Accidents don't Happen For A Reason They Give You A Reason

Accidents don't happen for a reason they give you a reason.

In February 2016 I thought I had it all. I was happy with my life, work and everything I do. Everything was going my way exactly the way I want it to go. I was in control. There were no surprises or misfortunes. Physically I was in good shape, I go to the gym at least three times a week, play basketball three days a week, swim almost everyday and mountain biking for two or three times a week. I juggle different responsibilities at work. My colleagues think I was working hard but I had never felt that I was working hard because everything I did was done with passion.  I was high with life, I was invincible, I was on top of everting until that cold February morning which paused everting. 

On the morning of, February 16,2016  I had no plan to cycle or do some mountain biking. On the previous night, I had a good run playing basketball and it was a late-night pick-up game at the German Embassy school. So I haven't recovered well and I had to be at School early to finalize some paperwork for the team that I coach which was going to play that night. But despite all this, I woke up early and wanted to go out with my mountain bike. The reason that I gave myself was that I needed to test a headlight that I installed recently on my bike but had never tested it in the dark. It was dark enough at 5:30a.m so I went out with my cycle with a pretext of testing a new headlight. I cycle up toward the nearby Yeka Hills leaving the paved roads and cycling up on the trails which my bike is designed for. After biking up and down the trail for about an hour, I decided to return back home since I have a long day ahead of me. On the way back I decided to take a breakneck slop as my route. It was a single trail and I was descending in speed. I might have been not concentrating well or I was mentally and physically fatigued to keep my awareness high. I lost control of my bike before reaching the bottom of the hill. Yes, I reach the bottom of the hill but not in the way I wanted. I was still holding the bars of the bike when I came down crashing. I landed with my bike's handle first, the force of inertia threw me off to skid on my chest and my head. My head and my face got most of the impact. What really made it worse was I landed on a cobblestoned street at the bottom of the hill. My head was saved by the helmet I was wearing but I had no protection for the palm of my hands and for my face and jaw. I ended up with a broken and dislocated jaw a cleft upper lip broken front teeth a grazed nose. On top of that, I was bleeding from my forehead nose and lips. Fortunately, I didn't lose consciousness or broken any bones. I got up picked my bike which didn't have any major damage and start walking in search of the nearest health center. 

I must have looked horrible with all that blood and the tattered cloth riped from the skid after the impact. A good samaritan on the way to his work volunteered to help me to get to the nearest health center which was not that far. He even stayed until they finished putting rudimentary stitches without anesthetics which they have run out or they didn't have the right anesthetics for the lips I guess. Surprisingly I felt no pain or I took the pain as it is. The health officers did what they can and I called my cousin to and get me from the center. Waiting until he comes I was made to rest on the emergency bed that is when reality kicked in. I AM VULNERABLE! I could have broken my neck and died or got paralyzed for life which had been worst for me. I had been independent and I was always reluctant to get help from people even the closest people in my life but suddenly in just a few minutes, I am in the position that I need their help. 

I ended up in another hospital where I got specialized treatment. I had to endure while the skin above my upper lip gets re stiched peace by pease while doing so the doctor and his assistants had to pick each fragment of gravel engraved in my skin. After I got stitched up I was put on a flow of antibiotics that had to be administered in the vain. So I had to be hospitalized for a couple of days until I finish my dose and closely followed if I had a concussion. I had to also endure while my upper and lower gum got drilled and screws get inserted so that my broken jaw can be wired to immobilize it for 4-5 weeks. My face swelled up dramatically due to the trauma it went through making me unrecognizable.    

 For me what was unrecognizable was not my face but the situation I was put in by the accident. I had to pause and reflect, see and appreciate. I learned to be grateful for what I hardly noticed in the past. I paused and saw that I have family and friends who genuinely care. That made my recovery go very well. I didn't see the point of regrating blaming this and that for what happened. I had to pick up myself and move on I might not look the same or function the same but I decided to move on because whatever happened was just a pause. Life will go on. But that pause thought me a great lesson. You need to be appreciative of the present all the time because nothing is permanent. You need to feel and experience fully every second of your life. My accident gave me a reason to pause and see that helped me in a way to see things as they are. I realized that I am not SUPERMAN after all.