Oh for pity's sake, what now?

Sunday I blogged about my numerous successes with derby and running, and Sunday evening I went to training on the bike. So far so normal, until I was blocked out whilst jamming during a drill. The blocker got me off the track, then went down. Her leg kicked out and swept me off my feet, and unfortunately my head took the hit. Hard. The crack as helmet hit floor at speed echoed round the rink and felt like the kickdrum from hell had been beaten inside my skull.

Everything went blurry. For a while.I lay there, doing that bizarre hissing breathing that seems to be the noise I make when in pain (happens enough these days that I know this), trying to get my eyes to point the right way and hoping to all things that I hadn't cracked my skull the way it felt I had.

The pain eventually settled down to a background pain with help of an ice pack and some aroha from the other downed skaters around the rink. I felt well enough to ride home, and well enough to ride to work.

Then it all went sideways.

I couldn't focus, the lights hurt my eyes. My contact lenses dug like nails into my corneas. I was slurring, and my train of thought was not so much a train as a broken boxcar. I went to the nurse's office and was swiftly dispatched to the nearest accident and medical, and then by ambulance to the hospital. I was kept in for observation for six hours, which I spent mostly sleeping, having blood taken for some reason, telling the same story to about ten different doctors, nurses, students and (probably) the bedside table. I was diagnosed with delayed concussion, a result of the fall and probably the car accident, and whiplash. They were concerned that I might have cracked a vertebrae in my neck at one point, but thankfully ruled it out before we got to the X-ray and hard brace stage.

I'm still bloody sore (painkillers, and a soft brace to wear when the pain gets REALLY sore to take the weight off for short periods) and today at work was spent in a bit of a daze. No derby for three weeks as another head injury could be very bad, and as yet I don't know how long I have to wait until I can get back running again. Hopefully SOON (no exercise is making me twitchy. At least, I hope it's no exercise that's causing that)

What's causing me to kick the furniture (gently) is the disappointment of yet another setback. I take up running, I get on travel team, and now I'm laid up with yet another injury. It's like trying to save money and every time a gain is made, a bill or an unexpected expense comes along and the savings get a little bit smaller. I'm in the best shape of my life, but I'd be in better shape if I wasn't so injury-prone. Since my shoulder/groin double-whammy I'd been to a whole TWO trainings before Sunday's slamfest, and I can't help but feel a little frustrated.

However, it could be a lot worse and I know that. It's only three weeks of no derby, I should be back running in a few days (hopefully), I'm not in a cast or on fire or flat broke, but still. It'd be brilliant if I could get a slight lead and maintain if for longer than half an hour...