Ouch!

One for the Bruise Fetishists

This is here because some of my so-called buddies demanded photographic proof that I wasn't just skiving off. So I obliged...

On May 10 2009 I somehow managed to walk in front of a bus. It was at 6:30 in the evening so I can't even blame the beer! Looks like the timing of the collision was just right in that the bus's right mirror hit my head and the upper left part of my body while its front wheel ran over my right foot. I still don't understand how I didn't hear it or see the bus (aside from the obvious rejoinder that I didn't look for it, which I can't deny.)
I ended up with a broken collarbone (clavicle), a couple of cracked ribs, a fracture in my skull next to my left eye, a fractured cheekbone below my left eye, a badly-bruised left leg and 4 broken metatarsals on my right foot. My left arm is in a special sling to immobilise my left shoulder and my right leg is in a plaster cast up to my knee. The blow also did something nasty to my left eye - I can no longer read normal-sized text with it and have double vision depending on the angle at which I look at things. Also I have reduced feeling in my left cheek and upper left row of teeth, looks like a nerve or two have been chopped.

The good news is that most of my ailments (and especially my eye) are slowly improving, I'm not in any real pain, and of course that it could have been much worse ... I'm a very lucky lad, all things considered, so I'm not going to complain!

If you want to see photos, scroll down. Nothing too bad there, just some nasty bruising and a few cuts.

As a friend of mine said: "I don't know what all your whingeing is about. I've seen far worse coming off the pitch after a Junior B football match. And they enjoyed it!"

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Close-up, 3 days after accident - left clavicle broken (bus's mirror presumably clobbered my shoulder where the cut is and then moved on to hit my face),
fractured cheekbone under eye, fractured skull, 4 broken toes on right foot, nice bruising on face and chest, as well as lower left leg


4 Days after accident


The Good Leg (!), 4 days after accident


The Good Leg (!), photo with flash, 4 days after accident


Facial bruising, swelling and cuts, 4 days after accident - had to wear neck brace only for a few days


Getting there, 6 days after accident


Icky yellow skin, 1 week after accident ... a lot of this is still yellow nearly 6 weeks later...!

One of my buddies unkindly commented that it looks like I'd been in The Cotton Ball on Knacker's Night*...

Remember to look both ways before crossing the road! :-)


* You'll have to ask a Cork person to explain that to you - I won't as it's not very PC.