminate the perfectly dry roadway... and no more than a slight breeze rustled the sparse vegetation along the side of the quiet road.

With the exception of a rare passing car, I was alone on the road for most of my commute.  And I was alone when I saw the 'T' intersection looming ahead which marked the 2/3 point of my commute.  As always, about 50 yards before the stop sign I rolled off the accelerator and let my speed bleed off naturally... applying the brakes gently only in the last few yards to stop the last of my forward momentum.

My scooter had almost come to a complete stop a few feet before the white line as I'd intended, when I suddenly had the sensation of drifting... as if my scoot was no longer in contact with the roadway.  I knew my brakes hadn't failed because that would have caused me to roll forward in the direction I'd been traveling.  Instead, I watched in puzzled amazement as the scooter began do drift crab-like eeeeeevvvveeerrrr ssooooo ssslloooooooowwwllllyyyy as if sliding on ice.

At the same moment that the moonlight allowed me to perceive that I was in the middle of a large slick of some sort of liquid, the stench of diesel fuel hit my nose.  Clearly a truck with a leaking gas tank had sat for a good long while at the stop sign and soaked the roadway before continuing on its way.

I said a silent prayer of thanks that I hadn't encountered the fuel slick in the roadway while traveling at speed, and put my left foot down to stop the glacially slow drift of the scooter towards the intersection.

That's when things started to go seriously wrong.

The scooter continued to drift at an angle away from where I'd planted my foot, and within a few seconds I found myself being forced into a comical split as I tried in vain to support the weight of the leaning scooter with my hands on the handlebars... All the while looking down in panic as my planted left foot got further and further from the imaginary vertical line that intersects the scooter's center of gravity.

As my crotch muscles began to scream their protest at the unfamiliar demand on their flexibility, I began feeling like a Thanksgiving turkey where someone was enthusiastically trying to rip off the drumstick.

Just when I thought I would split in half like a wishbone, another part of my body decided to give way.  I watched in horror as my left knee suddenly gave out, shaking off the confines of its usual axis of flexibility and allowing my lower leg to extend sickeningly at a 90 degree angle to the left.

The sudden lack of support from my leg forced me to fall to my left (further hyper-extending me knee in that unaccustomed direction) and allowing the scooter to slide gently onto its side in the roadway.

It all happened so quietly and with such surreal slowness (with the exception of my knee giving way) that when the scooter finally touched the pavement, it was as gently as if I had deliberately lain it down.

For a good 15 seconds I sat there frozen in that odd position with my hands still clutching the handlebars of the scooter, my right leg still straddling the scooter's step through, and my left leg extended at that angle that made me want to throw up.

Oddly, I didn't feel any pain.  Yet.  Just nausea and shock.

Then  the pain hit my left knee and the left side of my groin as if someone had sunk a red hot poker into me.  But for some reason I still couldn't let go of the scooter's handlebars.  Maybe it was some blind instinct to try to keep it from rolling further onto its side (where it might get scratched up) or maybe it was to preserve the illusion that it was supporting me.  But whatever was going through my mind, I just couldn't get my hands to let go.

Within a few minutes a car approached from the direction I had just come and stopped a few feet behind me.  I heard the sound of car doors opening, and within a moment strong hands were gripping me under the arms, and another set were wrestling the scooter from my grasp.

I guess the guy who had me under the arms didn't see my left leg clearly, because instead of just pulling me away from the scooter and laying me down, he lifted me up into a standing position.  As he did so I felt, more than saw, my left leg straighten out into a normal angle, and most of the pain evaporated.  My groin still had a searing burn from the muscle strain of the split, but my knee seemed sort of okay.

I'm sure by then I was in shock and operating entirely on adrenaline, but when the two men asked me if I was alright or if they should call an ambulance, I told them I was fine and re-mounted my scooter.  My knee was now throbbing mildly and shot me little lightning bolts of pain if I tried to turn my foot in any direction but straight ahead.  But the leg could support me so I thanked them for the help and rode slowly through the rest of my commute... seeing, hearing and remembering nothing.

When I got home it took me a few minutes to be able to get off the scooter, and another few to get it up on the center stand.  All I could think about was getting inside and sitting down.

When I walked in the door my wife wrinkled her nose and said, "what's that smell?".  

I hadn't noticed it outside, but in the warm confines of our home the stench of diesel fuel wafted from my pants and shoes in cloying waves.  We put my shoes outside and tossed my pants into the washing machine (getting them off would have been comically funny if not for the searing pain caused by the necessary bending and flexing of my legs), and I explained to my wife and kids what had happened.

I had a light dinner of soup and Percocet (I had a stash of pain meds in my travel bag for emergencies), and settled in to see how badly my knee was going to swell up.

