Hospital

I,awoke,in,a Hospital,Bed,the Surgery,on,My, Ankle,had, been, a success.I,now, had, two,permanently,

inserted,four inch,steel pins,through, My ,shattered,Bone.

I, had, never,before,been, in, Hospital, with,  broken, Bones, once,or, twice,for,the usual childhood,ailments,and, then, only, for,

a day,at, most,but,This,time,I,knew,I ,was going, to,be, staying.

The worst, thing, about,Hospitalisation,is, not,the,Malady. It,is, constantly, telling, and, re-telling,to,an, unending, stream, of,Doctors, Nurses, fellow Patients,Visitors, and,well intentioned,miscellaneous,People,just, exactly,what,happened.

My, Accident, had, occurred, the Afternoon, before,and, upon, re-call, seems, surreal,seems, like, it, was, someone, else,

other, than, Myself, that,ended, up,in,pain,in, an, Ambulance.

I,had, parked, up, and, was, crossing, the Cobbled, Dead-end,Street,on, the, Industrial,Estate,where, the Repair Garage,was,sited.

The large, sliding,Doors, were, open, and, inside, on, ramps, were, various,Vehicles, being, worked, on.

This, Garage, specialised, in,the repair,of, London Taxicabs,but, ordinary, Saloons, Vans, etc, were, also,inside, and, parked,
 outside, waiting, their, turn.

Next, Door,to, the Garage, was, an, Automotive, Paint Shop,and,both, Establishments,kept, each,other, in, work.

My,visit, was, supposed,to,be, a short, one,I, was,after,all, only, paying, a Bill,and, I, thought, I, would, be, gone, in,less, than,

five minutes,so, as, I, crossed, the,damp, Cobblestones,I, did, not, hear, the shouts, of, 'Look Out!', that, rang, out, from, several,

people,above, the noise, of,Air-Wrenches, and, the general, noisy, clatter, of,working, Mechanics.

'Look Out!', too late..I, turned, to, the left, and, watched,as, the Taxi,Careered, Backwards, straight, at, Me.

It, had, broken, loose, from, a Low Loader, Breakdown, Truck,and, rolled, Driver-less, down, the Ramp.

In, less, than, a second,I, had, seen, it, from, the corner, of, My, Eye, dropped, The Money, in,My, hand, and, tried, to escape, by, 

doing, a kind, of, dive/jump, on, the Bonnet, of, a Car, that, was, entering, the PaintShop..

too late, I, tried, to get, My, legs, out, of, harms, way,but, to, no avail,and,My, left, ankle, became, the Meat, in,

the, Automobile Sandwich. The Bone, was, shattered.

It's,funny, how, accidents,occur..Suddenly, Your whole, World, is, put, on, Hold,Suddenly, You, realise, that, there, really,

is,something, called, 'Luck'.

I, was,Lucky,I,later, realised,because, the other People, on, the Ward,all, had, much, worse, Injuries, than, Mine.

Some, had,been, there, for, Months, with, all kinds, of, Scaffold-like, contraptions, on, Their, wounds..Some, had, lost,Limbs.

I, was,amazed, at, Their,Tales,of,misfortune,but, could, not,help,laughing, at, the absurd,plans, some, had,to,claim,

Insurance Compensation, for, falling,down, a flight, of, stairs, whilst, drunk,and, blaming, it, on,an,missing, Manhole Cover,

on, a Street,or, some,such, nonsense.

The thought, of, compensation, now, began, to preoccupy, My, mind, as, I, lay, in, that, Hospital Bed.

Two Months, later,I, was, out, of, Hospital, but, there, was, to, be, no,compensation.

The Firm, of, Solicitors, had, gone, to, work, and, the Blame-Game,started.

The Garage, denied, any, responsibility, as, did, the Paint-shop,saying, the Accident,occurred, off, Their,Premises,even, though, the Breakdown Truck, was, sub-contracted, to, attend, to,
Their, Vehicles.They all, shrugged, Their, shoulders, and, said, "It's, nothing, to, do, with, Us?2..

The Breakdown,Truck, that, the Taxi, broke free, from, was,owned, by, a Self-Employed, Contractor,who, it, transpired, was, unlicensed,and, uninsured, He,was, what, the Solicitor, called, 'a Man of Straw'..His, Name, was, Cain, that, much,I, know,

and, He,made, a cash offer, of, compensation, to, Me, as, a gesture, but, disappeared, and, never, paid, a Penny.

If, I ever, meet, Him, I'm, I, promise,going, to,get, My, Money's worth,and, I, never, forget,anything.

'Marked by Cain?'..Oh, Yes.

The Solicitors, were, on, a 'No Win,No Pay', basis, and, They, tried, everything, but, to, no,avail, They, never, got, paid, either.

They, tried, to,involve, the,Owners, of, the Land, on, which, the Garage, was, sited,but, to, no avail, They, even, tried, 

the Council,the reason, being, the Cobbled Street, could, have,somehow, contributed, but, again, to, no,avail. 

The outcome, left, a bitter taste,in, My mouth,and, eventually,I, went, back, to work, but, I, never, again, used, that Garage,or,spoke, to, any ,of, the Rats ,who,worked, there. As, for, compensation, from, the State?..that, never, happened, either,

They, said,I, was,not, entitled, to,disability,Payment,in, spite, of, My ,protests, so, for, two months, I, got, precisely, fuck all.

But,Luck, is, a Strange, thing..The Garage, eventually, went bust, and, closed, down, throwing, the Rat Workers, on, the Dole,

and, almost, unbelievably,some, years, later, Persons unknown, actually, stole, the, same, Cobbled, Street..ripping, up, the,

'Sets', or, large, brick -shaped, Granite, blocks..which, had, been, there, for,over, a hundred years..

As, for,Me? , I, now, have, a built-in,kind, of, Barometer, in, My, ankle, and,almost,unerringly, can, predict, when, it, will, rain. The ,fifty stitches, are, healed, up, but, the skin, tightens,and, let's, Me, know,any, changes..