2020-07-10: Positive from Pandemic

My family isn't so busy anymore.  There are no birthday parties, little league games, ballet practice.  The kids have just a few playdates with one or two families.

That's my good news!  Now they have time to spend with me.  I get to see them a couple times per week.  I've been having them over for dinner on Sundays.

I had a basketball hoop installed over my garage.  My grandson loves basketball.  The whole family bikes over to play hoops.  My granddaughter doesn't enjoy the game so much.  She and I spend time together watching cartoons or doing crafts.

It's been wonderful.  After all, I moved to Portland to be near them.  Of course I do miss seeing my Portland friends.  I joined several organizations here and I miss the in person meetings.  Now we zoom.  I'm a member of North Star Village, the American Sewing Guild, Columbia FiberArts Guild, CFG Wearables group and The Time Travelers' Costume club.

I miss all the things that everyone else misses - going to restaurants, movies, shopping, traveling, get-togethers with friends, etc.

But I remind myself of the positive within the tragedy of the Covid pandemic.

My grandson, Kenny

My granddaughter, Miho

BUS HITS PEDESTRIAN IN SIDEWALK, Portland OR

I show up - on the ground - about one minute into this video.

This is a video of a bus running a stop sign and the driver not looking to the left as he turned left. I was in the crosswalk and the bus ran into me. I was terribly injured. It happened in May 2017. The bus company fought hard not to have pay me a dime for my pain and suffering, even though they admitted it was their fault. It took over 2.5 years until I received any compensation. The bus driver had rear ended a truck just the week before he hit me. An ambulance had to be called for one of his passengers. The bus company (Trimet) allowed the driver to keep on driving until he hit me. Then they let him quit instead of firing him so he would have a good employment record. I wonder in which city this negligent driver is operating a bus now.

FINALLY FEELING FREE

3 years ago I was in the crosswalk with my dog, Sweetsie.  A full sized city bus ran the stop sign and smashed into me.  I've had 2 major surgeries and 2 stays in nursing homes as a result of my injuries.

IF THAT WASN'T BAD ENOUGH!  Instead of just going ahead and doing the right thing, the bus company (Trimet) fought with me when I tried to get compensation for my injuries.  I had to file a lawsuit against them.  My lawyer advised me that everything that I wrote online- on any platform - was open to Trimet.  Three years ago I wrote on my blog that I painted my whole house pink.  Even though I was still dependent on a walker to move around she told me that Trimet would interpret that against me.  They'd say that if I was well enough to paint my house then I wasn't really injured.  Of course,  I didn't do the painting myself!  What would I have done - climbed a ladder with my walker?  In order not to have my blog used against me I stopped writing it and closed access to it.

I stopped using Facebook for the same reason.  Anything I said would be used against me.  I stopped emailing friends because they would ask me how I was doing. If I said I was working hard to get better, then Trimet would claim I was just fine.  For goodness' sake, I wasn't fine.  Their damned bus crashed into me.  There was even a video of the accident to prove it.

Not being able to communicate with my friends back in Houston was crushing to me.  I could telephone them.  But,  I had so many people that I used to communicate with online.  I fear that I have lost those friends.  It's been over 3 years since I've chatted with many of them.

Trimet made me a low ball offer after a year and a half.  If I had accepted that,  I would have received zero compensation.  If you win a lawsuit after an injury,  the first ones to get compensated are the insurance companies.  Anything insurance paid for as a result of the accident would have to be reimbursed to the company.  Then the lawyer gets a third of the settlement if any monies are left.

Therefore,  I had to continue my fight with Trimet so I'd at least get some compensation for my pain - physical and emotional.  There is an Oregon tort law protecting Trimet.  There is a cap on compensation that they have to pay in a lawsuit.  It is not nearly enough.  The more they fought with me the more I wanted them to have to pay the cap.

Besides not having freedom of written speech, I didn't have freedom of movement.  At times there were private detectives watching me.  That didn't bother me so much.  The injuries had already taken away my freedom of movement.  I still have to use my walker when I take my dog on walks.  The rest of the time I use a cane.

On August 13, 2019 I had a deposition with Trimet.  I had to sit at the same table with the bus driver who didn't bother to look both ways and not stop at the stop sign.  He didn't look at me during the deposition.  No apology from him.  He had had an accident the week before he hit me.  He rear ended a truck and one of his passengers was taken away in an ambulance.  But, he was allowed to continue driving.  After he hit me Trimet didn't fire him.  They let him quit so he would have a clean employment record.

Finally in November 2019 I was awarded the cap of compensation.  I ended up with a bit more than a third of the total after reimbursing the insurance companies and paying my lawyer.

May 24, 2018

This post is just to help me remember.  It's not very interesting.

Last year on this day I woke up in the hospital self aware enough to take a selfie. 

I think that was the day I noticed a phone in my room and dialed the only number I could think of at the time.  I called my office number and talked to Altha.  She said I sounded very weird.  She thought I was joking about the accident - who gets hit by a bus?? Then she noticed the hospital name on the caller id.