I woke up around one in the morning on the couch with no recollection of how I got there.  Until I tried to stand up, and it all came flooding back.  I managed to make my way into bed and woke up this morning with both my knee and groin telling me that there would be a small change in plans for the morning.

I emailed my boss to make it official and waited for the local medical center to open so I could officially hear the bad news.

I couldn't drive our car because I didn't have a reliable left leg to work the clutch, and the idea of folding myself into the passenger seat while my wife drove me was a non-starter.  So ironically the only semi-comfortable conveyance my leg could tolerate was the scooter.

One of the nice things about living in a small town is that there is rarely a wait for anything.  I hobbled into the waiting room and the doctor, who was standing by the door of his office, waved me in.  He poked and prodded the knee and very quickly arrived at the decision to order some x-rays.  He told me that if I'd torn any muscle or ligaments it wouldn't show up, but he needed to rule out anything being broken.

While I was waiting across the hall for the x-ray technician to arrive, the nurse said she noticed I hadn't had my flu shot yet and offered to administer it.  I gave her the go ahead and am now immunized against at least a couple of strains of flu.  I know... a crap shoot, but better then nothing considering all the traveling I do.

The good news is that nothing is broken (not that this was surprising).  I've filled a prescription for two different kinds of big league pain meds, and am now waiting for my appointment with the orthopedist in a few hours.

I'll let you know how that goes.  In the mean time, send good, healing thoughts and lets hope it is just a sprain and that words like 'surgery' will not be part of the recovery discussion.

Oh, for those who are curious about such things, my scoot is fine.  A tiny scratch or two on the beading along the left leg shield where it touched the road... but otherwise pristine.

Ouch Shit. Not helpful I know. Dunno what else to say.

Hi Treppenwitz

Very sorry to hear of the incident - with all your scooter karma from the saddlebags it sounds as if the situation was prevented from being so much worse - what a horrible thought to have ridden through the diesel spill at speed in traffic.... wishing you excellent news from the orthopedist - and as you say at least the scoot is otherwise pristine - heal quick

WD

David, i am so sorry to hear this! I wish you a quick and full recovery so you can ride to work again tomorrow!!

All the best!

Arghhhh! Bloody DIEsel. That's going to hurt, hurt, hurt for some time. So sorry to hear that David.

Important lesson for everyone - never, ever, get your feet off the floorboards or pegs when you're moving. Human legs are useless as 'training wheels', keep them tucked in out of harm's way.

Thanks Jim, I agree 100%. I'm actually in the habit of doing the balancing act at most lights and stop signs to see if I can keep from putting my feet down. It's a game I'm sure a lot of scooterists and motorcyclists play to pass the time.

In this case I was, for all intents and purposes, stopped. I only put down my leg to keep the scoot from falling over. I was moving in that odd angle crablike direction at a rate that could best be measured in inches per hour, not miles or kilometers.

Just a freak occurrence and a confluence of bad luck.

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. I'm glad it's not worse than it could have been.

My MSF instructor said that everyone who rides will dump it one day. The question is how and when.

Heel quickly!

Reading this has made my skin crawl. Almost exactly the same thing happened to me the one and only time in 48 years that I have broken a bone.
That sense of helplessness and inevitability as you lose control.
I hope you have a speedy recovery.

So sorry to hear about this Trepp. Lots of healing thoughts are winging their way to you and I hope you feel much better soon. From what I have gleaned on here you sound like a stand up kind of guy and one who I wouldn't wish this type of mishap on.
Get well soon mate!

Wow!

Sending healing thoughts your way. Glad it wasn't worse.

AARRGGHH! David...Sorry to hear about your misfortune. My thoughts and prayers to you for a speedy recovery. Take a mental health day off.

Kia Kaha Trep!

I had a horrible WTF moment on diesel a few months ago, luckily is was just a small spill.

Yeah I hates me some diesel too. Hope you get good news on the knee.

Good vibes coming your way Trep. Hope it all works out OK.

Get well soon!!!

Ouch!
That made MY knee hurt!
Hope you get on the road to recovery soon!

Holy crap!!! Glad you're not worse off. That sounds pretty awful as it is. Hope you heal well, and the pain meds do their job.

Back to work, you wimp. If you can scoot to the doctor you can scoot to the office!

Seriously, I echo all of the previously posted sentiments.

It happens to us all sooner or later. For me, it was 1967. Starting off from a traffic light getting onto a round-about. I went through at less than five miles per hour what looked like a puddle of water but turned out to be oil. The scooter went down in an instant, leaving me and my pillion rider standing astride the stricken beast. No hurts all around.

Ouch .. I can see this so clearly in my mind's eye.
Another excellent reminder that no matter how experienced
we are or how mild the situation, the unexpected rears it's
head. Stay safe, all.

David - all the best healing thoughts your way, and great to
hear that this wasn't at speed where it could have been
catastrophic. Rest and heal, you've earned it.

