X: Craig updates y'all on his condition & the podcast future!

WELCOME TO A SPECIAL BONUS UPDATE EPISODE OF THE PODCAST

Hey folks!

Just wanted to share a big time update on my condition - including the original post I share about the incident - which can be found by clicking here!

I’ll also share the text below:

CW: bicycle crash, car accident, images of damages and myself in the hospital, trauma

I’ve never heard the phrase, "it could’ve been much worse," so many times in one evening. Last night, on my bike ride home I was rear ended by a car. I flew into his windshield and then rolled onto the ground. I was able to jump up almost immediately after removing my clipped pedal from the bike - while the other had already dislodged from my foot. When I got up I didn’t feel like anything was in pain and was actually pretty surprised by that, but I was also kind of a little bit in shock.

The shock didn’t last too long, and I eventually calmed down a little bit until I saw the car. I had no idea that I had gone into his windshield because when he hit me I had no idea what was even happening being hit from behind was one of the most terrifying things I’ve ever experienced. As a commuting cyclist, I try to be as safe as possible, and often this means taking up an entire lane while riding in the road. It is my legal right to do so, but sometimes drivers think that this is unnecessary or is an inconvenience. The driver who hit me was very kind, and he stayed with me, supported me, and even held me when I cried. He simply did not see me when changing lanes.

I didn’t feel too scared until I saw the car and that’s when I kind of broke down into a panic. I called Katy, and they showed up pretty quickly and were able to be there and support me in a pretty traumatizing moment. An ambulance showed up, assessed the situation and were honestly amazed that I was cognizant walking around and in good spirits. I was actually joking with them most of the time.

I took an ambulance ride to Boston Medical Center and on the way I was told that the first thing they would do when I got into the trauma ward was that would take all of my clothes off. i was excited by this, and when I was wheeled into the actual room they said, "hey Craig - how are you doing tonight?" and I said, "great! because you’re about to see me naked!"

Throughout the rest of the night I was in pretty good spirits just because I was happy to be alive. I repeated that phrase pretty often throughout the night while they kept repeating the line about how this could’ve been much worse than it was. The doctors and nurses were surprised by how little I was actually harmed by the accident knowing how hard I hit the car.

In all actuality, I likely should have died.

After a series of x-rays, CT scans, and testing all the bruises and charley horses that I developed, we found that the only actual damage done to me was two small fractures in my wrist. Everyone, including me, was very surprised that the only damage was a broken wrist. I still can’t even get over it.

In talking with some of the doctors and the first responding paramedics, it was pretty clear that my backpack is the reason that I didn’t have more damage done specifically to my back, spine, and ribs. I recently purchased a pretty heavy duty Timbuk2 backpack and it has a lot of back support and is pretty damn durable. So I’m pretty darn thankful for my Timbuk2 backpack and I’m probably gonna be sending them a message to thank them and to possibly get a replacement bag because mine got pretty trashed.

The orthopedic doctor thinks that my wrist will be fine within 4 to 6 weeks. Hopefully, it will not require surgery, and he said it was a pretty clean situation, so I hope that that it stays true. Until then, I’m in a cast for the next however many weeks and even after one day I’m feeling okay about it but I can tell it’s quickly going to get old.

Ultimately, I’m just glad to be here because it could’ve been much worse. While I was sitting there, I was offered the opportunity to be a part of a research study on recent trauma victims. So I’m going to be participating in the study over the next year and I’m pretty excited about that because it will give me a lot of opportunities to reflect on what I’m going through. I also got a pretty cool new watch out of it (that tracks my vitals for the study), which is really weird but also great. I’m just trying to make sure that I stay stable minded - especially in regards to the post that I made about my mental health updates yesterday. Just know that I am in good spirits. I have been moving around. I did go get Dunks this morning, and have been spinning records and relaxing as much as possible.

I genuinely have no idea what comes next. I’m putting in a call to my insurance tonight and I’m going to see what we do from here. Nervous about all of that because of how much everything costs when you go to the hospital, and because the doctor already made a joke about me having to start a gofundme – because that’s the state of our healthcare system. (To be fair, i was joking around with the doctors too.) I’m not sure if that’s the route I’m going to need to go, but you know I’m not afraid to ask for help if it comes to that.

I did recently put a few hundred dollars into the bike to get it ready for the winter season and I’m pretty bummed that I lost all that money but hopefully a new bike will come out of this but until then I’m just not going to be riding. which sucks.

Happy to still be here - annoying everyone with my incessant updates about life and all the random shit I do all the time every day. You’re not getting rid of me that easy, life!

I wanted to delay a big post until i was rested, but huge thanks to folks who reached out through mine and Katy’s instagram stories. hated alarming some folks but hey, some updates are better than none.

All that is love is everlasting. we are not our failures, we are love. but love is not enough to keep our friends alive.

Since the incident, I have done a quite a bit of healing - I’ve always been moved into a carbon fiber cast, which is much more enjoyable than the plaster cast I had for three weeks! A big positive if that I do not need surgery! So just a few more weeks and hopefully they will remove the cast and I can start PT.

The bigger issue, as I discuss in the episode, if the brain stuff - the mental trauma that this incident has put me through. I think of the incident everyday. I think of it nonstop when we drive, when I drive, and whenever I see a cyclist. I think of all the what-ifs and what could have happened. It’s terrible, but this is my life now.

Many folks have asked about legal stuff - and yes, I have two lawyers managing everything for me. My medical bills have even already been covered, which is fantastic!

During the episode, I even take a moment to thank the great folks at Timbuk2 for replacing my backpack that was damaged in my recent accident. they worked with Katy to get it to me and were super supportive in knowing their product quite literally saved a customer’s life. they EVEN gave Katy a new pack for being such a supportive partner!

I’ll be a Timbuk2 supporter for life because I owe them mine. can’t wait to crack this open once I have full use of both hands! make sure you visit their page and timbuk2.com for some sick deals during the holidays!!

Lastly, wear a helmet. Life comes at you fast.
Thanks for all your support! We will be back soon!

MUSIC NOTES:
- This week we shared the song, “Laughing (while you’re smiling)” from the new World’s Greatest Dad album, “Get Well Soon,” which came out in May!
- You can get a vinyl copy of the album through Deep Rest Records!
- World’s Great Dad release one of my favorite albums this year, which is why I wanted to give it some time on the podcast because I haven’t had the chance to do so yet. “Better Off Dead'“ is hands down one of my favorite songs of the year. This new school emo act is certainly taking off - so get into them NOW!
- Also, all of the band’s music is already available FOR DOWNLOAD on their bandcamp site, so you have no reason to not download this album right now!

As always, you can CHECK OUT OUR SPOTIFY PLAYLIST!

And you can now join our Facebook community by CLICKING HERE!

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Thanks so much for tuning in and we will be back next year!!

Up the punx!
Let's get to work.