It happened on a Saturday. There was nothing special about the day, I was out with a few friends on my bike. Nothing too heavy, a bit of light off-road, but mainly cycle tracks and tightly packed gravel. It wasn't a club, but we did meet semi-regularly at least. Some of them are more serious than others. I was mid-pack as was my usual position and it was a path that I have cycled hundreds of times.
I am not sure if I hit a rock, if I just lapsed with my concentration, or if I simply ran out of talent. Either way, my front wheel slid from under me and before I could react my face was meeting the gravel. Slamming off the floor the wind was knocked out of me. My left foot unclipped itself, but my right one stayed attached to the bike which twisted as it slid along the floor and I heard the crack as something in my leg was twisted beyond its limit. There was no pain as I bounced off a tree stump and came to a rest on my side, still half attached to the bike.
"Ooo shit," I heard one of the people I was with say as they got off and came over to me to see how I was. I heard the 999 call simultaneously as my adrenaline wore off and pain ripped through my body. My right leg, left arm, right arm and face, in that order of severity. I blacked out.
I came around as emergency responders arrived and I was promptly given gas and air which did very little to ease my pain, but that was soon remedied as a cannula was put into my arm and I was injected with the good stuff. I looked down at myself and just said ow. My right foot wasn't facing the correct way, and my left arm wasn't looking too great either.
"Gonna need to cut your top off," the ambulance guy said.
I am not sure if he was asking my permission or just stating what was going to happen. Even in my morphine-addled dream world, I knew that was a terrible idea as it was all I was wearing. I never wore a bra when cycling, they chafe and are generally not comfortable. "Do you have anything on underneath it?" he asked.
I looked at him for a few seconds. In any other situation, this would be a full-on fantasy scenario. I had attracted a not-insignificant crowd as the cycle path was alongside a popular walking route and as is the case in these situations, people are nosy fuckers. They were about to get a nice view of my tits though and it could get even better for them, the shorts I had on were the all-in-one cycling ones, and I had nothing on under those either. I shook my head. "Nothing?" the ambulance guy confirmed. I shook my head again.
"Is she stable?" I heard the other ambulance person, who was female, say.
"Yeah," he replied.
"Strap her up and get her ready for airlift," she said, "They can sort it on route to the hospital," she added.
I didn't really understand their conversation, but I could hear the distant thrum of a helicopter. I was manoeuvred onto a spinal board and strapped onto it so I couldn't move even if I wanted to. I was given some more morphine and zoned out again for a while. I came back around and was being lifted on my stretcher by two people in orange day glow suits as well as the two ambulance crew.
"Hiya, Jenny," one of the orange people introduced herself as, "How is the pain?" she asked.
I did reply, but even I didn't understand my reply. I did mean to just say "meh," but no idea what came out of my mouth. I was loaded into what I assumed was the loudest ambulance in the world, but as the doors slid closed I realised I was being airlifted. Was I that badly injured? Now I panicked which must have shown on the many machines that were monitoring me. I was instantly sober and terrified. "You are fine," Jenny said, "Relax," she added as she placed her hand on my hand and squeezed it gently.
"Am I going to die?" I asked urgently.
She didn't reply, which further panicked me. I guess she wasn't allowed to say "no" in case I had a blood clot or something and did die. She gave me another injection of something cold into my veins and I sank back into my dream world again. I was still conscious and kind of aware, but I had no cares in the world any more. If I died I died, whatever. I felt my heart slow down, which I assume was what she had just injected me with and she was constantly chatting and telling me what she was doing. Saving my life hopefully. Not at all dramatic. For the record here I was never in any serious danger, the air ambulance was purely because it was available and it saved them carrying me half a mile to the ambulance.
"Boyfriend?" Jenny asked me.
I looked at her confused. Mainly the cocktail of opioids circulating my bloodstream, but it also seemed like an odd time to be making small talk or coming onto me. She was cute, but she was a bit female for my liking. I shook my head, "Nar," I mumbled.
"Okay," she said glancing over her shoulder, "I need to cut your clothes off. Is that okay?" she asked. I am fairly sure my choices were limited as the alternative was to remove them myself and as good as morphine is as a pain killer, it isn't that good.
I just nodded in reply. I really didn't care. I was more concerned whether the squirrels that were dancing in the roof of the helicopter were real or not. In hindsight, they clearly weren't, but in my mind they were real. They were also dressed in ball gowns and dinner suits while doing the Foxtrot. Morphine is fucking awesome.
