Feast of the Jellied Limb, part VIII

[ltmurnau]

Eight years ago today, a car ran over me.
This year I think I began to really understand I will never be free of what that did to me, and what it set in motion.
So, as every year, tonight I will sacrifice an orange to Pedwok, the God of Pedestrians, in the crosswalk where I got hit.

[EDIT: I threw the orange into the air, and it landed and rolled all the way to the other curb, instead of staying put in the middle of the street. Was this a sign of a good year to come, or of the strong self-preservation instincts of tree fruits?]

Comments

[bruxists.livejournal.com]

And I will place a virtual traffic cone near said crosswalk. Hey, it can't hurt.

Remember to look both ways when crossing the street!

[ltmurnau.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I did look both ways, but she was looking at her speedometer.

[play-to-zero.livejournal.com]

What a terrible experience. The lasting effects - both physical and mental - are understandable.
Have you ever considered if there are lasting positive effects? There may not be any, but if there are maybe it is worth appreciating on the anniversary. I don't mean to delegitimise the trauma of it, but to help you feel better and more resolved.
You can tell me if I'm out of line.

[ltmurnau.livejournal.com]

The whole story begins at http://www.islandnet.com/~ltmurnau/text/news1999.htm and goes on and on and on. Feel free to skip bits (but there are a few good pictures).

Yes, there were some lasting positive effects, in that the chronic pain, stress and insomnia from the injury finally defeated my ability to stay in denial about my crappy marriage, which I had been able to repress just fine until then. It took years but I finally cracked - when I could feel myself going squirrelly, I sought counselling and spent far more time talking about that rather than about my leg. I eventually got out of the marriage and now have someone else in my life who, while not perfect (who is?), is a hell of a lot better for me.

There was no lasting positive material effect - my settlement with ICBC, in effect, left with X-wife when she went back to the Land of Abundant Rice with my son (a lasting negative effect but one that might change for the better in the future).

A remarkable coincidence, and one that helped to make the experience a really positive one, was going to Burning Man for the first time in 2003 and meeting the woman who had run over me, 4 1/2 years before, in the middle of 32,000 assorted weirdos out in the Nevada desert. Now that was closure.....

Anyway, I don't mind talking about it. You're not out of line at all.

[alexandra-art.livejournal.com]

Wow. It has been just over 9 years now since I broke my femur. That same collision [me being foolish on a bicycle and landing on a concrete driveway] also tilted my lumbar b/n 4 & 5, such that I have lower back pain...but not as bad as yours, so I'll be grateful for the fact that I can usually make do with ibuprofen, and some days don't even need that...
*hugs*
See you in the desert soon, Brian!