We're feeling a bit run down!

We appreciate your concern and well wishes, and would like to move on with life, thus we're referring people to hear our story from this web page rather than repeating it (and reliving it) many times orally or via email.  (Please pardon any impersonal connotations.)  We were very very lucky to sustain only these injuries. We currently have a great set of doctors, counselors, chiropractors, lawyers, traumatologists(!), massage therapists, and herbal / homeopathic remedies, and although we appreciate your recommendations, please don't deluge us with suggestions (although well intended).
Additionally, we are swamped with email which we appreciate from those wishing us well.  Please help speed our recoveries by minimizing email and phone calls.  We're not ungrateful, just still exhausted!

Summary:  On Thursday 12/30/99 upon walking back to our hotel from a movie, we were struck in a pedestrian crosswalk by a hit & run (& caught) DUI driver in a full-sized Dodge pick up truck.  Will received 4 stitches and multiple bruises and sprains, and Blaine multiple bruises and sprains.  Both are still limping a little due to leg/hip problems.

The Context: We were in Key West for 2 weeks for our once-a-year vacation (muchly needed), and on the evening of our third day had gone to the weekly outdoor movie (shown on a building wall, viewed from lounge chairs, with popcorn & drinks, the movie was An Ideal Husband, a British comedy). We were walking back to our guest house amongst a cluster of some 2-3 dozen people at about 10:30 p.m.

The Accident: As we were crossing in a crosswalk (crossing a side street (United) of the main street in town (Duval)), a truck was heading parallel to us, and slowed to make a left-hand turn. As we were in the center of the crosswalk, he all of a sudden sped up and hit us. Blaine, in front of Will by about 3 feet, saw him speeding up at the last moment, but was not able to get out of the way and suffered leg and hip bruises and slight dislocation hitting the ground. Will did not see the truck at all, only having looked to the right. It felt as if someone had shoved me from the back, and I was hit on my left side and thrown some 15' to hit the pavement on my right side. I was knocked out for about 2 minutes, during which time Blaine was screaming at the truck, etc. Three passers-by had cell phones and called the police, and two ambulances came almost immediately. By chance, a medic on vacation was amongst the passers-by and he went into action until the official paramedics arrived. I came to slowly, starting with hearing, then logical thinking, and visual was last; I was in shock and felt no pain until an hour later. Blaine & I were trying to yell to each other to see how each other was, although everyone was trying to keep us still and quiet. They loaded us into two separate ambulances for the 10 minute ride to the hospital ER. We had superb care in every facet of the experience. We were in ER for almost 2 hours, I had 4 stitches, and both of us were asked tons of questions to check to see if anything else major was wrong.  Four people had signed the police report as witnesses (unheard of in Boston -- "I don't want to get involved").

Dashed line shows extent of side swelling two weeks after accident

The Injuries: Blaine had major bruises and sprains in the leg/hip area (there's a problem with the hip joint, although nothing's broken), and abrasions many other places. Will had cuts around his eye, a sprained forearm and thumb, abrasions and bruises in lots of areas, and a large bruise in the hip/side leg area, which swelled to about two hand-thicknesses, and even now is still a one hand-thickness pouch of fluid, and quite a color wheel. Both had headaches. Motrin/ibuprofen was much appreciated. Will's concussion left him with ear ringing.

Recovery: It seemed similar to recovering from major surgery: being extremely tired, no energy, and having flu-like achy symptoms. We slept QUITE a bit, and Blaine was able to get to the drugstore and deli to get bandages/ointments, and sandwiches. The remainder of the vacation was spent mostly with doctor appointments and phone logistics and re-dressing wounds.  We had to cancel our long-awaited New Year's Eve celebration dinner and festivities. As of mid-January we're both back to work and healing more each day.

The Driver: After hitting us, the driver slowed, then sped away, and pulled over a few blocks away and fled on foot, at which time the police apprehended him.  The driver had been on probation and will likely be re-arrested; the truck was impounded. A Key West local, he was 37 and his family is from K.W.  Evidently pretty well known by the police & local lawyers, the first couple of our lawyer-retainer-attempts yielded conflicts of interests (seems the family was well represented by many counselors). He had refused an alcohol blood test, which means an automatic one-year license suspension (which can be mitigated to a drive to-from work only, but in conjunction with previous probation, not sure how that works). He bought bail, but the re-arrest will have a much higher bail. So far one insurance or another will pay for medical expenses except for taxi to/from doctors while there.