Farm on the M62: Accident that puts life in perspective - Jill Thorp
We’ve had some pretty quiet nights at the farm recently, so much so that Paul has struggled to sleep. The eerie silence of an empty motorway has left him wide awake, staring at the ceiling unable to sleep. I, on the other hand have had absolutely no problems with the quiet and slept like a baby!
Repairs to the railings on Scammonden bridge have forced night-time closures on the stretch of motorway that passes our farm, which has of course caused absolute misery for the surrounding villages thanks to the diversion route. It’s a part of the M62 motorway that seems to get an unbelievably high volume of accidents, vehicle fires and traffic jams. Rarely does a day pass where some drama is not unfolding near our farm, often leaving us marooned on our island once the tiny lanes get overwhelmed with the sheer enormity of motorway traffic.
The daily nightmare of the M62 motorway, however, quickly became irrelevant to us last week when the little guy was involved in a collision with a vehicle whilst out cycling. I was told he’d taken a tumble from his bike, but the gravity of the situation became more apparent when I arrived at the scene. He was lying in the road, blood oozing from his left leg, surrounded by people. His helmet was on the ground nearby, his face sheet white. As he saw me tears surged down his cheeks, whilst I listened to strange voices shouting about ambulance waiting times, the importance of not moving him and the severity of his injuries.
Several police cars appeared but no ambulance, followed by more people and thankfully one of them was a doctor. I stood back, trying to swallow down the panic that was threatening to engulf me whilst the doctor asked John a myriad of questions. I don’t know how long he laid there, but a blanket was brought out as the first big blobs of rain started to fall from the sky. With a three hour wait for an ambulance the decision was made that we needed to get the little guy up to the hospital immediately as he was going into shock.
I don’t know what I’d have done if the lovely female doctor had not been there to administer immediate care and make the decision to move him. Once up at the hospital things moved fast; x-rays, bloods, CT scan and of course dressing of his wounds. There was real concern about internal damage as swelling and bruising developed quite suddenly across his abdomen during our time in the emergency room. By some miracle, however, the little guy had well and truly dodged a bullet. There were no broken bones and thankfully no internal bleeding. Despite wearing a full face helmet, he’d a nasty swelling across his forehead; the thought of what could have been had he not been wearing it, didn’t bear thinking about. We eventually brought him home, eternally grateful but with our heads full of “what ifs”
His body is battered and bruised and I expect there will be significant scarring down his legs, but he’s here and for that we are eternally grateful. It was a sobering reminder for the both of us of how quickly things can change and how fragile life really is.