Biking is dangerous, for some

[beboots]

I am going to write something now, and you may think it is a typo. I will double-check, but I assure you that it is absolutely NOT a mistake.

Today, we went for a bikeride through the national park near Killarney. Sara and I biked ahead, because we are more intense bikers, and had a lovely day exploring the park. I will write about all the details later. Chad was more unsure of a cyclist (he never learned as a child, and only leaned before the trip to go on this daytrip). I planned this activity, you see, and we didn't want to wait, but Kelsey and Erin did to keep him company, and besides, they wanted to have a more of a leisurely day. Sara and I wanted to get exercise, so we decided to meet for supper.

This isn't the unbelievable part - but this is: Chad wiped out. Went over his handlebars. 

He broke his arms. 

BOTH of them. 

He's in the hospital in Tralee, in surgery. He'll be fine, need homecare for a few months... But he has to fly home. Trip-ending accident. One of the bones was poking through his skin, I'm told.

Am I a horrible person for being grateful that I wasn't the first first-aider on the scene at that accident? I think I would have fainted. I've never dealt with anything more seriousthan a bee-sting on a child before. 

I feel horrible that I gave Erin some bandaids and gauze to carry for him, just in case, before we separated. We joked that he might have a new war wound (AKA a skinned knee or something) to show off at dinner.  

Sara an I will continue on to Galway. We have no other option. Apparently this weekend is one of the busiest weekends in Killarney - a motorcycle convention or something and something else. Long story short: there are no rooms to be had, here. 

So Sara and I will continue on our own for about a week and a half, after which Erin and Kelsey will join us in Inverness. Chadley will then be on a first-class ticket home (yay health insurance?). Erin's mum somehow found a flight direct to Edmonton from Cork, of all places, which we just left.

If you think Sara and I are callous for leaving them... Erin and Kelsey are really all Chad needs. Sara and I had met him perhaps three times before we left on this trip. Two extra people (just acquaintances, not friends, so of little comfort) are just expensive, and extra stress. 

On the plus side, as Sara said, we've hit rock bottom, and things can only go up from here. 

(This I say as I take a fortifying shot of Bailey's.) 

Comments

[sharkflip.livejournal.com]

You know, I know a lot of people who have had pretty terrible bicycle accidents, but I have never heard of someone managing to break both arms.

Also, I don't think you should feel in any way guilty, for the reasons you've stated.

[beboots.livejournal.com]

Now that I have more details, I should mention that only one was outright snapped (both bones in half). The other is a hairline fracture.