Monday, October 25, 2010

RantMom vs Pickup

RantWoman has not seen the pickup in this battle of the titans, but she doubts the pickup looks worse than RantMom. Pickups tend not to get black and blue in collisions.

RantMom is alive but well-bruised! She has NO broken bones! RantMom was conscious, alert, opinionated when she called from the ER. The ER! But conscious and alert and calling on her own behalf meant RantWoman decided she had time to put her groceries away! Plus it was early in the half hour until the next direct bus. Such is the tough-as-nails ethos of RantWomen.

RantMom has now become a car vs ped statistic. RantMom was crossing a street near her apartment. She was crossing with the light. The pickup was trying to go right on red. It was a big pickup. RantMom is not as tall as she used to be. RantWoman thinks other concepts like obstructed view might also be applicable but RantMom says she thinks she heard the driver say he was looking for car traffic from the other direction and forgot to look for pedestrians.

The pickup hit RantMom's arm and knocked her down. To his credit, the driver stopped immediately, helped call 911, seemed fully cooperative to RantMom. RantMom got scooped up by the paramedics. The paramedics mentioned that they had taken calls at that very same intersection recently. (sigh!) RantMom wound up in a line of several ambulances but got shipped off quickly for x-rays.

Somewhere in here RantWoman got on a bus. Some charming idiot nearly sent RantWoman to the ER by trying to pass the bus on the right. On the way to the ER there was another accident scene. Then RantWoman got off the bus at the stupidest all-way stop ever, right in front of the ER with buses chock full of pedestrians coming and going from every direction imaginable and an actual, real-live pedestrian signal--conveniently located a block away. At least if a pedestrian winds up needing the trauma ward, it's right there! (RantWoman personally finds all-way stops at busy intersections very hard to deal with but occasionally permits herself to fantasize about ways the all-way for cars could alternate with all-way walk for pedestrians. Did RantWoman already say she has a weird fantasy life?

RantWoman was glad to hear both the medical reports and the attention to rechecking a couple things after things had swelled and RantMom had a chance fully to take stock of what hurt. Considering all of RantWoman's visits to a friend in ICU last year, RantWoman was also VERY grateful that RantMom, sore ankle and bruised limbs and all, could still walk to the restroom on her own, a couple times while we waited.

RantWoman's only other comment about the ER experience, besides being glad it was short, is that she does not even want to think about the term HIPAA applies to all the color we overheard about RantMom's neighbors. Talk about Do NOT need to know!

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