It's funny how spotty my memory is of my time in the hospital.  On TV medical shows they always ask people their names in the emergency room.  I only remember when they cut off my dress.  I was annoyed because I made that dress and liked it.

I heard lots of screaming.  It sounded like my mother's night terror screams. I barely moaned during child birth.  My shattered hip was so painful it must have been my voice I heard.

I remember talking to the police and telling them my son Kevin's address.  Around midnight they went to his house pounding on the door and flashing lights.  Kevin thought it was a home invasion and called the police.  Poor Sweetsie had been stuck in the back of the police car for hours.
Kevin came to the hospital while Tomoko took care of my puppy.

I remember seeing Kevin bending over me in the hospital that first night, maybe?  He told me that he and family visited every night.  My poor son had to go to my apartment and find my insurance card, etc.  The next day he had to be there because my stuff was arriving from Houston.  I guess he had to make other medical decisions for me.

There are no nurses in my memory.  I remember being stuck in a dark hallway after being x-rayed.   Legacy Emmanuel Hospital is old and dreary inside.

I don't remember eating any meals until I woke up after being transferred to the skilled nursing home.  I still had a piece of hamburger in my mouth so the hospital must have fed me occasionally.

This photo was taken on May 22, 2018, the one year anniversary of the accident.

May 22, 2018: I won Survivor!

It has been one year today since I survived being hit from behind by a metro bus running a stop sign. The impact shattered my hip, threw me to the ground thereby giving me a concussion, multiple bruises and tearing my scalp.

I'm not going to sit around at home and feel sorry for myself.

First,  I'm going to a session with my physical therapist at 11 AM.  Then I'm going to lunch with a friend and to Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden in southeast Portland.  (I could only look at the gardens from above.  The paths were too steep for me to be able to go down.)

Tonight I'm taking my family out to dinner at our favorite restaurant.  I think that my survival is worth a celebration!

Marvel Comics has not yet written me into any of their Avengers' stories.  My super power is stopping buses with my butt.  It definitely beats spinning webs, turning into a giant green man or warping reality - BIG TIME!

May 8, 2018: Newport OR

Newport aquarium

I made it off the waiting list for a trip to Newport on a Multnomah County senior trip.  The bus left at 8 AM.  It was a 3 hour drive.  I remembered my travel pillow and snoozed most of the way there.

The bus left us off on the main street in Newport.  We walked around looking for a place for lunch and ended up at The Chowder Bowl.  I had the chowder cannonball - clam chowder in a bread bowl.  It was very tasty.

The beach was a a long walk down a hill, past road construction.  I couldn't walk that far but I could see the ocean from the road.  I ended up walking a short way down the main street and popping into a shop.

At 1:30 the bus took us to the aquarium.  There was no close to the door parking.  I don't understand why Oregon doesn't follow ADA laws.  I'm glad I was able to make the walk to the entrance. The displays inside were interesting but a bit confusing.  The descriptions on the walls didn't always match up with the fish in the tanks.

My favorite tank was the one with the jellyfish.  They are so beautiful in the water.

jellyfish

Moray eel

sea nettle

It started raining hard so I missed seeing the outside displays.

I did a bit of walking with my cane.  That was good exercise for me.

The bus made a pit stop at a Dairy Queen in Salem on the return trip. It was a long day.  We got back at 7:30 PM.  Sweetsie spent the day with Tomoko.  My poor doggie was so exhausted when she came home.

May 5, 2018

Oregon Convention Center

Last Saturday I went to the "Gathering of the Guilds" at the Oregon Convention Center with Sheila,  a friend I made at an ASG meeting.  It was a big show including the bead, woodcrafting, glass, weaving and metal arts guilds. (I had to use my walker to be able to walk that far.)

One woman made jewelry out of legos.

Here is a sewing basket in the shape of a house at a beader's booth. It was very detailed inside and out.

This was an interesting layering of plastic bags.  No one was available at this booth to talk to me about it.

I put my name on one ticket for the free door prize drawing.  The next day I received a call that I had won second place!  I won a silver, amethyst geode ring with a small diamond that retails for $495.00.

I like big chunky rings so this ring is perfect for me.

I hope winning this drawing signals that my luck has changed. 

Today we went to the Crafty Wonderland show at the convention center.  (I had to use my walker to be able to walk that far.)

 It wasn't as big an affair as the Gathering of the Guilds.  There were t-shirts, jewelry, art and lots of cat-themed things at the show. I did get to catch a glimpse of Mosho the Cat Rapper.  I couldn't see over the heads of people to see his cat DJ.  About 5 minutes of listening to his rap was enough for me.  I've included his link in case anyone wants to hear him.

Spring has come to Portland.  A big park is just around the corner from me.

And the flowering trees are just beautiful.

Last month the cherry tree across the street from my house was gorgeousl.

The dogwood trees are in bloom now. PINK!