An accident is always unexpected. And in life, many unexpected things happen. When unexpected things happen in your life, how do you deal with them?
The Accident
I was riding my Vespa along the Marina Coastal Expressway when I got into an accident. Just as it happened a few years ago, the piston jammed and the Vespa started wobbling. Armed with experience now, I slowed down trying to get her under control. And out of the way.
As I was trying to change lanes, I saw through my rear view mirror a car heading for me. I hoped that the driver saw I was wobbling and in trouble. I hoped that the driver would avoid me or stop. As the car got closer, I knew that neither was going to happen. The car was going to hit me. “Oh no… ” I thought to myself. And I braced myself, ready for impact.
Hit By A Car
BANG! The car hit my Vespa. My mind was silent. I instinctively let go of my Vespa. And what happened next was in slow motion… I was completely aware of my head hitting the car… How I rolled backwards onto the bonnet of the car. And how I landed flat on my back with my legs and head banging on the road. I laid on the road in disbelief. “That wasn’t so bad”, I thought.
After feeling like I was in the movies, I got up and took a good look at my limbs, assessing the damage. My feet, knees, elbows and back were grazed. I started to walk around. I knew that if I could move without sharp pain, nothing severe had happened. And there was no sharp pain. Phew! There will be whiplash for sure. I took off my helmet with great gratitude for it. It saved my head from massive injury.
My Vespa was a distance away. I walked to my Vespa with a heavy heart. It was a wreck! One of the side boxes had come off and it was further along the road. The handle bar was broken. The lights and mirrors all smashed. It was my work horse that I depended on to take me everywhere. I stood over it, feeling sad. It was surreal. I didn’t want to believe it. Can she be restored? All sorts of questions were running through my mind.
The Pain Comes On
This accident caused a dent in the many plans I had, for that evening and the weeks to come. There was so much to do! I was due to be at an appointment. And there was a business meeting later that night. I travel around Singapore a lot to meet people. I was going to start doing presentations. The SEA Games qualifiers was in 3 weeks…
The reality of the accident started to sink in as the adrenaline started to wear off. I had to make all sorts of calls and send “I am not going to make it” messages. Officials started to arrive with their questions while I was making calls. And then the pain started to come on. Much effort was required to keep the mind calm and clear.
I could feel my calves tightening up. My feet started to feel sore. And my shoulder started to sting. It was time to sit. When the paramedics came, they asked me to stand. I stood on my left foot and felt a shooting pain. I had to sit back down as a result.
The paramedics kept asking if I wanted to go to the hospital. I had to be sure about my foot. Was something broken? I didn’t want to spend hours stuck in a hospital. I tried again to stand on my foot and I could. There was a sharp pain but bearable. I could walk. I deduced nothing was broken and decided not to go to the hospital. But now, I was concerned.
How am I going to wakeboard?
Want to know more about my experiences and how you can learn from them? Let’s talk… Drop me a line.