I felt my top go loose followed by the cool sensation as I became topless. "Are you wearing underwear?" she asked to which I just shook my head. Moments later a similar feeling between my legs washed over me as I was relieved of my clothes and dignity. She tended to a rather nasty cut on my hip that was bleeding quite heavily and generally checked me over. I was hooked up to a load of machines as I just watched on in my dazed state of mind. I was still strapped to the spinal board so I was totally immobile and as the morphine began to wear off I became aware of my nudity and inability to cover myself. She topped up my morphine and I zoned out again.
We landed at the hospital and I was taken inside and seemed to bypass all the queues. I was fairly pleased that I had been covered by a sheet so I wasn't wheeled through a very busy hospital as naked as the day I was born, although that would have been pretty awesome. I hated people like me when I was in hospital, you have been waiting for ages then some idiot who can't ride a bike gets rushed in before you. I was surrounded by doctor-type people who unhooked some things and added other things as I got assessed. I was x-rayed and scanned and once it was determined that nothing spinal or neck was broken I was released from the board and shunted over to a bed. Shunted sounds like a harsh word to use, but it was fairly fucking painful.
The pain was under control now, I am not sure how much of it was drugs and how much of it was my body just saying "Fine whatever, fuck you, I have warned you that you have fucked yourself up, whatever, do whatever, I am done. On your own lady." If I moved I hurt, but if I didn't I was fairly okay. "Am I going to die?" I asked again.
An assistant looked at me and smiled warmly. "Not imminently," she said. Her words, despite their non-committal message, were a comfort to me and I relaxed.
"Soooo, Sophie Lloyd," one of the suited men said to me. I looked at him. "Compound fracture of your right ankle, broken left arm, broken right wrist, a few broken ribs... Good job."
"Thanks," I replied, "Will I be okay?"
"We will do our best," he said. "We need to reset your leg and arm, your wrist will need a brace. Your ribs will heal themselves," he added.
"Okay," I said feeling myself begin to tear up. It was hitting home and here came the shock. I was properly hurt.
"Do you have anyone we can ring?" the assistant asked me.
"Mum," I said instantly. No matter how old you are, you always want your mummy. I gave her the number from memory and they disappeared off to ring her. When I had been moved off the spinal board my sheet hadn't been moved with me and I was very naked. It seemed more exposed now I was in a bed and not on a stretcher. Every fibre of my being wanted to cover myself, but even just the thought of moving seemed to trigger the most intense pain I have ever experienced. "I don't want to be naked," I said. It was a raw honesty. I really didn't want to be, but I was. Being unable to cover myself while people fussed around me was a step beyond my exhibitionistic fantasy. Being naked with a choice was a lot of fun, it being forced was not as enjoyable. I was weirdly pleased that I had waxed recently though. It is odd the things that matter to you, I was laying in hospital being reassembled and here I was, totally hung up that professional medical staff could see my boobs and pussy.
"You are in a private side room," an assistant reassured, "You are okay. We will ask your Mum to bring you some clothes," she said.
I was jabbed at and poked at as any cuts and abrasions were sorted out while x-ray images were up on a screen while a few people looked at them. I did note how the majority of people in my small private room were male. People came and went as these awesome people went about putting me back together again.
"Okay," the consultant said as he picked up a mask with what I assume to be some sort of pain relief, "We need to reset your arm and leg," he said.
"Will it hurt?" I asked as he placed the mask over my face.
"Oh yes," he said warmly. Warmer than the words probably warranted. "But when you come round you won't remember a thing," he said as he injected something else into my arm and I was out for the count.
I woke up to a very concerned-looking Mum and Dad. I burst into tears and Mum hugged me carefully from around the tubes and wires that were attached to me. "You okay?" she asked. I nodded, sniffling and blinking my eyes clear. "Scared the shit out of us," she said.
A nurse came in and checked me over. Dad left while she did her checks as I was still naked underneath the sheet. When the nurse was done, dad came back in. I told them what had happened and started to calm down a little bit. I was very sore and very immobile. The consultant came in a while later and summed up my injuries, expected recovery time and prognosis.
Fractured ankle -- six stitches where it broke the skin
Fractured arm
Fractured wrist
Four broken ribs