So there's been a little accident...
My friend Angie got the back of her foot stuck in the spokes of a bike’s wheel and had to go the emergency room last night. Don’t worry though, she’s OK now. I’d like to think that it’s partially because of my help. She now calls me “Natalie Yi Sheng” or in English, “Dr. Natalie”.
So it all started last night when Willy, Angie and I were biking to dinner. I was riding my own bike and Willy was riding his while Angie sat on the back. In Taiwan, it’s very common for people to either attach pegs on each side of their back wheel so they can give a friend a lift, or to attach a small cushion seat right on top of the back wheel, also to give a friend a lift. These are typically the two ways people can give a friend a ride when they’re biking around. Over a month ago, this accident happened to another girl in my program. Her roommate was biking while she was standing on pegs in the back. She was wearing flip-flops and her toes and the front part of her foot got stuck in the spokes. She ended up having to get over 10 stitches and had to use crutches for the next two weeks. I never expected this to happen again, especially to my Angie!
We got to the middle of campus when all of I sudden, I hear flapping coming from Willy’s bike and I hear Angie screaming, “Ow!” As she limped off the bike in pain, we saw blood all over the back of her foot and on her shoes (she was wearing flats). Since this exact situation happened to another girl before, we knew to call the ambulance. A NTU student then stopped and helped us call. I didn’t want to look at the wound because I was scared it was really serious. It seemed like we were waiting forever but Angie remained very composed and the ambulance came in about 10 minutes. The EMTs cleaned her wound and let her know immediately that she’d need stitches. At first, we couldn’t understand because he was speaking in Chinese but we figured it out since the literal meaning of “stitches” in Chinese is “sew”. Willy, Angie, the EMTs and I all got on the ambulance and headed for the closest hospital. This was the first time the three of us were ever in an ambulance with the siren on. Angie was admitted into the hospital and had to wait about an hour for her stitches. Willy and I were allowed to stay with her even when she was getting her stitches. We were probably in the hospital for about 5 hours until Angie was released with a brand new cast. Now we’re back in the dorms and she has a lot of people taking great care of her. What an adventure.
It’s scary how one minute, I was having a good time with my friends getting ready for dinner and the next minute, I’m in an ambulance feeling helpless and watching my friend in pain. But I’m just happy to know what she’s a-ok now and that sometimes, accidents just happen. Just a warning to people who take friends around on their bikes - it’s really dangerous but if you really have to, then make sure the person in the back is wearing real shoes.
Feel better Angie. I <3 you
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