No exciting news today because I spent the morning in Accident and Emergency undergoing x-rays and other delights. Yesterday afternoon I was bound for the Apple Store in Regent Street when I foolishly tripped over a raised metal utility cover and finished up flat on my face on the pavement. As my nose bounced off the flagstone I was mainly offering thanks to the gods who govern these things that I had not been carrying my new M10 on my shoulder. Without doubt it would now be an ex-M10.
Considering the force of the impact I got up relatively unscathed and brushed myself off. Unfortunately my left knee had taken the brunt of the impact and overnight it ballooned in size. I was unable to get out of bed without assistance and I certainly could not walk. Fearing something had been broken, I called an Uber and headed for the Chelsea & Westminster hospital emergency room. Â
Spoiled by tales of over-stretched emergency treatment, I expected a long wait. But, on the contrary, I was seen immediately, assessed and was in front of a doctor minutes later. After an x-ray which proved negative, I was sent packing with some paracetamol, pain-killing gel and a natty pair of crutches. Â
All this, of course, is free under the National Health Service. Even the crutches do not need to be returned because of fears of cross-infection. So I now have a very efficient pair to use in the future should I do anything as silly again. Perhaps I should have asked for a wheelchair and a blue badge while I was at it.
While my M10 lives to snap another day, I am unlikely to be using any camera for the next few days as I hobble around on the crutches. Â
So that’s the reason there is nothing more exciting to report on on this day. Â
Get well soon!
My best wishes and a quick rcovery.
Best wishes for a speedy recovery Mike! Hopefully see you soon.
Regards
John
Sorry about your injuries. I wish you a speedy recovery.
Many thanks for your good wishes. I am well on he way to recovery now.
What a coincidence. This week I came to the Azores – the only part of my country, Portugal, I had not been to before. Yesterday, I went in a whale and dolphin watching boat (yes, we saw both), but the sea was rough and I came back feeling dizzy. My feet bumped into something and I finished up flat on my face on the pavement – just like you, but my nose and mouth were the first to touch the floor, and violently they did. A lot of people came to help me, an English doctor included, and they forced me to go to the hospital. Wonderful service, and there were nothing but bruises, in me and in my Panasonic GX1. The external viewfinder, unfortunately, was damaged. Not as expensive as your Leica, fortunately.
Well that is a coincidence, if a sorry one. It sounds like you did worse than me and I hope you are coping with the pain. Ice packs! This incident has giving me the warning to try to improve my reflexes. That’s the big problem as you get older and can’t recover automatically from small trip-ups as you can when young.
More than being sixty, the problem was having things in my hands. You always have the wrong reflex: holding them tight instead of letting them go, and using the hands to protect yourself.
Glad to know you are recovering Mike! Yes, explaining the NHS to more conservatively inclined Americans is a skill that has eluded me in spite of its obvious advantages.
Dear David
Thanks for your message. Despite frequent bad publicity, the NHS is definitely the best place for emergency treatment. It is the often long delays to less urgent treatment that cause the problems — not to mention cancellations of operations on the morning because of lack of beds. Perhaps we should spend more on facilities and coal-face staff and less on pen pushers.
Hope you have a rapid recovery!
tv
Many thanks, Tyler.
The lengths some bloggers go to to drive up the number of comments.
Seriously I am glad to hear no serious damage .Two years ago my wife did a similar trip on the streets of Sydney- not too far from the Apple Store- and she hit the ground so hard it snapped her arm above the elbow .Big drama and some serious surgery bolting her arm back together so you and your M10 were indeed fortunate – go buy yourself a lottery ticket .
Yes, I know, brazen juggling. I well remember your wife’s similar fall and I realise I was extremely lucky on Thursday. The problem with these incidents is that they take away confidence and you start worrying about every little irregularity in the pavement. Strangely, with all my time in Greece, I never once fell there despite all the obstacles and trip opportunities. As with driving in that country, you soon learn to keep all your wits about you. Smooth walkways breed contempt.
Dear Michael,
Perhaps you were over-excited regarding your impending visit to the Apple store, perhaps you had a significant purchase in mind… Anyway good to hear you are on the mend and no children, animals or cameras were harmed.
Get well soon
Stephen
Glad to hear you are (more or less) ok-ish 🙂 Speedy recovery, Mike!
Thanks Nico!
Sorry to read of your accident. Get well soon.
Get well soon, and out with the very safe M10 naturally.
Thanks Dave. I was due to go to the Photography Show on Monday so I’m hoping I might be better.
With those crutches, all you need now is a parrot!
Get well soon.
George and Juliet
With those crutches, all you need now is a parrot!
Get well soon.
George and Juliet
Have already ordered one. Thanks George and Juliet.
On the contrary Mike, The little known M10 airbag (under the ISO dial) would have deployed and saved the day!
Wishing you a very speedy recovery Mike,
Kwesi
Wellesley, Massachusetts
Ah…. that’s not a bad idea. We should suggest it. Thanks for your good wishes.
Wishing you a speedy recovery and a Happy St Patrick’s day.
Thanks Stephen and good wishes to you too.
Sorry to read this report of an all too common event among those of us of a certain age. Apology for no camera? I would much prefer no pictures if you want to avoid a similar fate to that suffered by an esteemed older member of the Leica Fellowship. Poor Peter Moyse continued to shoot pictures in Intensive care right up to the moment his heart stopped supporting him. We were left with pictures, but no dear Peter. I wish you a speedy recovery and use your ‘down’ time to reflect and plan adventures afresh when you emerge with a repaired knee. Get well soon.
You are right. All too common. Thanks for your good wishes.
All the best – have a fast recovery!
Many thanks. I’ll work on it.
Get well soon, I’ve got something to show you !
Ivor
Many thanks Ivor. I think I know the secrets but I will pop in as soon as I’m able.
In the Hitchcock thriller REAR WINDOW Jimmy Stewart used his camera to witness mayhem maybe w your zoom you can do same?
Good idea, John. And thanks for your good wishes
Uh oh ! Hope u got some good scotch or Irish to speed your recovery! Sorry hope u listen to doctors and come back to active duty soon.
Try seeing what you can see from just where you are sitting. Have a good and perhaps creative recovery. Look forward to hearing how it goes.
Low level photography. I will try it. Thanks for your good wishes.
Wishing you a rapid and full recovery, Mike. Glad that your M10 was safe and thank goodness for the NHS! Very best, Frank Dabba Smith
Thanks Frank. Yes, I was impressed by the NHS. I couldn’t have received better treatment if I’d been in a private hospital. The only difference is no £1,000 bill!
Get a third crutch, then you can use them as a tripod.
Now that’s a good idea. Manfrotto crutches. Thanks for your good wishes.
Sorry about the typo – that should have read photographer colleague!
Thanks. I understood that. The auto correct is very wayward. There you are. I was the decisive moment and no one to take a picture.
Sorry to hear about your accident, but it sounds as if all is well. Things could have been far worse though if you had a photographer collage with you – just think of the picture opportunity!