Unlucky rider

What my wife and I did out of town Friday and Saturday is really secondary to what happened to our son David on Saturday afternoon. We got back home about 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and David called Sunday afternoon, just after we finished lunch.

He told us he was in an accident the day before. He was riding his bike out to an area lake when he was hit or forced off the road by a car (the story is unclear). He broke his right hand, along with other bumps and bruises. The hand is the major problem--he will be off work for several weeks.

Right now, he is resting semi-comfortably at home. After the accident, he was taken to the hospital by ambulance and was released a few hours later. He was prescribed painkillers, and I told him he has to be careful with them. He knows about the addiction problems people can get into with painkillers, and I know he will be careful.

We went to the store for him and got him a couple ice packs and some fruit cups and applesauce and took them to his place. I opened the cases for him, since opening stuff with two hands is going to be a challenge for him for a while. His mom took care of the dishes in his sink.

He was hurting quite a bit when we arrived at his apartment, but that's because his painkiller had worn off. His four hours were up, and it was time for him to take another one. He starting feeling better within a few minutes.

We offered to take him home with us and make him a hot supper, but he said he will be OK at home. But he will be coming over to have dinner with us from time to time. That's OK with us. He lives just a few blocks away.

One thing he told us was that he was riding in the middle of the road. Not a smart thing to do, he said. And he learned why.

The other thing, we agreed, was that it could easily have been a lot worse. Suppose it had been an arm. Or a foot. Or a leg. At least he can walk around fairly normally (remembering that he got a bad bruise to his thigh, as well). I told him to keep the hand elevated as much as he can, to help deal with the pain.

We left him at about 5:15 this evening. It's now after 11, and apparently things are going well enough with him.

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Otherwise, our trip went well. I'll write about that in a few days. Just a two-day, one-night to central Wisconsin for our anniversary.