A Matter of Priorities

By bwc

Tue, 28 Sep 2004

289 reads

&;#65279;A Matter of Priorities

Brad Campbell

"Do you know where you are?" I know something is not going according to
plan when
those are the first words I hear upon awakening. Can't hear very well,
sounds like my
head's under water. Everything blurry, like a dream (if only). Do I
know where I am?
No. Woman looking in my eyes, never seen her before. Try to look
around, can't move
my head.

"Don't try to move your head." Well, thanks, as if I could if I wanted
to. I don't know
where I am and I can't move my head. Strain to move my eyes and try to
get a handle
on things. That smell. Too familiar. What's that smell?

"Can you tell us who you are?" Hadn't even thought about that. Is that
important?
Sounds like my head's under the water and someone is tapping on the
side of the bath
tub. Bright light, really bright. Woman bending over me. That
smell.

"Hospital?"

"Yes you are in the hospital." Hey, I got that right! Why am I pleased
about that? Can't
move my head. Can't see much but bright white light. Can't hear very
well.

"You've been in an accident." That makes sense. What the hell happened?
Grocery
store. "Can you tell us your name?"

"Uh, Brad."

"Your name is Brad? What is your last name?"

"Can't move my head." They already know that. Heading home from the
grocery store.

"No, don't try to move your head." I really don't like the sound of
that. "What is your last
name, Brad?"

"Campbell. Uh, Brad Campbell." People talking in the background, can't
make out what
they're saying.

"Brad Campbell. Okay! Good. You've been unconscious for quite a while."
The
cheerful way she says it makes it sound like a good thing. "Do you
remember what
happened?"

"Can't move my head." Screw what happened, why can't I move my
head?

"O.K., you've been in an accident, and we just want to be sure
............." Can't quite
make it out......... I'm gettin' the idea. Car hit me? Don't remember.
Grocery store,
bottle of Yukon Jack, downhill, left turn.......that's
all........nothin' after that. What
happened to my bicycle? Tube in my arm. Can't move my head.

"Uh, Bicycle. Bicycle?"

"O.K., now push against my hands with your toes." People talking in the
background.
Legs feel okay. "Good, now squeeze my hand with your right hand.......
Good."
Doesn't take much to make her happy. "Now squeeze with your left
hand..... Good."
Good, Hell, that one hurt! Must be the tube. People talking in the
background.

"O.K., Mr. Campbell" (my status just got elevated!), "We'll be able to
take this neck
brace off in just a bit. The police have your bicycle. They're going to
want to ask you
some questions. You've been unconscious for quite a while." Sounds
happy again.
Peculiar. "How are you feeling?"

Who cares? Is the bike okay and what are the cops doing here? Coming
back now.
Picked up a bottle of Yukon Jack at the grocery store, put it in the
backpack, flying down
the hill on Broad Street, nobody coming, look over my
shoulder........that's
all.........Where's my backpack?

"Head hurts. Backpack?"

"Your head hurts. That's not surprising........." Talking in the
background. Lots of places
starting to hurt. Tube is really irritating. What about my backpack? My
sister gave me
that backpack. Bet the bottle got busted. Shit!

"We have your backpack right here." Good. Don't let on about the
bottle, stay cool.
"How's your shoulder?"

"Uh, yeah. Shoulder. Right knee, too." Hadn't even thought about my
shoulder or
knee. Head is throbbing. Don't have my sweatshirt on.

"Yes, it looks like you took a pretty good spill." Why is she so damn
happy? Talking in
the background. That was my favorite sweatshirt, the one with the
family crest on it.
Left arm feels like it's on fire.

"Where's my sweatshirt? Uh, arm hurts."

"Try to relax your arm. That IV stings a little, does it?" No shit.
What about the
sweatshirt? "Don't clench your fist. You have to relax to let it drip."
Talking in the
background. "We had to take your shirt off to get you cleaned up. I
want you to take a
deep breath and hold it." Dammit!! Saddist. Cracked ribs?

"Hurts when I breathe."

"O.K. Just try to relax." Talking in the background. Had broken ribs
before, can't do
anything about it. Hurts when you breathe, hurts when you laugh, hurts
when you do
about anything. Don't hear anything but background noises. Where'd she
go?

"Well, Mr. Campbell, you don't have any broken bones." She's back.
That's a relief.
Gone a long time. "We're going to take this brace off now, that should
make you more
comfortable, but I don't want you to try to move around, Okay?" Talking
in the
background. "Had you been drinking before the accident?"

