Over on Facebook I’m part of a blogging group. On the Wednesdays of each month we have a group prompt that we’re all going to answer. This weeks’ prompt is…
True Stories From Your Life That Would Make Great Novel Plots
Well not so much a novel plot but an episode of ER or Casualty was when I was 14. I’d been to the dentist for the regular visit then I’d wandered into town with my best friend. On our way home we waited at one of the pedestrian crossings on Bedford High Street. While we were stood there waiting for the signal to change, I looked over my shoulder and saw a guy running towards me, I didn’t think anything of it but I then turned back to chat to my friend.
At this point, even now I don’t remember what happened, I was on the kerb chatting to my friend and next thing I knew I was lying on the road looking up at the sky. Apparently the guy running towards me, had then pushed me into the road and I’d clipped the wing mirror of a passing car. The guy was running away from the police, so as he pushed me into the road, one police office carried on after him and the second police office stopped to deal with me.
There were a whole huddle of people who got around me to look after me. From what I do remember one was an off duty nurse. I remember someone commenting about my ankle and that my foot was at a funny angle. Actually my leg was under my calf and I’d managed to kick my trainer off, so my trainer was at one angle and my foot was at a slightly different angle. The people around me kept talking to me and when I tried to get up they told me to stay still. It seemed to take forever for the ambulance to arrive especially when I could hear it but it hadn’t go through. At some point my friend came and got my mobile from my bag. She went back onto the kerb and rang my Mum. I think the conversation went something like “Erm, Hi Hannah’s Mum, this is *insert friend’s name* and I know you don’t know me but she’s been in an accident and an ambulance is on it’s way”. My Mum tells me that she took the call and her boss (At the time) walked into the office and just saw the blood drain from my Mum’s face. Mum did the panicked thing and grabbed her handbag and keys etc. At which point her boss is like “You are NOT driving! I will take you”. They both jump in the car and head for the High Street. What is normally a 7 minutes 2 and a bit mile journey took them heading on for 20 minutes, apparently they even had to pull over for the ambulance to over take them.
The paramedics put me on a spinal board and then onto a gurney (I know that’s the american term but is it the same in the UK?) and were getting me into the ambulance as my Mum arrived. I think at this point my Mum’s boss went to make sure that my friend was okay and give her a lift home.
I was taken into A&E and that was very disorientating as you go through a different door to if you walk in. My doctor looked like Laurence Lewellyn Bowen which made it very hard to take him seriously when he’s asking me what hurts and how much. Thankfully I just had whiplash and a sprained ankle in the end but over about an inch and I’d have been over the roof rather than clipping the wing mirror.
The police came during the week to take a statement as the guy was going to get charged with GBH or ABH on top of the other charges he was receiving from running away from the police. Apparently once they got him to the cells he’d been really apologetic and wanted to know was I okay.
So, as you can read, it wasn’t so much a novel and more like an episode of ER or Casualty. I can imagine at the point that my Mum was talking to my friend the worse case scenarios were pinging through her brain so a sprained ankle and whiplash certainly were nothing to worry about!
