I Got Into A Car Accident

Please note: you can click on most of the pictures to get a larger one.  If you really want to see a huge version, you'll have to write us for the digital originals.

So there I was, helping my friend Paul move from Medford to Watertown.  We'd finished loading the truck, and we were all making our way to the other place to unload.  I was following the truck, in case anything untoward happened, but because of Paul's penchant for making lights the folks behind him could not, I quickly became separated from the truck.  The directions I was given took me into Watertown from the opposite direction from how I was actually getting there, so though I knew approximately where he was moving to, I wasn't quite sure.

So there I was, driving down Orchard Street with a car not too close behind me, when I saw the sign for the street I was looking for scant yards ahead.  Rather than slam on my brakes and possibly get rear-ended by the guy behind me, I made the turn.  Unfortunately I didn't see any on-coming traffic.  I heard tires squealing and looked up to see a car about ten feet away from me. The next thing I knew I was facing the other direction with an inflated airbag up my nose.  I want to point out how effective the crumple zones in the car were.  The engine may have been squished but the passenger cabin retained it's shape perfectly.  Thank you Saturn.

My left arm wasn't working so well but after turning the car off  I got out of it to check on the other driver.  He looked worse than I felt but I quickly decided I couldn't help him.  Miraculously, the EMT's were on the scene within a couple of minutes (I half think they were just driving by).  Thankfully the scene was quickly filled with Suspects (people who where also helping Paul move).  I am especially indebted to Crash and his cool level headedness.  He lent me his cell phone so I could call Donna and then killed the horn when it started blaring.

The EMT's took the other driver away quickly and Donna showed up before the other ambulance even arrived.  She had the presence of mind to grab the digital camera on the way out the door.  While I was sitting rather stunned on the sidewalk Donna took these pictures and dealt with getting the police and EMT's the necessary information for the report.

Meanwhile the EMT's put me in a neck brace and strapped me to a back board (purely as a precaution) gave me a little oxygen and transported me to Mount Auburn Hospital.  Fortunately there was no blood that we noticed shed at the scene, no puncture wounds, lacerations or other obvious injuries to anyone involved.  Once Donna had wrapped things up at the scene she followed me to the ER and proceeded to take more glorious pictures.

My collar bone was broken by my shoulder restraint.  The big red stripe across my chest shows exactly where my seat belt was, in this picture I was still wearing the neck brace as a precaution because I hadn't gotten to radiology yet.  Speaking of radiology, in addition to a whole bunch of pictures of my neck vertebrae we got two great x-rays of the broken clavicle itself.  Radiology is all done electronically now and within minutes digital x-rays were available on the computer screen.  The doctors kindly let Donna take a couple of pictures of the screen and next week we should be able to get actual copies of the x-rays.

After about four hours in the ER they gave me the name of their orthopaedist, told me to take ibuprofen if I had any pain, wrapped me up in a sling and sent me home.

And the first thing I did when I got home... I made this web page.

Thanks again to everyone on the scene, the Suspects, the EMT's, the Watertown Fire and Police Departments and everyone who has sent well-wishes.  I promise to take it easy and get well soon.

Post-script: It's worth noting (almost three months later) that I have had the great fortune of healing amazing quickly.  Throughout the process, I have had absolutely no chronic pain or discomfort, and virtually no acute pain.  I have certainly learned which directions I shouldn't exert force, but it's been as friendly a recuperation as I could have hoped.

The orthopedist I was referred to has been delighted with my progress each time he's seen me, and was surprised enough at our first meeting (two weeks after the accident) that he decided that I wouldn't need physical therapy.  Our second appointment, two and a half months after the accident, it turns out will be our last.  He essentially told me to go away, he can't help me any more.

More specifically, he said that I'm "radiologically healed," which means that the X-ray (see below) can't tell the difference between my healing collar bone and a fully healed one.  Certainly it's not perfect yet, as I can still make it twinge if I pull laterally very hard, but I've been quite capable of normal household activity for more than a month (washing dishes is great isometric exercise, by the way).  He advises me that, in another two or three months, the collar bone will be as strong as its opposite number, so we plan to go skiing in March.  And I very much look forward to getting back out running and cycling next spring (I've been prohibited, because of the rhythmic pounding of the former, and the shocks and danger of spilling of the latter).

In the X-ray below, note the circled area of the bones rejoining.  The whitened blob surrounding the break (circled in red) is new bone forming.  The segments of the collar bone aren't going to move anywhere, but eventually that zig in my shoulder should smooth out as the remaining jagged edges (especially the point at the top) get worn down over time.