The Whole Story
(or at least as much as I've been able to piece together so far)
Have you ever gotten into you car, after lending it out, only to discover that the seat is too far forward, the steering wheel is too high and the mirrors are all pointing in the wrong direction? That's what it feels like to be inside my skull right now.
As those of you who watch this space are hopefully aware I slipped on a patch of ice at work on Tuesday and smacked the back of my head on a driveway. Most of you probably assume that this hurt a great deal. I also must assume so since I have no memory of the event. Beyond a few vague impressions of the morning (memories triggered by conversations I had with eye-witnesses last night) the earliest memory I have of Tuesday is of my manager calling me (as I sat in my usual place at the counter of my local Starbucks) to ask where I was, because somebody needed to come pick me up to take me back to the clinic. Yes. Apparently I'd gotten hungry, and, forgetting where I was or why I was there, I walked out of the doctors office and ended up a block from my house eating a sandwich.
No doubt you're all wondering (as I did until last night) how I got there. Now, I can only assume I got to Starbucks by bus since my workplace, the medical clinic, Starbucks and my house are all on the same bus route that I use daily, but, since there are no witnesses to that, all I have, again, is a vague impression. I have no recollection at all of my first visit to the clinic, nor how I arrived there, and of my second visit all I have are distorted images of myself in one chair, the person who drove me there in the other, and a white-haired doctor in his mid-fifties standing there speaking. I don't know if he was asking me questions or giving me instructions, nor if I responded. And I certainly don't remember banging my head, though I do now recall where I was working, who I was working with, and the job itself. I even remember that, prior to my falling, I had noted that the sawdust on top of the icy driveway made it a whole lot slipperier. What I don't recall is trying to roll over a large Douglas fir log with a peavey, having the hook let go from the corky bark and being forced back a step. As mentioned before I do remember the ice that snaked down the driveway in a 2 foot wide strip. I even remember all of us boot-skiing down it first thing that morning. I don't remember stepping back onto it then, though, and I don't remember both feet flying out from under me. I do remember that I had been working on the downhill side of the log with my back to the slope meaning that the next thing that I don't remember, ie my head hitting asphalt, would have had more momentum behind it than if I had fallen on level ground. I don't remember if I was unconscious at all, though if I was it wasn't long enough for anyone to notice. I don't remember telling everybody afterward that I had "some short term memory loss" every minute or so, and I don't remember who took me to the clinic. I don't remember a great deal from that day, but I am going to remember what I do remember for a long time.
I might forget that I told you, though, so expect to hear this whole story again someday.
-Brendan (and yes, I do remember my name)
(or at least as much as I've been able to piece together so far)
Have you ever gotten into you car, after lending it out, only to discover that the seat is too far forward, the steering wheel is too high and the mirrors are all pointing in the wrong direction? That's what it feels like to be inside my skull right now.
As those of you who watch this space are hopefully aware I slipped on a patch of ice at work on Tuesday and smacked the back of my head on a driveway. Most of you probably assume that this hurt a great deal. I also must assume so since I have no memory of the event. Beyond a few vague impressions of the morning (memories triggered by conversations I had with eye-witnesses last night) the earliest memory I have of Tuesday is of my manager calling me (as I sat in my usual place at the counter of my local Starbucks) to ask where I was, because somebody needed to come pick me up to take me back to the clinic. Yes. Apparently I'd gotten hungry, and, forgetting where I was or why I was there, I walked out of the doctors office and ended up a block from my house eating a sandwich.
No doubt you're all wondering (as I did until last night) how I got there. Now, I can only assume I got to Starbucks by bus since my workplace, the medical clinic, Starbucks and my house are all on the same bus route that I use daily, but, since there are no witnesses to that, all I have, again, is a vague impression. I have no recollection at all of my first visit to the clinic, nor how I arrived there, and of my second visit all I have are distorted images of myself in one chair, the person who drove me there in the other, and a white-haired doctor in his mid-fifties standing there speaking. I don't know if he was asking me questions or giving me instructions, nor if I responded. And I certainly don't remember banging my head, though I do now recall where I was working, who I was working with, and the job itself. I even remember that, prior to my falling, I had noted that the sawdust on top of the icy driveway made it a whole lot slipperier. What I don't recall is trying to roll over a large Douglas fir log with a peavey, having the hook let go from the corky bark and being forced back a step. As mentioned before I do remember the ice that snaked down the driveway in a 2 foot wide strip. I even remember all of us boot-skiing down it first thing that morning. I don't remember stepping back onto it then, though, and I don't remember both feet flying out from under me. I do remember that I had been working on the downhill side of the log with my back to the slope meaning that the next thing that I don't remember, ie my head hitting asphalt, would have had more momentum behind it than if I had fallen on level ground. I don't remember if I was unconscious at all, though if I was it wasn't long enough for anyone to notice. I don't remember telling everybody afterward that I had "some short term memory loss" every minute or so, and I don't remember who took me to the clinic. I don't remember a great deal from that day, but I am going to remember what I do remember for a long time.
I might forget that I told you, though, so expect to hear this whole story again someday.
-Brendan (and yes, I do remember my name)
VIEW 22 of 22 COMMENTS
luciefurr:
Aww ♥ Thank you! You really are the sweetest ever!
luciefurr:
Ya know that happens to the best of us though, we can't always be sweethearts all the time. Try not to beat yourself up yeah?