Two weeks ago tomorrow I had a serious cycle accident on Jagtvej by Aldi, which left me with a completely broken elbow. It took over four hours for a talented surgeon to put it back together with metal plates.
During that time in hospital and after I was overwhelmed by the support from friends and family – both here in Copenhagen and beyond. Not a religious person, I was still moved by the number of people who had me in their prayers over this time. But one of the things that kept me cheerful during that week was the kindness of strangers, none of whom I will get the chance to thank again.
So on the very slim chance that any of these people ever get to read this here they are…
The two men who lifted my heavy bike off me after the accident and gathered up all the things that had fallen out of it.
The woman who sat with me stroking my hair and occasionally poking me to make sure I stayed conscious whilst we waited for the ambulance. And wrapped me in a blanket.
The paramedic with the funky hair cut who, despite my injury and the need to cut up my favourite sweatshirt still understood the disappointment of losing it.
The big Norwegian CT scanner who, rather than leave me to wait for a porter for half an hour with no pain relief, wheeled me to my ward even though it wasn’t his job and gave me great travel tips for a future trip to Norway.
The radiologist, Kristine, who took the time to show my son all my X-rays and took him to another room to show him the area on an actual skeleton.
The nurse on my ward when I was admitted (who I never saw again) who came back to see me in her street clothes after her shift with some little hospital bits and bobs for my son, after I told her he enjoys playing hospitals at home.
Also without exception all the staff I was lucky enough to be looked after at Bispebjerg Hospital.
On Tuesday the cast is removed and the process of ergo therapy begins, hopefully with less powerful painkillers and I can get back to posting here again. The newsletter will resume later in February (hopefully but I will keep in mind being kind to myself) so don’t unsubscribe.
And finally a big thank you to all of you, who simply know me through this blog but still took the time to leave a kind message here, on Facebook or Instagram. That means a lot to me too.
Dejlige Days 
Oh, sweet Melanie! You are such a kind soul and I am so happy that when the need arose, that so many equally kind people gathered around you to care for you. You have been in my thoughts and prayers constantly and I hope this week will begin a new chapter of freedom and relief for you. I can’t wait to catch up with you! Love and hugs!
I was so sorry to hear about all of this, Mel, but it sounds like you were in a lot of good hands during your whole ordeal. When you are at your worst, it really is every little kindness that you are reminded of whenever you think of the experience. I still remember the one nurse who had to wake me up in the middle of the night while I was in the hospital last year (and I never saw again), so patient with my faltering German and inability to even stand while I was propped up for chest x-rays, actually apologizing for her lack of English.
I wish I was closer so I could be of help to you guys, but I wish you a speedy recovery from all the way down here. And there might be a little something on the way to you to at least keep you in good spirits… 😉 xo
Your comment about your sweatshirt made me smile, when my son had a motorbike accident a few years ago and broke both legs he was most upset when the ambulance crew wanted to cut off his socks and told them they couldn’t because his mum had knitted them. Sadly they still had to go but the ambulance crew were sympathetic. I hope your recovery goes quickly and you are soon back on your bike and enjoying life to the full again.
Hi Melanie. I’m a regular but usually silent reader of your blog. Sorry yo hear about your bike accident, but it’s really lovely that you’ve had such an array of kind people supporting you. Big hugs for a speedy recovery from London. Looking forward to reading more posts when you’re ready! x
Your accident sounds very nasty, glad you had such kindness on hand to get you through it. Hope you are doing OK xx
Thank you all so much for your kind comments and support. xx
[…] and I wasn’t able to see my favourite hairdresser then so it was a bit of a disaster. Due to circumstance I haven’t had the chance to get it cut until now but the bonus is there is plenty of it to […]
[…] the fire in our little cottage, I thought that it would be a shame for 2015 to be simply defined by my accident back in January. The year has been an uphill battle towards recovery and that journey is far from […]
[…] the fire in our little cottage, I thought that it would be a shame for 2015 to be simply defined by my accident back in January. The year has been an uphill battle towards recovery and that journey is far from […]
[…] today has been exactly a year since my cycle accident and I am still on the journey to recovery I thought that I would be a little light-hearted about it […]