![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Aug. 18th, 2002 10:30 amThe next 11 hours weren't such fun. They did demonstrate what a hero Suzanna is.
I offered Suzanna my spare room for the night, and we started to walk back to her car on the Botley Road. Just over the first bridge, we passed a couple of chaps and one of them hit me hard in the shoulder with his fist as we passed. I was too stunned to react until they came back and the same one asked me whether I wanted to fight. Brave Suzanna interposed herself between us, while I made a gesture to placate him and make it clear to him that I did not want to fight. Actually I didn't get much chance, because he hit over Suzanna's shoulder into my face, and I was knocked into the road. Fortunately there were no cars, and fortunately they'd moved off by the time I picked myself and (unbroken) glasses up. His companion seemed quite unconcerned telling us something like "don't worry about it".
We hurried round the corner onto Mark's road, out of sight, and I called the police. Suzanna said they seemed to have stopped someone else further up the road, so we were keen to make sure they were stopped as soon as possible. The police said they'd send round a car (I was groggy, so am a little unclear about all these details, but did the police say they'd send a "unit" round? Isn't that an Americanism?). I was bleeding, but not too badly, so we continued to Suzanna's car.
No sign of them when we drove back past. When we arrived home George was there (I'd given her the keys when we parted at Cornmarket - with the plan of chatting with her and Suzanna over tea and summer pudding). She took a look at my lip, and (with her hard-won knowledge of all matters medical) said it needed stitches. Just as we were setting off for A&E, the police came to take a statement. We told them to come back tomorrow.
After checking in, the triage nurse confirmed that I'd need stitches, but he'd get a specialist because the cut looked tricky to stitch (he said this would probably be quicker and it would be about 1-1½ hours' wait). Suzanna (more heroism!) said she'd wait with me.
( details of a slow night in A&E )
All in all, we waited 7 hours. I was next in line, when the morning shift arrived at 8am.
The nurse gave me a tetanus jab (it had been years since I'd had one) and pronounced the cut a simple one to stitch (about 1cm long, but fortunately had not cut right through the lip). She gave me local anesthetic and put a piece of paper over my eyes, though I could see needles and thread and tweezers and scissors in remarkably fluid motion. Sorry for the strange description, but the whole process was far less distressing than I'd feared, and the most painful part was the tetanus jab in the arm. Maybe there was an advantage to being zonked out from being up all night. Four stitches later, and I was done.
Suzanna took me home (via Cowley police, who were closed) and I called home to tell my parents I wouldn't be able to come to my niece's birthday party (she was there and I wished her a happy birthday over the phone, but I think she'd confused me with her other uncle, because she asked whether her cousin was still coming). Into bed at 10:30.
[posted 21 Aug 2002, 01:40]
I offered Suzanna my spare room for the night, and we started to walk back to her car on the Botley Road. Just over the first bridge, we passed a couple of chaps and one of them hit me hard in the shoulder with his fist as we passed. I was too stunned to react until they came back and the same one asked me whether I wanted to fight. Brave Suzanna interposed herself between us, while I made a gesture to placate him and make it clear to him that I did not want to fight. Actually I didn't get much chance, because he hit over Suzanna's shoulder into my face, and I was knocked into the road. Fortunately there were no cars, and fortunately they'd moved off by the time I picked myself and (unbroken) glasses up. His companion seemed quite unconcerned telling us something like "don't worry about it".
We hurried round the corner onto Mark's road, out of sight, and I called the police. Suzanna said they seemed to have stopped someone else further up the road, so we were keen to make sure they were stopped as soon as possible. The police said they'd send round a car (I was groggy, so am a little unclear about all these details, but did the police say they'd send a "unit" round? Isn't that an Americanism?). I was bleeding, but not too badly, so we continued to Suzanna's car.
No sign of them when we drove back past. When we arrived home George was there (I'd given her the keys when we parted at Cornmarket - with the plan of chatting with her and Suzanna over tea and summer pudding). She took a look at my lip, and (with her hard-won knowledge of all matters medical) said it needed stitches. Just as we were setting off for A&E, the police came to take a statement. We told them to come back tomorrow.
After checking in, the triage nurse confirmed that I'd need stitches, but he'd get a specialist because the cut looked tricky to stitch (he said this would probably be quicker and it would be about 1-1½ hours' wait). Suzanna (more heroism!) said she'd wait with me.
( details of a slow night in A&E )
All in all, we waited 7 hours. I was next in line, when the morning shift arrived at 8am.
The nurse gave me a tetanus jab (it had been years since I'd had one) and pronounced the cut a simple one to stitch (about 1cm long, but fortunately had not cut right through the lip). She gave me local anesthetic and put a piece of paper over my eyes, though I could see needles and thread and tweezers and scissors in remarkably fluid motion. Sorry for the strange description, but the whole process was far less distressing than I'd feared, and the most painful part was the tetanus jab in the arm. Maybe there was an advantage to being zonked out from being up all night. Four stitches later, and I was done.
Suzanna took me home (via Cowley police, who were closed) and I called home to tell my parents I wouldn't be able to come to my niece's birthday party (she was there and I wished her a happy birthday over the phone, but I think she'd confused me with her other uncle, because she asked whether her cousin was still coming). Into bed at 10:30.
[posted 21 Aug 2002, 01:40]
