March 18th 1989: 55th and Fairfield

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Two Dozen Scars

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Two Dozen Scars

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Burnt Skin, 1963

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Fall From Metra Tracks, March 2010

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2009-11-17T22:48:00.001-08:00

Holy Cross Hospital, 68th & California

2009-09-06T21:31:00.000-07:00

This Is My Skull

2009-02-27T23:06:00.000-08:00

Patch It Up, Baby

2009-02-20T22:52:00.000-08:00

Best they could do at the time.

Early Summer 1993

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By this time I was bleeding out from both ends of my body.

First Bleed Out & X-Rays, April 1991

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Laser Surgery on Clots, March 1990

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Seattle, November 1989

2008-11-28T23:31:00.000-08:00

A new cast was put on, all the way past my fingers and thumb, the docs hoping the new plates wouldn't break, which they did, anyways. Here I am at the World Fantasy Convention in Seattle. I thought my shirt went well against the painting backdrop.

Broken Plates From Left Arm, August 1989

2008-11-15T22:16:00.000-08:00

The plates broke again a week before my 30th birthday.

Twisted Arm, June 1990

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he two plates in my arm broke and it took me two days to realize it.

Woolworth's Photo Booth, Summer 1989

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Late September 1989

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The shape of my arm after the plates were put in, maybe a week or two before they broke apart inside me.

September 1989

2008-09-25T21:48:00.000-07:00

Taking notes on my 30th birthday.

August 1989

2008-09-06T22:23:00.001-07:00

When I started bleeding for no real reason, the docs took x-rays. I was back in the hospital for yet another cast. I was starting to get tired of taking photos by myself because no one else would. My arm literally did not stop bleeding, it sopped through where the stitches had been a day earlier.

July 1989

2008-09-02T21:50:00.001-07:00

My cast was removed, more plates in my arms, extra stitches to keep everything in place. At this point, the docs were concerned because there was little bone left on the right side of my arm to play around with. Back in the hospital that night, I started hallucinating about a retarded boy named Corky from high school. I never truly understood why he became part of my existence as I again stayed doped up, my arm as hot as if it was in a flaming oven.

June 1989

2008-08-31T21:37:00.000-07:00

In June I was able to get put under without complications, and they put plates and screws in both reconstructed bones. My arm swelled again and it was like back in March, unable to move my fingers until everything settled inside me. At this point, I was referring to my arm as a skin baggie filled with Kibbles 'n Bits.

March/May 1989

2008-08-28T22:36:00.000-07:00

I stood in front of Sid's in Blue Island just on a goof. Pretty much everything I'm wearing there was shredded, the gimme cap, my glasses, the turtleneck, and the jacket, which can be seen below in all its torn glory...

May 1989

2008-08-23T21:02:00.000-07:00

Home briefly, arm in the first of nine casts. Remnants of the jacket, the left sleeve cut open by the paramedics. Then I was back in the hospital, arm packed in ice, healing as if my suspended arm was being boiled and remolded. I never slept longer than a few minutes at a time. I was given shots of Demerol every 90 minutes with Tylenol#3 every 30 minutes. I felt a strange serenity, as if knowing I would one day use the arm again. The night after this photo was taken, a Lithuanian man in the bed next to me died and his body wasn't claimed for eight hours.

22 March 1989

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Here's what my knee looked like, the main point of impact. I went up over the hood asnd into the air from what people on the street said. My pants were not torn. But I had both bones of my left arm sticking through a turtleneck, a green U of I sweatshirt, and an Australian suede leather jacket.

March 20th 1989

2008-08-18T22:37:00.000-07:00

The two bones in my arms would not be reconnected for 18 days. My left hand was like clay. My right hand was spastic. I learned to dial the phone with my nose. Thankfully, I have a big nose.

The Scene Of The Accident

2008-08-16T22:23:00.001-07:00

The lower photo is the south side of 55th Street. I saw the upper photo inverted as I was hit by the car. That is the last clear image that I have.