Dave

Good Morning, David.

As a fellow scooterist, I comiserate with you. There are so many dangers out there eh? I am so glad that your injuries can mend soon.

As a former English Teacher, I must say that your prose was excellent. Your descriptions were delighjtfully detailed and your self-characterization was genuine and entertaining.

Get well, my friend.
Mr. F

WOW! Just as everyone has posted before, positive thoughts, karma and well wishes coming your way. Get better so you can get back to scootin'. [/i]

David,

OUCH! That makes my left knee ache to read about it (I severed my ACL on the left side 20 years ago). Hopefully they'll find that there are no tears and it will simply be a matter of resting the knee to make it healthy again. Ibuprophen, ice packs and keeping the knee elevated helped me a lot the first few days.

-Craig

And God created Percocet. And let us say, amen. Get well soon.

Once again a magnificent blow-by-blow account of an incident in your life. I believe many of us are "feeling your pain"; thank you for that.

I hope you get good news on the severity of the injury and heal quickly!

post deleted by Salima

sorry to hear that mate.....


heal well and quickly...


b.t.w what a fantastic account of events very nicely written.!

Thanks to everyone for all the good wishes and supportive comments.

Here's the deal:

After an excruciating visit with a sadistic (but very well respected) orthopod, the news is tentatively good. He said it doesn't look/feel like I've torn anything, but things are so inflamed in there that an MRI is likely to be inconclusive right now.

He put me in an elastic knee sleeve for support and told me to try to stay off it as much as possible.

He said that if it was, as he suspects, a bad sprain, I'm likely to have a lot of pain for as long as a month. But if it persists any longer than that, or if I have the sense that the discomfort isn't gradually diminishing as time goes on, then he'll order the MRI.

My meds are wearing off so I need to go take the edge off...

OH carp, I am not surprised that you felt nausea not pain with the leg/knee injury. I still remember back (mumble, mumble) years ago when I was in high school doing warm ups on the low balance beam. Walkover into the splits to hear a loud ripping noise. That was my hamstring. Didn't really hurt for hours but I did feel sick.

Hopefully, it will turn out to be over stretched not torn and heal quickly.

Diesel is nasty stuff to put a foot down in. Mine landed in a much smaller patch when I stopped to get gas in Louisiana last year. Guy at the pump before me overfilled his tank and created a small puddle that didn't look like fuel, sigh. Stuff is slick as snot so I'm not terribly surprised you couldn't get traction in it. Hopefully it will get cleaned up before someone else has a similar experience.

Keep that leg elevated as much as possible and follow the doc's directions. Heel well and quickly my friend.

Now I'm going to limp out to the GTS for a run to the post office. Somehow reading your story has my knee and ankle remembering previous injuries. Though it is unseasonably warm here right now 88f with 100% humidity (just how is that possible when the sun is shining anyway but the news assures us it is) I think I'll pull on my kevelar coolmax jacket (from Israel) just to be on the safe side.

Sorry to hear about the terrible incident! Sending you best wishes from Kentucky for your quick, complete recovery!

Wishing you a fast recovery.

Sending Healing vibes from Cali.

Wow, David,

Sorry about the bad luck. It brought back the sickening feeling when I dislocated a finger...that brief moment of uncertainty before the reality sinks in. Unfortunately, this is a bigger deal.

Knee injuries of the soft tissue variety aren't fun-hopefully the news is good.

Thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery coming your way!

Dave

Sorry to hear aout your encounter with a different form of black ice. Good to know that it is a sprain and nothing is broken. Best wishes for a speedy recovery

I'm guessing a morning jog is out of the question.....

Be well Shipmate and heal fast.

Wow...amazing flexibility if this turns out to only be a sprain. Take care.

Sorry to hear of this bit of bad luck. I tore the ACL on my left knee doing a similar foot plant on a HD many years ago. It sounds like, subject to further testing as they say, you have come out of this in pretty good shape. I wish you a speedy recovery.

OUCH!!! That made my stomach turn just reading that. I am very glad that it wasn't worse, given the situation, but not making light of it. What you got is bad enough. Hope it's no worse than a sprain and heal quickly. Sending best thoughts your way.

Ouch... again... damn.

David,

I'm glad to hear that the Ortho doesn't believe you've torn anything! That is really great news. Best of luck with a quick recovery. Within your doctors boundaries, keep the knee moving as much as possible. Atrophe sets in real quick and that's takes a lot of work to recover from and regain your full mobility.

-Craig

Oh Treppenwitz, so sorry to hear that. I read your story with my hand over my mouth: the slow motion aspect of it is horrifying. I'm so glad you're ok, and that you weren't going faster (or, god forbid, in heavy traffic).

Get well soon!

Bless your heart, what a way to end the month.
Get better soon.

Bounce back quick! Thank g-d as it could have been worse.