Lest we Forget How Fragile we all are!

11 Jun 2012 by Chris Boughton

To say I have had a very eventful week would be a slight understatement! I was involved in a car accident on Wednesday morning and it looks like my car is a write off; I was very lucky that I wasn't a write off too. I was struck by another car whilst I was travelling at about 50mph. My car rolled through 360% sideways, at least twice, and ended up 30 meters into a field on the other side of the road, facing the opposite direction. I injured the top of my head and my back and I have a far bit of bruising and pain in various locations on my body but I was a very lucky boy to get off so lightly. Thankfully no one else was injured.
 
The emergency services were at the scene very quickly, despite the accident happening out of town and I could not have hoped for better treatment from all concerned. To start with, some people who lived nearby appeared with a first aid kit and tended my head wound. They also called the emergency services and kept me distracted with conversation about anything but the accident until the paramedics arrived. The general opinion from all present was that I was very lucky to have avoided any serious injury. I was treated for my cuts and bruises at the scene and did not initially go to hospital, although I have been there since to make sure that I had no internal injuries. What I do have though, apart from an interesting array of multi coloured bumps and bruises, is a very painful, stiff back and I am currently mostly confined to reading and watching TV on the sofa. 
 
I had always assumed, and feared, that any significant additional trauma in my life, especially relating to my body, would greatly worsen my Parkinson's symptoms. However, thankfully, so far this has not been the case. I am in a fair bit of pain at the moment but my Parkinson’s disease (PD) medication appears to be working no worse than usual. In fact my back pain is so unpleasant that my dystonia seems like no big deal right now. However, whilst I am a great believer in distraction, as a means of managing life with PD, having a car accident is not to be recommended!  I now need to rest and give my back a chance to heal, which I failed miserably to do for the first couple of days after the accident. Now I have no choice. The car may have gone but I am still here and the car can be replaced.
 
Looking at the positives rather than the negatives from this traumatic event, I have been heartened and humbled by the help and support I have received from everyone this week.  Starting with the local people who helped me at the scene of the accident, the paramedics, the police, the vehicle recovery driver, the doctor at the hospital, my personal friends, my PD friends, my fellow college students and especially my family. I was a very lucky boy to survive such a violent accident but I am an equally lucky boy with respect to all the support I have had this week and am still getting.  

At least I chose a suitable moment to enact this horrible event; college is finished for me until the beginning of October, my wife is on half term break from school and hopefully I have enough time to heal before our cruise in a couple of months’ time.
 
Lest we forget how fragile we all are........
 

About the Author

Chris Boughton
I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease (PD) in February 2004 at the age of 51 having experienced undiagnosed symptoms for at least 4 years prior to that. My wife and I have five adult children and three grandchildren. We are fortunate in that we live in a lovely rural part of the east of England, with King’s Forest situated nearby for my much needed, therapeutic dog walks. I spent most of my working life involved in electronic, mechanical manufacturing management within the Worldwide Broadcasting industry and I am extremely lucky to have travelled extensively through my work. Since I was diagnosed I have dedicated much of my time to researching all aspects of PD and trying to both support others with this illness and raise the profile of PD. As well as writing a blog on this website, I administer an internet patient forum for people with PD which I set up in September 2008 and it currently has over 150 members. I also administer the forum’s Facebook, Friends Reunited and Twitter pages. My younger son recently ran in a half marathon race to raise funds for the Cure Parkinson’s Trust. I am currently studying for a BA (Hons) in English and History as a mature student.