Long Way Down: The Accident

The Bow

So roughly two weeks ago I was practicing this particular pole trick, we call it "The Bow". When my grip faltered, my hands slid down and hit a slick spot on the pole, which caused me to completely lose my grip altogether. I then plummeted the 4ft to the ground fortunately reacting quick enough to at least tuck my head as close to my chest as possible.

I will never forget the moment I hit that floor. Or the moments in between in which I went from being ok and feeling full of confidence, to sheer terror and prayers. I distinctly remember what it felt like to hit the ground, and where I initially felt the impact. But I can't tell you how I ended up sitting indian style about 3 feet away from the pole wailing because I couldn't breathe. You know how in movies you see people climb to the tops of mountains and then yell at the top of their lungs to release all emotion. That's pretty much what I was doing.

Every muscle in my body must have constricted upon impact. I am so thankful to my instructor who calmly sat behind me rubbing my back. Asking me to wiggle my toes and fingers. Once confirming I could do that telling me that I was ok and to just try to breathe. That rubbing hand on my back and her soothing voice were the only things that allowed my body to relax enough as to where I could start trying to take full breaths. Once I could choke out a few words I told them to call my best friend.

I attempted to tell her what happened myself but I don't think "Need You...Studio...Now", really got across what was going on. So the girl who had dialed for me took over and explained to her that I had an accident. That I would be going to the hospital and that we were waiting on an ambulance. She told her that she would call back when they knew what hospital I would be going to.

Enter small moment of hilarity into situation. Where the office calls up and lets the class know that fireman have arrived and are coming up. The girls all turn to look at each other and then a massive flurry of clothing ensues as everyone starts throwing on sweats and t-shirts etc. Note the girl's outfit in the picture and you can get an idea of why. The only two people left in our "workout" clothes were my instructor and I. Although she was kind enough to find a random black satin robe to put on me. So that I wouldn't get carried out in basically a sequin bikini.

By the time the ambulance arrived I had relaxed enough to take full breaths. I was still in a lot of pain, but I could feel my body letting go of a lot of the initial tension. Which was a relief, as it made breathing a LOT easier. At that point I was just feeling like and idiot for falling and causing such a ruckus. And I was thinking thoughts more about the people around me than about myself. Which may have just been a coping mechanism. It was easier to worry about them than what I had actually just done to myself.

Since our classroom was up on the second floor I had to be taken down several flights of stairs to the ambulance on a board. Thank popsicles for strong men, because I definitely felt like I was going to fall as they carried me down. Did I mention it was on one of those spiral style staircases? I do not recommend trying it especially when you've scared the crap out of yourself already.

The trip to the hospital was quick but I remember wincing every time we went over a bump in the road. I was relieved once I was out of the ambulance and inside a room. Only to be left alone for what felt like forever, although in reality was probably only 10 min tops. The physician came in and told me that they were going to to tip me onto one side so that she could feel my neck and spine. Once she had checked those she unstrapped my neck brace and had me first sit up and then try walking. After she was satisfied with that she offered my some Ibuprofen and a muscle relaxant. Saying that we could see how I felt after those had kicked in and then decide if I wanted to take an x-ray. Since I wasn't taking any chances and my best friend, who by then was finally let into my room to see me, was ready to murder the doctor for not having taken one immediately we requested the x-ray be taken regardless. The Good News, no broken bones. The Bad News, no real true diagnosis. They wrote on my charts that I had a back contusion. Told me that I would be better in a couple days to a couple weeks and wouldn't elaborate besides that. The only other thing that they told me was that if my pain level hadn't changed in a week to come back in. Which left me with a lot of unanswered questions. But I will get to those in a later post.

What I learned:
In retrospect having a spotter for such a dangerous trick would definitely have been in my best interest. Pole dancing inspires alot of self confidence. So much so you begin to feel invincible after a while. Especially if you haven't had a failure on a trick or a set back in a while. I was overconfident when I did this trick, to the point of not being cautious. I learned a very valuable lesson. Even when you think "I've got this," always err on the side of safety. There is definitely no shame in having a spotter. It's better to have a spot than to become one.

My friend posted pics of me from the hospital here. As well as her own version of the story. Since I seem exceptionally happy in most of them the drugs must have been working.