How It Happened
Before this, I never got a serious injury or bone fracture, so I couldn't really relate to those experiences.
However, I can now, and even though I'm writing this just 2 days after I sustained my injury, I have quite a lot to reflect on.
On Friday (26 July), I was having a cohesion event with my NS unit at East Coast Park and part of it was to cycle to and from Changi Village, with a total distance of close to 50 km.
On the way there, I enjoyed the ride and cleared the first 10 km with hardly any difficulties. As we approached Changi Village, I grew a little tired and slowed down a bit, but it was still manageable. Still, I enjoyed one or two small exchanges with the other guys, and we even laughed when we saw Pulau Tekong from Changi Beach Park.
At Changi Village, we had a cold and refreshing Commando dessert. It's basically a bowl of ice with longan, red jelly, rose syrup and milk and I enjoyed it. Isn't it awesome to have something cold after some intense exercise?
I thought that the dessert was sufficient to prepare me for the trip back, but I was wrong.
My legs seemed to wear off as I cycled along the park connector, and the first 3 km along Changi Beach Park seemed like eternity.
I then hit the long park connector and after some time, I pulled over to check the approximate distance I had covered, and I was shocked that I'd covered just an additional 3 to 4 km. I was worried I couldn't reach the bike rental shop in time, so I used an app on my phone to track my cycling speed and moved off.
Shortly after I had cleared a traffic light, I tried to reach for my phone in the basket attached to the front of the bike, so that I could see my instantaneous speed. However, with the phone in my right hand, I lost control of the bike and it skidded and I fell, with the bike landing on top of me.
I shouted in shock as I fell and panicked because I couldn't find my phone. I eventually found it and put my stuff into the basket. My knees had been scraped and there was a little blood, but there wasn't much pain and I could continue cycling. Anyway, there was no one in my cycling group in sight, so I decided to carry on.
However, there was a still a pretty sharp pain in my left wrist, especially when I positioned it in a certain way. Still, the pain wasn't too bad when I positioned my arm in a certain way and I managed to endure the remainder of the distance (which I guessed was about 12 to 14 km) and reached the bike shop just before our stipulated return time. Interestingly, the tiredness in my legs seemed to vanish.
Upon arriving at the bike shop, a few of my peers and superiors were resting at the pavilion nearby, very worn out. The bleeding on my knee had stopped, and I managed to wash it off with water. However, my peers and superiors immediately noticed the awkward position of my wrist and applied a couple of ice packs. We were having an evening BBQ at a pit about a 15-minute walk from the bike rental shops (all the nearer pits had been booked by then!), but my mood was slightly dampened by the injury and I wanted to return home early.
Even though I could wriggle my fingers, one of my superiors suggested that I leave the BBQ after having some food and go to the A&E to check on my wrist.
At the BBQ pit, I spoke to a few guys about my injury and they told me my wrist looked swollen, but I guessed it was just a sprain, and not a fracture. I enjoyed some food, but my mood had been dampened by the incident
At the A&E, I had an X-ray and it took some time for the results to be released. Eventually, I was told that my left wrist had a fracture and I'd need to put it in a temporary cast before seeing the bone doctor the following week.
My Thoughts
The moment I lost control of the bike, I immediately wished I hadn't done what I did. I was thinking, "Ah, shit, why was I so geh kiang (rash in making decisions in Hokkien)?"
I had thoughts racing through my head, such as whether I should just wash off the blood on my knee and keep quiet, but I knew that would mean making another rash decision. At that time, I wasn't aware of the full extent of my wrist injury.
I felt that it was a bit ironic that I'd planned the cohesion event, and yet I had ended up getting injured. Still, I was thankful when my peers told me to rest well and thanked me for planning the event.
Once the wrist fracture had been confirmed, I wasn't too upset or shocked about it. However, the next day, I realised things I had found simple, such as texting, opening a water bottle, taking out cash from my wallet and feeding myself, seemed so much more challenging now. I couldn't exercise or play mobile games as well. It felt really bad, but this also served as a reminder not to take my mobility for granted (which I was clearly guilty of).
Moreover, I was relieved because I could've sustained worse injuries. I was glad the hand I'd injured isn't my dominant hand. If it had been, I would've been much slower. An even worse possibility was that I could've hurt both hands and be unable to type this blog post, or I could've injured my head. Thankfully, I was wearing a helmet when I fell. I didn't see the importance of wearing a helmet prior to the event, but I guess I'll wear one every time I cycle from now on.
Last but not least, I was very touched by the messages that my friends sent me. Even a short one saying "Get well soon, bro!" or "Take care!" would mean a lot to me. I'm also grateful for those who sen longer messages, such as those who shared their experience of sustaining a similar injury in the past. It's not about the length of the message, it's the sincerity, kindness and concern of all these people, and a reminder that there's a lot of people who care about me. If you're reading this and one of the people who sent me a message of support, I'd like to thank you from the bottom of my heart. Indeed, kindness on a bad day goes a really long way.
Hopefully I can get through this difficult month both physically and emotionally.
References for photos:
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