Friday, September 15, 2006
Drove my friends Marla (Freelance Writer) and her husband, James (Receptionist), to the lakeside. They'd been trapped at home recovering and wanted to get outside.
Last April James was hit by a car while riding his bike. He ended up with a pretty nasty bump his face, but was relatively uninjured. Two weeks ago Marla and James were riding their bikes to iO and were both hit by a van making an illegal left turn through a red light. Their bike helmets were split open. Marla's shoe was lodged into the middle of the shattered windshield.
Marla has a dislocated shoulder and a torn ACL. "My new nickname is QB because I have all Quarterback injuries."
James broke his leg and lost the use of his spleen. It's still in there, because it would be more invasive to remove it, but it's no longer connected to anything.
Marla: Does it still hurt?
James: Like, do I wake up in the morning with phantom spleen pains?
Me: Like, "I woke up this morning and could swear my spleen was processing certain bacteria but, no, it was a phantom spleen."
Marla may try to start working again sometime next week. It's still up in the air as to when James will be able to go back to work.
The man driving the van was three times over the legal limit for blood alcohol level. Word is he had been drinking since Thursday. He has no insurance and hasn't had a driver's license since 1972. He has decided to plead "not guilty."
