wounded knee

a special piece of thought from paula

Cycling has become a part of life in the past seven or eight years for my husband and me as we have found so much joy and challenges, despite how many times we do the same route. As Dennis described our favourite route, going to Sham Chung in previous blog post, we enjoyed every trip to the place as we enjoyed both the food and the chat with Tom. This Saturday, the last day of 2011, we repeated the same route and had a very special treat by Tom, who served us a fantastic combination of seafood, including scallops, shrimps and clams, with broccoli and crispy pan-fried noodles. As we had finished the noodle of the town, we headed back with a full stomach thinking that it was another wonderful experience before the end of 2011.

Pan-fried noodles with seafood combination

On the 22-mile homeward journey, we passed many cycling groups and did not encounter any hazards, which can happen on weekend afternoons in the cycling lanes. After one and half hours of cycling heading back to Fanling, Dennis fell off his bike as he approached the end of a downward slope while making a sharp right-hand turn into a subway. He felt a heavy impact on his knee. I was right behind him and saw the accident but could not help to stop it. My immediate response was to call 999. As I was waiting for the ambulance, I immediately moved his bike aside in case there were cyclists passing the corner. When the ambulance staff arrived, they made a speedy examination. Dennis could not straighten his left leg, and it was taped to his right leg. Meanwhile, I had our bikes locked up first, knowing that I would be accompanying Dennis to the nearby hospital, and I noticed that the chain of Dennis’s bike had come off when I tried to push it.

As we were in the ambulance, Dennis’s blood pressure and pulse were being monitored. The ambulance staff were quite surprised how fit Dennis was as a result of the regular cycling, with a pulse of 56 and blood pressure readings of 110 and 68. It did not take too long to reach the hospital. After taking an X-ray, the pain was caused by the direct impact and the patella was cracked. So, Dennis had to be hospitalized; there was no other choice.

Arriving at the orthopaedic ward, Dennis was set to a bed next to a window. A doctor on duty came and assessed the condition of Dennis’s knee. As he did some twist and turn to the knee, I saw a growing mushroom as some internal tissues were ruptured, causing swelling above the knee. I could hear Dennis making excruciating noises and see him expressing pain on his face when the doctor asked him to keep the left leg extended in an elevated position. Not long afterwards, two staff members came with a trolley with stuff to prepare a temporary cast for Dennis. It did not take too long to have the left leg wrapped with bandages and the cast. This was how Dennis experienced the last day of 2011 and he misses the live contact with the world. However, he has been told that he will need an operation to repair the damage and will be out of action for at least six weeks.

Dennis in hospital