Hey folks.  So today I’m writing about something that has nothing to do with nutrition — but honestly I feel so traumatized that I had to say something.

This morning, I went out for a short run on the West Side Highway.  I was just hitting my stride 5 minutes in, when I saw in front of me a woman lying on the ground and a young man holding a bike.  As I approached I could hear her screaming in pain.  I saw in the distance some construction workers looking on.  I got closer and asked what was going on and the guy told me that she was running and he was crossing the bikepath too fast and ran into her.  I got closer and looked at her arm, and the bike appeared to be attached somehow, then she tryed to touch it and screamed “I think the brake pedal went through my arm.”  I didn’t want to touch her arm for fear of damaging something, but it was very clear that the brake pedal was stuck in it, and although she wasn’t bleeding, this was incredibly serious.  I yelled to one of the construction workers to call 911.  Another biker stopped and tried to detach the rest of the bike from her while we held the bike steady.  We stood there for 15 minutes, trying to keep her calm and waited until emergency services got there.  Two firetrucks and two ambulances came and swarmed on the path, and we stepped aside to let the professionals take over.  They managed to saw the handlebars from the bike, so they could take her to the hospital with the brake pedal in her arm.  After I spoke to some police they took her away.  The brake pedal had punctured her brachial artery.  I hope to God that she is ok.

I am writing because this can happen to anyone.  We all need to be aware of ourselves and our surroundings.  Bikers — always watch the path, be aware of signs (especially the yellow yield ones), and know the rules of the road.  Runners — it’s so easy to tune out your surroundings with music blaring in your ears, but always obey the rules of the road and keep your eyes open.

After the accident, I continued on my run, shaking the whole time, and thanking God for every step I took.  Two seconds earlier that could’ve been me.