Originally Posted by
SVTNate
March 30, 2017.
I rode my 2016 BMW R1200RS to court in Vista, CA for a hearing. Before the noon break, I rode to West Justice Center in Westminster, CA for a hearing. Look at a map and you'll see what a feat this was.
I left the courthouse, a woman in some Toyota sedan turned left, while looking right. T-boned my bike, witnesses told police I flew 50-100 feet in the air before hitting the asphalt. I broke 2 ribs, knocked unconscious, road rash on my right knee that you can still see today (I was wearing suit pants), punctured lung.
I remember thinking "I can't avoid this", swerved hard into the suicide lane, she struck the right rear of the bike. I remember looking at the handlebars as the bike fishtailed violently. I remember thinking "I can't save this, I'm going to crash". The next thing I can recall is waking up on the asphalt, face up, with a woman on a cell phone standing over me, and I heard sirens approaching.
So I spent all morning at triple digit speeds, only to be hit doing 40mph - the speed limit.
I spent 1 night in the hospital. This happened on what... a Thursday? I can't recall exactly without looking at a calendar.
The following Monday I hobbled my butt back into court, because no work, no money. I missed a single day of work, because it had to be done.
I still have the helmet, which saved my life. My face would be permanently disfigured if not for the full face Shoei GT-Air I was wearing.
I never took any painkilers, other than something in an IV they insisted I take. I was written prescriptions for pain killers, which I ripped in half and handed back to the nurse.
I did take muscle relaxers for my back, so I could sleep.
I know this is not a thread about motorcycle accidents, but that's my story.
I have a small scar on my right shoulder - which I never understood, because I was wearing a leather jacket with shoulder armor, and while the leather was scuffed pretty bad, the armor was pristine.
My right knee is scarred.
I cannot sleep more than 7 hours on my back (I can't sleep any other way, never could). I get pain that wakes me up, and the pain goes away the second I sit upright. Zero pain otherwise - but 7 hours, and I can't just stretch and lay back down. As a result, I no longer need an alarm clock. 2 surgeons, MRI, x-rays, and they never found anything to "fix". I was told "lose weight". I've lost 80 pounds, and it didn't help. Whatever is going on in my back, it limits my sleep to 7 hours or so, but that's it. I have no other limitations as a result - and I used to do Crossfit workouts, so I've got a very strong back. Strength training and weight loss has done nothing to help, and neither has nearly 4 years. But, I have no brain damage or any other issues as a result, and I'm not dead, so I'm grateful.
I remember the paramedics in the ambulance taking me to UCI Medical Center laughing and saying "wait until she finds out that she hit a lawyer".
The settlement was a substantial chunk of the down payment on my current home, but I'll say this - if I could give the money back and erase my accident from history, I would. It wasn't worth it.