Damn! Damn! Damn! Police are here. Bottle probably busted. Backpack
smells.
Let's see, get it together here. Spent the last of my money yesterday
on a bottle of
cheap whiskey. Drank most of it. Finished this morning, couldn't have
been more than
about six ounces left. Think! Check came in the mail, only expecting
$200 but got
$300. Alright! No cheap stuff today! Celebrate, go for the Yukon Jack.
Didn't get
home. Downhill. Left turn...........Can't be drunk. Only about six
ounces.
Police........Must have checked the backpack. Shit!

"Mr. Campbell?" Cycling under the influence? Can't be drunk. Only 'bout
six
ounces......

"Mr. Campbell?"

"Uh, little whiskey."

"You drifted off for just a minute, there. Don't scare me like that."
Scare you? To
someone else, "He says he had a little whiskey." Cops! Damn! "Do you
feel okay?"
No.

"Little woozy."

"Yes you'll be a little woozy for a while. Is there someone we could
call for you?" Don't
even like the sound of that! Calm down. I'm okay. If I was getting
arrested they
wouldn't be asking about calling somebody. Bottle must have
busted.........

Nothing but background noise again.............

"Okay, we're going to prop you up a little bit." Hey, I can see
something besides the
light! There's the IV, 'bout empty. Don't know what that stuff is, but
it sure burns.

"Mr. Campbell? Cop. Be cool. "Do you remember what happened?" Don't let
on about
the bottle. Forget about the backpack.

"Uh, not much." Try to speak clearly. Can't be drunk. "I was going down
Broad Street,
getting ready to make a left turn. Then I woke up here. That's about
it."

"You were going West?"

"Yeah." Should have said 'yes'. Annunciate! "I was going to turn up
Hackney." The
turn on Hackney started uphill, so I always got a good run down Broad
if there was no
traffic. "There wasn't anybody coming. I looked over my left shoulder,
and there wasn't
any traffic behind either. All I can think of is somebody must have
come from the right."
Talking in the background.

"The owner of the Mesquite called it in," (I was wondering about that,
thanks Joe) "Said
he saw one of those small pickup trucks. Does that jog your
memory?"

"I wish I could help you, officer," (that was a nice touch........cool)
"Just remember
looking back, that's it." Talking in the background.

"Okay, I need to get your full name and address. We didn't find a
wallet on you, do you
remember having it?"

"No, Sir. I wasn't carrying it." Surely they checked the backpack for a
wallet. Wish I
knew about that bottle........ Went away for a while, likely checking
for warrants. "Okay,
Mr. Campbell, if you think of anything else, you let us know."

"Is my bike okay?"

"I didn't see it, I don't know. They have it at the station. You can
pick it up whenever
you feel up to it."

"Okay, thanks." Forget to say officer. Bet the bike is trashed.

"Okay, Mr. Campbell," nurse again. "Did you think of anyone we could
call to take you
home?"

"I'm gonna get outta here pretty soon?

"Looks like it it. Let's get this IV off of you." Thank you, ma'am.
"Think of anybody?"

________________________________________

By this time I am nearly one hundred percent coherent. The downside to
that is I am
increasingly aware off the extent of my injuries (and pain). The only
place that needed
stitches was my forehead, but I had large patches on my right leg,
forearm, and
shoulder that were devoid of skin. Ribs just bruised, could have fooled
me. To this day,
I have a couple of tiny pieces of Broad street imbedded above my right
cheekbone. My
souvenir.

Gave them JC's cell phone number 'cause anybody else I could think of
at the time was
tied down someplace. Still wondering about that backpack. Since I
didn't have any
insurance, they tried to get me to sign a payment agreement, which I
wouldn't (over
$1500).

They gave me my Campbell Crest family reunion sweat shirt, cut all the
way up on both
sides. That pissed me off. I knew damn well that I wasn't going to the
police station
until at least the next day, so I wouldn't know anything about the
bike. They had also cut
the straps on the backpack, but when they handed it to me, I didn't
smell anything and
the weight felt right, could it be? Wasn't about to look 'till I got
out of there.

JC came to rescue me, and as soon as we were out of the parking lot, I
found out.

"Hey, check this out! Them square bottles are pretty stout, ain't
they?"

It was going to be a good day, after all.