DSP -- My Accident

Hello, everyone,

I am, at long last, back online. I am very sorry to have been gone so long, and not to have had an easy way to let people know what was going on.

I understand from checking Google that some people had speculated that I was killed in the WTC disaster. I was not, I was not in NYC at all that day, but in a roundabout way I was a victim of the September 11th attack.

When the attack happened, my company closed down for the day. After listening to the news at home for a bit, I went down to my local community blood center to donate blood, as it seemed the only practical thing I could do. I do not have paramedic skills or any other skills which would have been useful at the site.

The lines to give blood were very long, and I had to wait several hours - pretty much all afternoon, in fact. I finally did donate, and got into my car to drive home. It was just a little before sunset, and I was driving southeast. Perhaps I was a bit affected by the blood donation, too. Anyway, the sun was at just the wrong angle, and when the road curved a bit, It was right in my eyes. I was suddenly blind. I tried to slow down and pull over, but I evidently got it wrong - perhaps I jerked the wheel in fright. I went into the left lane and had a head-on collision with an oncoming truck. My car was totaled, and I nearly was. I broke several bones in both arms and both legs, and nine ribs. I had internal damage to several organs, particularly the spleen and one kidney. There was also damage to the spine, but not, thank God, to my spinal cord.

Since then I have been recovering, at first in the hospital, then in a rehab clinic, and finally at home. I have been through more sessions of Physical Therapy than I care to think about - listen, a real sadist won't dream about spanking, but about PT.

For a long time, sitting up at the computer was considered unwise for me, and even now I have to have a special lumbar support chair, although this is supposed to change in time. What computing I did was very limited, and with others present. I was not able to access this account in privacy.