Dangerous Driving

A year is a long time

Posted on by fantomwriter



A year equals 365 days.

A year equals 8760 hours

A year equals 525600 minutes

A year equals 31,536,000 seconds.

All it took was one of those seconds to change my life forever.

With a long and painful year behind me, I can now begin to look forward and set a few new targets as the last of my operations are done and dusted.

When people discover I had a major incident with a car while cycling, i get the standard response of how lucky I really am.

In some ways this makes sense, I am still able to walk and have full function of all my limbs and only with some pain on a daily basis. But yes, I am alive and have managed to get back on the bike and continue with my life in a way I would have wanted.

But, if I had been really ‘lucky’ I would have never been hit by a motorist who was not paying attention to the roads in front of him. I would have never suffered the effects of a broken back and other painful injuries.

Luck has not been the biggest factor in getting back on my feet and eventually back on the bike. Persistence may have had a huge part to play, and the fact I find it rather difficult to accept help, even when I should was another factor.

Unlucky is probably the best way to describe the situation I ended up in. Broken and feeling very sorry for myself at the best of times. Not that giving up was ever an option, even though I have to admit there were times where it was one step forward and two steps back.

Having to go through two separate procedure, shoulder and then my hand, which I was told was fine. I guess the surgeon got that one wrong. So after 11 months, I had surgery to repair my thumb, and the rehab begins from scratch.

So all I can do from this point forward is look forward to a time where I can be happy with my condition and the joys I have ahead in my life.

A second can sometimes be the longest time in a person’s life.

Make every second count as you may not get the next one

Fast and Furious – Taxi Style

Posted on by fantomwriter


On a recent trip to see a surgeon for my shoulder, I ordered a taxi to get me to his office as I was still unable to drive. On other visits to his office, the 30 minute cab trip had been rather uneventful. But this was not the case this time.

The driver who picked me up must have obtained his driver’s license from the Fast and Furious school of driving. He drove like a maniac, weaving in and out of traffic. One hand in the wheel and the other casually draped out of his window.


I mentioned we had ample time to get to my appointment, but it made no difference at all. He smiled and continued to drive like Michael Schumacher, only with less control.

Things got worse once we flew onto the freeway. He looked at the traffic in front of us and decided it would be quicker if we drove in the emergency lane. And he then put the pedal to the metal and cruised past 100 kms in the blink of an eye.

It didn’t take long at all once we were off the freeway and back onto the main road, and the doctor’s office was just around the corner.

After paying the fare, I stepped out of the cab as quickly as possible and prayed I never had to step foot in his cab ever again.

Honestly, I don’t need anyone’s help running into cars and injuring myself, and I have proven that on a number of occasions now