December 9 2008 6:05 PM by Adam
filed under Story Of My Life

I'm not 100% sure when I wrote this entry as I vaugley remember actually writing it. I wrote it while recoving in a London hospital after being hit by a car. I guess I'm just posting it as record and a reminder. Always look both ways when you're crossing the street.

I found myself lying naked in the road amidst trendy London nightlife in a pool of my own blood. A few moments earlier I pulled a bone-head move. I was the stupid American who ignored his mother's advice and looked the wrong way when crossing a busy street. I never saw the car that hit me. There was a sudden thud that projected me forward down the street. I tried to jump up and 'walk it off' but my legs and arm didn't provide the support I asked of them. The whole incident was pretty scary and I still hold a vivid description of that perspective of Regent Street. I am surely blessed that an Angel was watching over me that night and I'm lucky to be alive.

I remember an Officer arriving quickly. He must have been nearby. He kept telling me to stay calm and not to move. He said my injuries weren't bad at all, but the tone of his voice said otherwise. EMTs arrived shortly and immediately took a pair of shears to my clothes. My heart sank when I realized I lost my favorite pair of jeans and jacket (along with my Syndicate pin). Once I was on the board, a familiar voice tried to calm me and held my hand to let me know he was there. They had started to give me laughing gas which was making me very lightheaded. Never being one to turn down a legal high, I opened my lungs generously until I nearly passed out. The Officer was now telling me to take as many hits as I could before they loaded me into the ambulance. He sounded a lot like Vinne Jones when he said "If I was you, I'd get wicked fucked up!". But when I caught a glimpse of his eyes, they looked too serious.

Mark rode with me to the hospital and stayed by side until he wasn't permitted. Everything from this point is fairly confusing. There was a lot of waiting, and at one point someone put 6 staples in the back of my head. I asked if they were using a red SwingLine but I think the joke was lost in translation. The next few hours were the most painful of my life. They rolled me back and forth across the x-ray machine what seemed like 20x. Up to this point they had only given me local anesthesia so I was wide awake and feeling it. They determined that my left leg and left arm were broken. My femur snapped in two places and was virtually floating inside my leg. Once I signed some paperwork, they gave me some happy pills. This launched me into orbit and I remember feeling jealous that Mark was going to ride home in a squad car.

The following days in the hospital were some of the worst in my life. I'm not really ready to share these experiences openly, but they have made an impact on my life. I eventually made it back to the states with the help of a company called SOS International and have been recovering at home. If things go as planned, I should be walking again by January and make a full recovery within the year.