An Unfortunate Weekend In Nashville
On a whim, a friend and I decided to take a last minute drive to Nashville for the Max Richter concert. I’d seen him in Atlanta only a few weeks ago. I made the first concert sound so amazing that we decided to make the drive to see it this past Saturday.
When we got to Nashville, I thought it would be fun to ride e-scooters to Whole Foods. And, clients who’ve known me for a while may be aware that I’m a bit of a big kid as well as a risk-taker. So, it’s no wonder I jumped on a scooter (with no helmet) and zipped through the streets of downtown Nashville with the confidence of an 8 year old. My friend was just as reckless. We were flying!
I had too much confidence and, I don’t quite know how it happened but, my front wheel either skid on the slippery pavement or I jerked the handle bars to the left. Either way, the front of my scooter jutted to the right and took down my partner’s scooter. I fell off (or flew off?) my scooter and went down onto my face. I lay there, stunned for about 5 seconds. Within those 5 seconds, I realized my bottom lip was bleeding and I’d also slapped my forehead against the concrete. Luckily, no one was around to witness the embarrassing accident and, we got up, gathered ourselves, and actually rode the scooters back to the hotel. The entire way, I rode with my bottom lip tucked into my mouth to hide the gash. Honestly, no one would have known we’d just fallen. There were no huge scrapes or blood stains and our clothing wasn't dusty. We rode back with bruised egos but looking quite dignified.
We were so excited about the concert in a few hours that neither of us wanted to go to the ER and BOTH of us needed to go to the ER. We decided to see Max Richter first and go to the ER afterward. We wouldn’t have gone to the ER at all but the laceration on my lip was a little too deep to ignore and it was possible that one (or both) of us had head trauma.
We walked over to the concert hall. It was such a beautiful night. I wish I could have enjoyed the warm weather and sights and sounds of downtown Nashville without having to worry about my bruised face. And, the concert was even more enjoyable. The acoustics were even better in this small auditorium than they were at the Atlanta Symphony. It was a night that should have been enjoyed to the fullest. But, after the concert, we needed to head over to the emergency room.
There, the doctor told me that, while the laceration wasn’t too bad, dissolvable stitches would still be best. He injected my bottom lip with lidocaine in a few different spots and sewed up my lip (have you ever had a needle jabbed into your lip?? What a thrill!).
After everyone got their bruises cleaned up and heads scanned, we took an Uber back downtown. I can’t resist a good people-watching scene! Broadway was packed with tourists and locals. Live music was spilling out into the streets through the open windows of every other bar. There were bridal parties with matching outfits. We walked around for about 10 minutes and decided to be sensible people and head back to the hotel to rest.
Selfie back at the hotel. I look pretty good for someone who ate concrete only a few hours before.
It is now 5 days after my terrible spill. My lip is looking better than I expected, although, I’m waiting for the biggest section of stitches to heal enough to where I can start seeing clients again.
This past weekend, lessons were learned (safety first! Always wear a helmet). Jokes were made (at the hospital, lots of “Yeah!? Well, you should see the other guy!”). Memories were also made. Although, I’m not so sure they were worth ruining my money-maker for. I have to sit out from work for at least a week. Recounting the accident for friends and families has been fun but, surely, there must be safer ways of creating stories you’ll want to tell your grandchildren.