Accidents and Injuries

I have always been accident prone and as a youngster was frequently injured.

Here are a few of the incidents that have happened to me.

Knocked over by a car. When I was about 9 I stupidly walked into the road from between 2 parked cars on Rushden High Street and was hit by a car. I was knocked unconscious and woke up at home (it was in the time when doctors came to you). Luckily there was no real damage only bad cuts and bruises.

Fell out of a tree onto a metal gate. I was a bit of a tree climber and I climbed a tree near our house, but fell and landed on a metal gate. I was found unconscious and only remember waking up back at home. No real damage. As an adult I have always been a bit scared of heights, I wonder why!

Kicked in the head during football. Whilst playing football in a church charity game when in my teens, I fell over and was kicked in the head. I was knocked unconscious and woke up at home with no real damage. Many years later, at my brothers wedding, a guy came up to me and apologised for kicking me, it had been playing on his mind for 20 years.

Fell off a washing line and broke my arm. When I was about 7 I was swinging on the washing line and tried to jump onto the goal bunker. Of course it all went wrong and I broke my arm.

Ran into a car. When I was a teenager I used to run everywhere! Once whilst running down Rushden High Street a car came out of a side alley and I ran straight into the side of it. I was not injured and jumped up off the floor and just ran off. I think the car driver was a bit bemused.

Stabbed foot with a garden fork. When I was quite young, 5 or 6, I was out in the garden with my dad and decided to help him with the gardening. I picked up a garden fork and jabbed it into the ground, however my foot was in the way. I was very lucky and only one prong hit the inside of my big toe. I chipped a bone and was in plaster for a while, but the doctor said a millimetre either way and I would have lost a toe.

Hit a stationary car on my bike. When I was about 13, I was riding my bike to school on the last day of term when I rode into the back of a stationary car and injured my private parts quite badly.

Crashed a go cart under a moving car. My friend and I had built a go cart and we took it to the top of the hill on the street we both lived. I was on the back and my friend was driving. Half way down the hill we lost control, I was thrown off the back and suffered cuts and bruises, the cart, and my friend, went into the road and under a car. My friend broke his leg.

Bit tongue during football. When I was in my 30's I was playing for a Sunday league football team when I bashed my face and bit my tongue. It was very bad, almost severed my tongue altogether, it swelled up and I could not eat at all and could only take in liquids through a straw for a week.

Tripped over a curb and broke my arm. Whilst a teenager I tripped over a curb and broke my arm.

Hit by a car whilst running. In my 40's, I was out on a run when a driver pulled out of a petrol station and ran into me. Luckily he was not going very fast and I only suffered a few cuts and bruises.