I am running out of titles. Up at the usual time, after breakfast we headed off to the ferry terminal to take the boat across to Magnetic Island. There are numerous walks on the island, including one to a series of WWII forts which also goes through Koala country.
The trip across was interesting with plenty of wind and waves to throw the boat around… perfect!!
At the Magnetic Island terminal we caught a bus to the scooter rental store. All formalities complete we headed off on our high power 50cc scooters. Our first stop was the local beach.
From the beach we headed up towards the forts, I was leading and we had a couple of twisty turny hills which would be great in the MGB! I checked my mirror and Lyn had disappeared. I turned and went back along the road, and there in the leaves on the side of the road were a couple of guys and Lyn! It seems that either she or the bike did not want to take the same corner as the road did. It seems when she went off the road she departed the bike and slid through piles of soft leaves until being stopped by a large rock.
Anyway she seemed OK other than being a bit shaken up and a couple of small grazes. Of course she had to choose a spot right in front of the local open air tavern to come off the bike, so she had a good audience. One of the guys with her was an off duty paramedic so he took charge, we got her back across the road into a seat and gave her some iced water. The paramedic asked her a few questions, and it became obvious there was an issue. She had no recollection of anything for some time previous to the crash including where we were (Oz). This was a little worrying at this stage. An ambulance arrived, and a few minutes later in a blaze of lights and sirens the fire truck arrived. Queensland law requires the fire services to attend road traffic accidents.
There was no hospital on the island, so I followed the ambulance to the local clinic. Here the Dr gave her a thorough check up and was pretty sure there was no physical damage and that there was no indication of a pre accident medical event that could have caused the crash.He wasn’t too happy with the golf ball size lump on her forehead, which we think may have been caused by movement of the crash helmet when she hit the rock. He wanted to send her back to the mainland for a CT scan to make sure all was well.
Well we couldn’t just jump on the boat and go to the hospital, an ambulance crew had to come over from Townsville, complete with mobile gurney to take her back. By the time they arrived, 95% of memory had returned,Lyn was feeling much better and the swelling had subsided. As the sea was still quite rough it was decided to use a wheel chair to and from the ferry and use a normal seat on board as lying on the gurney could be a little risky with the boat moving about.
At Townsville we went to the hospital and Lyn was assessed again, then sent for a CT scan of head, chest and neck. Head for bleeding, neck for broken and chest for any squished up organs (Doctors words not mine). Anyway all was well when the results came back.
The Dr. offered her an overnight stay, but no one really thought it was needed as her progress was great, so we headed back to the hotel. As we hadn’t eaten for 12 hours it was carryout pizza and CDM (chocolate) for the evening meal
Lyn is now fast asleep after the adrenaline rush wore off, but apart from a little soreness from the bumps and bruises all looks good.
Hopefully she won’t be too sore tomorrow. The emergency services here were fantastic, very caring, friendly, professional and nicely sarcastic at the same time!! I may change my mind when we get the bill!!
P.S. Lyn knows I have posted the pictures of her and has no problem with that … just saying!!!
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