Mopeds and Chiropractors

Right around my birthday, Brooke bought an old Moped. Over the next couple of months, he spent any extra time he had restoring it. He took it completely apart, scored missing or broken parts on ebay, and repainted it. At times, our oldest son got in on the action and there were some good father/son bonding times as they worked on it together. It was a proud moment when he wheeled out of the garage one afternoon early in April.

We took turns riding it around the neighborhood and let a few friends ride it. The next few days were cold and rainy so it sat unused in the garage. Finally there was a nice afternoon and I took it for a ride while the kids were still in school. So far, it was easy to operate and a lot of fun to ride. Later that afternoon while I was outside working in the yard, a friend stopped by and I pulled it out to show it to her. Her daughter wanted to see me ride it, and I was more than happy to oblige. As I started into the street, I pulled back on the brakes to slow down, but instead I accelerated. The more I pulled back on the brakes, the faster I went! I bolted across the street, jumped the curb, and was heading for a telephone cable box when I decided to abandon the bike. As I jumped off the bike I had one of those slow motion moments where I was acutely aware of what was happening, but I couldn't do anything about it. I could tell that I was going to hit the ground face first but I couldn't get my hands up fast enough to cushion my fall. I closed my eyes tight as I face-planted into a small Oregon Grape bush. As I jumped off the bike, I had laid it down and it was right beside me, still running. My face stinging with embarrassment as well as pain, I reached over and flipped the switch off. My friend, a former gymnastics coach, ran over to see if I was okay. Her main concern was my back. She said that I twisted it good. At the time, my back seemed fine. My face was bleeding and my cheekbone hurt. I also had a headache but at that moment my pride was hurting the most. My friend's youngest daughter was quite concerned about the state of my face and kept telling me that my face was bleeding. I soon wished my friend goodbye, put the bike away and went into the house to clean up my face. I then took some ibuprofen and crawled into bed.

The next couple of days I was sore all over, much like when you begin an exercise program after a long period of inactivity, but my face was healing extremely fast. On day three, my neck started hurting and by the following day, it was quickly becoming unbearable. For some odd reason, I felt that I should go to a chiropractor rather than to my doctor. I checked my insurance's approved provider list and found a local chiropractor. He was able to fit me in that afternoon when someone else cancelled.

Since then, I've had two sets of x-rays and I've been seeing the chiropractor 2-3 times a week. It doesn't sound like much, but it sure feels like I've been scheduling my life around chiropractor visits. Funny thing, I have always been somewhat skeptical of chiropractors, but I am now convinced that there is definitely a time and a place for them.

I haven't climbed back on that moped since. Maybe I should ride it to my next chiropractor appointment.

Uh...maybe not.