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I didn’t realize how privileged I was until a relatively minor bike crash left me with a hard limp for a week or two. There’s a lot of lessons there (how can w

I didn’t realize how privileged I was until a relatively minor bike crash left me with a hard limp for a week or two. There’s a lot of lessons there (how can we design streets better? why don’t we focus on accessibility? why is the healthcare system hard to navigate?) but honestly the one that really hit me is how privileged I am to be healthy.

dheera 6y ago
This also honestly makes me wonder how hard it must be for wild animals who get injured, and need to worry about predators throughout the whole recovery process.
- Daishiman 6y ago
  There's a reason most wild animals don't live more than 5 or 6 years. Imagine living as long as a toddler, tops, because your body is completely worn out.
- robotresearcher 6y ago
  A serious injury that limits mobility is certain death from starvation for many or most species. Adults of most species don't feed each other. This is true enough that finding a body or fossil with a healed fracture of a long bone is very interesting as it implies something about social behavior.
  - dheera 6y ago
    That's such a horrible death. Nature is brutal. One would wish there were a kill switch if you knew you were both in pain and going to die of starvation. Having that might even save some of your species members so that predators can't guess where the rest of the healthy ones are. It's also strange that social behaviors didn't evolve in more species. They seem to have the brains to migrate thousands of miles and borrow homes, yet they don't have the brains to help members of their species, which would help them proliferate.
m0zg 6y ago
It's remarkable how many people I know, including myself, had significant bicycle-related trauma. I broke my ankle in three places due to a fall (do not recommend by the way, once the shock wears off the pain is pretty bad, and then after a while you have to walk on your still partially broken foot so that it heals properly). A friend of mine broke a clavicle. Another friend nearly fractured her spine. I sold my bike after the accident and wasn't tempted to buy another one since.
- outworlder 6y ago
  Not disputing, not arguing, just trying to understand. How come you and people you know suffered so many accidents? Were you commuting, competing, mountain biking, what? Is the weather bad? Maybe my serious accident is waiting for me still, but the only close call I had was due to my own recklessness. Just riding a bike going from A to B? I can see how one could get injured, but not THAT seriously, unless it's due to a collision with a vehicle. Or it's something involving the head. I don't know anyone that got seriously injured in bike accidents. I'm trying to understand if I'm just naive (and lucky) or if there's something I should avoid.
  - m0zg 6y ago
    For me it was a fall as I was trail biking. Not anything white-knuckle, just a fairly pedestrian trail. I fell off and folded my ankle 90 degrees inward. For the guy who broke his clavicle it was slippery pavement - some leaves - he fell sideways. Don't know about the gal.
  - bichiliad 6y ago
    Honestly, a lot of it depends on the design of the streets you ride on. Most of the people I know (myself included) have been injured commuting from being doored, having a driver make a blind left turn, having to merge into fast traffic because a car is parked in the bike lane, etc.
- metalforever 6y ago
  Yeah I got hit by a bike because someone wasn’t following the law and now I have a chronic issue

dheera 6y ago

This also honestly makes me wonder how hard it must be for wild animals who get injured, and need to worry about predators throughout the whole recovery process.

Daishiman 6y ago
There's a reason most wild animals don't live more than 5 or 6 years. Imagine living as long as a toddler, tops, because your body is completely worn out.
robotresearcher 6y ago
A serious injury that limits mobility is certain death from starvation for many or most species. Adults of most species don't feed each other. This is true enough that finding a body or fossil with a healed fracture of a long bone is very interesting as it implies something about social behavior.
- dheera 6y ago
  That's such a horrible death. Nature is brutal. One would wish there were a kill switch if you knew you were both in pain and going to die of starvation. Having that might even save some of your species members so that predators can't guess where the rest of the healthy ones are. It's also strange that social behaviors didn't evolve in more species. They seem to have the brains to migrate thousands of miles and borrow homes, yet they don't have the brains to help members of their species, which would help them proliferate.

m0zg 6y ago

It's remarkable how many people I know, including myself, had significant bicycle-related trauma. I broke my ankle in three places due to a fall (do not recommend by the way, once the shock wears off the pain is pretty bad, and then after a while you have to walk on your still partially broken foot so that it heals properly). A friend of mine broke a clavicle. Another friend nearly fractured her spine. I sold my bike after the accident and wasn't tempted to buy another one since.

outworlder 6y ago
Not disputing, not arguing, just trying to understand. How come you and people you know suffered so many accidents? Were you commuting, competing, mountain biking, what? Is the weather bad? Maybe my serious accident is waiting for me still, but the only close call I had was due to my own recklessness. Just riding a bike going from A to B? I can see how one could get injured, but not THAT seriously, unless it's due to a collision with a vehicle. Or it's something involving the head. I don't know anyone that got seriously injured in bike accidents. I'm trying to understand if I'm just naive (and lucky) or if there's something I should avoid.
- m0zg 6y ago
  For me it was a fall as I was trail biking. Not anything white-knuckle, just a fairly pedestrian trail. I fell off and folded my ankle 90 degrees inward. For the guy who broke his clavicle it was slippery pavement - some leaves - he fell sideways. Don't know about the gal.
- bichiliad 6y ago
  Honestly, a lot of it depends on the design of the streets you ride on. Most of the people I know (myself included) have been injured commuting from being doored, having a driver make a blind left turn, having to merge into fast traffic because a car is parked in the bike lane, etc.
metalforever 6y ago
Yeah I got hit by a bike because someone wasn’t following the law and now I have a chronic issue