September 1, 2009
Wear a Helmet
My posting has been delayed because last Thursday I had a wee lil' party (which will be the subject of my next post) and I was in Chicago from Friday to Monday for Serious Eats-related foodery, but of more non-food-related importance is...
Tristan got in a bike accident last night. He's technically okay—he's back in his apartment having a well deserved rest—but he's got some rough days ahead of him as his abrasions heal and his broken toe becomes unbroken and his index finger becomes whole again. He's been in a few accidents before, but this may have been the scariest one. Any happy vibes/manatee hugs you can send his way would be greatly appreciated.
Overall, it's downright miraculous how uninjured he is considering he was hit by a car and, from what I heard, thrown over the front of the windshield. The craziest thing is that he landed on his head while not wearing a helmet and he didn't have any head trauma. ...From what the seven or so hours in the hospital could discern. (He didn't require seven hours of service; it just took that long to get the "heal Tristan, please" shit together. I know, that's how hospitals work. Sigh.)
In conclusion, wear a helmet. I know a lot of people don't ever wear them, and I know we seem especially helmet-crazy in the USA (I feel like it's not as common in some other countries) but when stuff like this happens all I can think of is "OH MAN NEVER NOT WEAR A HELMET WHILE YOU'RE RIDING YOUR BIKE SO YOUR SCALP ISN'T SCRAPED OFF AND YOU DON'T PUT YOURSELF AT RISK FOR BRAIN DAMAGE AND STUFF AND SO I DON'T GET A CALL FROM YOUR MOM THAT FREAKS THE CRAP OUT OF ME" etc.
We are so thankful that he is as okay as he is. It could've been much worse. Which is a terrifying thought.
Posted by roboppy at 5:52 AM
Comments (21)
Ouch. Gotta wear a helmet. Got doored by a car last summer, broke my collarbone and got a concussion, despite wearing one. Docs said I would have splattered my brains on the curb without it. Hope Tristan feels better soon.
Posted by: piccola at September 1, 2009 10:55 AM [#]
good vibes out to Tristan - heal!
Posted by: michelle at September 1, 2009 11:02 AM [#]
OMG. Sending huge, fluffy manatee hugs to Tristan. Hope he doesn't mind getting them from a total stranger.
Posted by: auntjone at September 1, 2009 12:44 PM [#]
Poor Tristan! Sending good vibes from my inner manatee.
That being said, have to note along with LaserLiza: wasn't he hurt before? Hope his bad luck with vehicles has run out!
Posted by: Mahar at September 1, 2009 1:31 PM [#]
Blimey, I remember the last accident you mentioned... An encounter with a bus, I believe. You'd think he'd learn to wear a helmet! WEAR A HELMET! Tell him it is good protection should he ever chance across an errant zombie. Protect your brain!!
Seriously, though, take care and get well soon Tristan *gentle hugs*
Posted by: SuperChomp at September 1, 2009 4:35 PM [#]
Thanks for the caring messages! Some of you with good memories have pointed out that he got in an accident last year too...yes. Quite different, but yeah.
He WAS wearing his helmet that time (he was a bike messenger and was more careful, although also cos he was in more dangerous situations), and it was quite a different accident. Tristan isn't one of those people who never wears a helmet—he just doesn't wear one all the time. Obviously that will change now! :)
GENTLE HUGS ARE APPRECIATED! Thanks!
Oy to the vey. Also sending good vibes your way.
Posted by: Rosebud at September 1, 2009 6:54 PM [#]
I'm only too happy to add to the healing vibe tsunami for Tristan--and I'm so relieved that his injuries are as limited as they are. Let's hear it for being young and springy!
Posted by: margaret at September 1, 2009 9:20 PM [#]
Big hugs to Tristan--I imagine a swift recovery for him. And I am happy that he has a good friend like you Robyn to send him well wishes.
Posted by: marge at September 2, 2009 3:02 PM [#]
Yikes - poor guy. I will deffo be thinking hugs of the sea cow for him.
Posted by: Albany Jane at September 3, 2009 8:35 AM [#]
Amazing really, an accident which make the point so well; helmets aren't useful, good road sharing is. The only known connection between helmets and death is that helmets have strangled a few young children who were wearing helmets while playing off their bicycles. Helmet laws have stopped a lot of people cycling and have done nothing for head injury rates, see Robinson http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pubmed&pubmedid=16565131 (Robinson's work uses the best scientific methods, all available control groups and so on.)
It appears that helmets break easily, but don't absorb the impact, see the engineers quoted at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_helmet. A broken helmet has simply failed, and the widespread anecdotes on the theme of "a helmet saved my life" seem to owe more to wishful thinking than to science. As for the occasional anecdotes about "a car ran over my head", see the pro-helmet site http://www.helmets.org/smush.htm; if a car goes over your head, I'm sorry to say you won't be sitting up and praising your helmet.
Bicycling is good for health, but bike helmets don't seem to be. I can sympathize with someone who attributes their salvation to a helmet, even if they're wrong, but it does seem perverse to get a helmet-wearing message out of Tristan's accident. Best wishes to him anyway...
Posted by: Richard Keatinge at September 3, 2009 11:33 AM [#]
as much as i agree with and sympathize with everything you're saying, richard... i still wish i had the hair on the top of my head that was abraded off by the pavement. a helmet would have at least prevented that.
love, tristan.
Posted by: tristan at September 3, 2009 2:50 PM [#]
Get well sooooon.
Posted by: eatyourheartout at September 3, 2009 4:05 PM [#]
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I'll probably reply to your comment on this page. If you have something to ask me that's unrelated to this entry, please email me instead.
: This is the 
Happy-vibe-sending in progress. I'll leave the manatee hugs to the experts. DESPITE NOT KNOWING YOU, I MISS YOU TRISTAN! =^!^=
P.S. As I said, I don't know Tristan so I will not pass any judgement, but didn't he get hit by a bus back in 2008? Tristan, I think you have somehow pissed off all motor vehicles in the world :-( Not even the drivers. Just the vehicles.
Posted by: LaserLiza at September 1, 2009 8:49 AM [#]