Evil Knievel No Longer Lives Here

So, we decided to sell our other car about 6 weeks ago. When we bought it last year, we had no idea that Gary would be working so close to home. He had previously commuted over an hour each day in Virginia, so we wanted a reliable car that would be comfortable for him to spend a lot of time in if he needed to. If you recall, he didn't have a job offer until the day we literally moved so it was a shot in the dark to guess where he'd be working when we got to Texas. But once we got here and he began working, it just didn't make sense to have such an expensive car that was only being driven a few miles each day and sitting in a parking lot all the time. So, Gary had the idea that we could sell the car, and he'd ride his bike back and forth to school. Then he thought a little more and while that scenario would work well for nice weather days, it wasn't going to be as ideal on hot days (which we have a lot of here) or rainy days.

He did some research and found that he could buy a little motorized scooter – and with a helmet, jacket and gloves, he could zoom down the street quickly and without getting as sweaty...yet it would still accomplish our goal of saving money because it gets such great gas mileage. He did extensive research, finding the perfect brand and model scooter to buy, and we decided to press forward.

Before he made his purchase, though, he needed to take a motorcycle/scooter safety class. He signed up and last weekend the girls and I got up early on Saturday and Sunday mornings to take him to his class (about 15 minutes away). All went well on Saturday. He had a great time at his class and really enjoyed learning how to ride. We took him on Sunday morning too and then the girls and I headed to church.

At 1:30, I got a phone call from him saying he was finished. I knew there was a chance he'd be done early but I could hear in his voice that something wasn't right. “Are you OK?” I asked. “Just come get me,” he said. He could hardly breathe. “Do you need to go to the ER?” I asked. “Yes,” he replied.

I quickly dropped the girls off at a neighbor's house and went to pick him up. He said he'd been taking his last test and when he tried to stop, he went over the handles of the bike, then the bike landed on top of him. Ouch. Double ouch.

We went to the ER, and they sent him home with painkillers and a muscle relaxer to combat the pain from a bruised kneecap, sprained wrist, abrasions/bruises on his back and shoulder, and several bruised (and probably broken – it takes a few days for it to show up) ribs. His symptoms and pain level are the exact same as when he broke his rib about 18 months ago – and the treatment isn't really any different. He's going back to the doctor later this week to get an update and more pain medication.

I feel so badly for him. He really wanted to do this. And he was so concerned all along with taking every safety precaution. However, the fact that he was injured this badly only going 15 mph is frightening. He's been in an extraordinary amount of pain and it's been hard to see him like that.
So, we've changed courses. We're looking at a much cheaper used car/truck on Craig's List.

Evil Knievel has gone to live elsewhere and Gary's in search of a new dream. :)