Day One: Shock and Awe
- Jay Berghuis
- Sep 9, 2024
- 2 min read
Updated: Sep 18, 2024
Monday, August 19th, 2024, 4:50pm.
Life has a way sometimes of shocking us with the unimaginable.
I was walking to a local store and was hit by a car while crossing at Broadway and Violet in North Boulder. Yes. A ghastly moment, imprinted forever in my brain and body. To be crossing at a light with the walk sign clearly lit up and see a car turning left directly at me. Unbelieving yet fully aware.
This is really happening
I feel the crunch of the bumper on my legs as I bounce up into the windshield, smashing it, leaving glass shards in my forehead.
The woman, about my age, panicked and hit the gas. (I understand how that could happen!) As I felt the engine rev up under my belly, I groped for a hold on the windshield wipers, hanging onto the hood for a terrifying few seconds, then dropped off sharply on my left side onto the pavement on the left. Not great moves for a 75-year-old-body movie stunt!
As I land, my eyeglasses are still usable, but bent and scratched. My phone unscathed.
I am alive
A couple of pedestrians walking their toddlers saw it happen. Both were MDs -- One an ER doc! Within seconds, I was immediately cared for, in full professional triage, surrounded by comforting words and children’s voices, and a tender-hearted policeman. I even remembered Uli’s phone number, so they called him, and he arrived in minutes, tears coursing down his face as he watched helplessly at my sudden plight.
A long night in the ER and then admitted. Great care. CT scans and X-rays of everything show I have two non-displaced fractures in both legs. Family surrounds me in every possible way. I feel mostly at peace! So, so, so, so, so, so grateful that concussion symptoms are negligible. Just a dreadful black eye. Can you believe my eyeglasses didn’t break, just slightly cracked, so I can see to read and type which has been so essential for my well-being these past days?
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