Melanie Ryding: Helmets save Lives

I have always cycled with a helmet on, don’t get me wrong. It was, I think, more habit than anything else. I was taught to always wear one when I started back cycling again, because Northants Tri, (and hubby) both insisted on it for safety reasons. I have to be honest, I felt like an idiot at first but you get used to it and it becomes habit.

Likewise, the fact that I have a number called ICE (in case of emergency) saved in my phone was also just habit. I learned about ICE on a first aid course I did with my triathlon club. I was told that the emergency services first responders will look for ICE in a mobile phone as a point of contact. I thought nothing more of it actually.

I didn’t give the helmet second thought till this weekend, when it saved me from at the very least, a very serious head injury. ICE enabled the emergency services to locate my next of kin easily and quickly, which enabled them also to quickly identify who I was.

What actually happened? Here’s my story;


I got up on Saturday morning, nice and early, as usual. I intended to complete a two hour brick session (bike/run) before going away with hubby to Thame to help Marshall the JustRacingUk triathlon that weekend. It was raining lightly, so I wore a thin illuminous yellow rain layer over my Tri suit and cycle t shirt. I was about 25 mins into my bike ride (a regular route that I take, country roads, quiet traffic volume) when I was approaching a small roundabout in a village. I intended to turn left, and remember passing the last road on the left and moving to the brake hoods to prepare to slow down. That’s the last thing I remember.

The next memory I have is being in A&E with hubby at my side. What on earth occurred there?!!!

What did the witnesses see?

A lady called Amanda was in a vehicle approaching the roundabout. She reports that she found me lying in the road motionless. When she stopped an approached the scene I began thrashing about and was very incoherent. She called the police and the ambulance.

The police that attended found my iPhone in the top tube bike bag, and called the number ICE (in case of emergency) that they found in it. My husband was there in a matter of minutes and was able to tell them my identity. He followed the ambulance to A&E and was by my side when I remember ‘waking’ in the hospital.

He had my belongings and the helmet I had been wearing, which he showed me. It was broken into three pieces.

 

I remember the doctors in attendance commenting on how lucky I had been, looking at the damage to the helmet. Had I not been wearing it, I would definitely have been much worse off. It doesn’t bear thinking about.











After a cat scan (which thankfully, was clear) I was admitted to hospital under observation for 24 hours.

I was discharged on Sunday, and am now recuperating at home. I still feel rather unwell, but I have called the lady to say thank you already.

I am incredibly thankful of several things that day:

1) that I was wearing that MET helmet, which definitely did it’s job. I have a big bump, concussion and blood in my hair, but without it, I would have been intensive care at the very least.

2) that I had a number called ICE in my phone, and the police were trained to look for it – enabling them to quickly identify me

3) that Amanda stopped, called 999 and took care of me till the emergency services arrived.
If you take anything away with you from this story, please please please:Always wear a cycle helmet

Always carry a phone, (without keypad lock) with a number saved in it called ICE (in case of emergency)

Melanie Ryding