Thursday, June 21 -- The sun was setting, it was a beautiful evening, so Potts and I decided to take a leisurely bike ride around the neighborhood.
I was just ahead of him on Bluffview (just five or so blocks from home) when I heard an “AHHHH!”, a horrible crashing sound, and turned around to see Randy and bike flat on the pavement. Blood was literally GUSHING out of his head. I ran to the nearest house and knocked and rang frantically. It took some time, but an elderly man finally came out in his bathrobe. I probably startled him to death, but asked for a cloth which he immediately procured.
I was THIS close to calling an ambulance, but bravely decided to take a look at Randy’s head first. I had had some experience with head wounds (after Jenni’s bike crash when she was five, and after accidentally bashing David in the head with a cutting board when he was little) and I knew wounds to the head tended to bleed A LOT! This was a lot more than A LOT, but I told Potts (who miraculously had not blacked out) to keep pressure on his head, raced on my bike home to get the car, leaving him with startled neighbors. By the time I returned, the bleeding was under control.
I drove him to the nearby St. Mark’s Lone Peak Emergency Center and asked, “What in the world happened?”
All that Potts could recall was that he noticed something was amiss with one of the lines to his brakes. He reached under the bars to “fix it” and before he knew it, the handlebars turned sideways, stopping his bike short. He flew over the bike landing face first into the pavement.
Doctor Hunt spent nearly an hour digging gravel and grass out of Pott’s head and scrubbing his wounds clean. Then he deadened them (which about killed Potts off) and stitched his foot (which Potts thinks got ripped on one of the gears) his nose, and what he could of his forehead (much of this was gouged out and their was nothing to stitch.)
The nurse wrapped him up then sent him to get a CAT scan to make certain nothing was broken. Miraculously he was still all in one piece.
All in all, he was treated in the ER for over three hours.
I found out that I do not faint at the sight of blood, but I sure got light-headed during the cleaning out and stitching up part.
Potts will be okay. I think it damaged him emotionally more than physically, but we’re giving him loads of love and attention.
(I hesitate to mention that just two days ago while riding our bikes, he ran smack dab into a parked car.) I think I’m going to buy him some body armor before I let him ride again.
Friday, June 22 -- Randy slept well, but awoke pretty sore. Our children were terrific and gave him loads of attention. Michael brought Smoothies, David and Katie brought pizza. The boys gave him a priesthood blessing of comfort and healing. Emily and Jenni called and cheered him up. Audrey and Matthew came in the evening and brought Frosties from Wendy’s.
It took over two hours to soak the gauze off his wounds. I’ll tell you, that was a labor of love on my part. I hope the worst of all this is over.
Take a look at his smashed glasses. Notice the nose pieces are totally bent backwards!
