Good job, Graybill

I was coasting down Main Street Friday, July 5, around midday on my bike past the Angel Shop like I have done a thousand times before. I started a turn into the O’Reilly driveway, and things went bad suddenly. My front tire skidded, and I hit the pavement hard. I was stunned for a moment, but my first reaction was that I was OK.

I rolled over and sat up. A couple of men from the parking lot immediately came over to help me. One had paramedic training maybe; he started firing questions. Do you feel dizzy? Have a heart condition? Ever had a stroke? Have diabetes? No, no, no and no. After they decided I was not concussed and had no broken bones, they helped me off the pavement and to a grassy area to get my bearings. I was bleeding profusely from my nose, split lip and tongue. I had a towel in my backpack and pulled that out to control the bleeding.

They deduced I would need medical attention and offered to call 911. I knew that would mean an ambulance ride to a hospital emergency room. For some situations that would be the right answer, but my primary care provider is Graybill Medical which was one block away, and I thought they might be able to take care of me. I said I could walk there if one of them would push my bike up. One of them put my bike in his truck and followed me to make sure I could make it OK.

I walked into Graybill a bloody mess. I was immediately escorted to an examining room, and a nurse started checking my vitals and applied an ice pack to my nose. Soon Dr. Frank Winton, my primary care physician, walked in. He said a man in the parking lot told him an old guy crashed his bike and needed attention. And that was me. I never considered myself an old guy before, since I am not yet 80, but I am adjusting to the concept.

Winton checked me out and said my tongue would need sutures and that was not his specialty. He brought in an associate to address that wound. The quick summary is 30 minutes later I walked out with stitches in the top and bottom of my tongue, stitches on my split lip and dressed and bandaged abrasions on my knee and elbow with spare bandages and a prescription for an antibiotic.

I feel blessed that in two or three weeks I will again be an old guy biking up and down Main Street. I send me special thanks to the good Samaritans who did not pass on the other side but instead took the time to help me. And a big shoutout to Winton and his team for patching me up efficiently and effectively. A job well done.

Jim Dooley