2018: A Hospital Visit

 

2018 Regrets

Fun fact: I once had an electric skateboard - a Boosted Board v2 extended - and if you can believe that, you'll believe the above picture. I had two surgeries. The first one put the steel bars into my leg in the above shot. The second one removed these fixtures and replaced it with screws and a metal plate.

It happened one awful sunny lunchtime in 2018. I was riding this electric skateboard with elbow pads, knee pads, and wrist guards. No matter, I hit a rock, and went flying like superman.

Only when I hit the ground, my right leg shattered just under the kneecap. Oh man, was it painful. I had deep purple bruises that lasted for months on my right side. The pain was excruciating. 

It took me 6 months of self-imposed rehab stretching to get my flexibility and walking back. I remember taking Ubers and taxi's, and also the home-delivery grocery service. For months.

Using crutches, I walked with difficulty and pain. I ended up selling that board and the safety gear to a younger man from Edmonton. Lord knows what happened to him or the board. I advised him to wear the gear, like I did, but I never heard back. I think I sold it for $575 with everything included. A great deal.

Looking back, I probably would never have considered this stupid item. But here we are. You know? Hindsight is always 20/20 vision.

I hope to have learned a valuable lesson about risk: Don't if you aren't willing to risk serious injury. And at my age, I won't be doing that anymore.

I'm not interested in skydiving, cave exploring, cave diving, diving in general, cycling, motorcycling, and skateboarding. You can also add in skiing and snowboarding - both water and ice. And let's not forget ice climbing. Nope!

I have 12 screws and 1 steel plate in my right leg. It'll be there until the day I die. A reminder about what it was like to blind to risk.

I'm thankful because it could have been far worse. 

Happy Super Bowl!