I heard about his polytrauma on the radio.
A motorcycle accident, on July 7, 2022.
where was it
I was going down Calvet, the street that takes me to my job at RAC1.
Was the bike great?
A 125 cc scooter. After becoming a father I retired my 600 cc motorcycle: “If I have an accident, don’t let it be because of me”, he told me.
what time was it
4.40 in the morning.
Was he driving fast?
At 60 km/hour.
What happened?
A glance in the rear-view mirror, at the taxi coming from behind. I looked forward again and could no longer slow down.
Curb?
I saw a van cross into my lane, leaving a crosswalk on the left.
Was there a traffic light at that intersection?
The delivery van was looking for an address… and had missed it in red.
And it crashed.
Against his right side in his upper part. I stamped myself. If it had hit the nose, it would have flown over it and suffered less trauma.
Did you lose consciousness?
No. With his back on the ground, he could see the hairdresser on the corner and the traffic lights…
Pain?
Terrifying, I could hardly breathe. The handlebars of the motorcycle burst my spleen.
what did he do
To see if I would be disabled, I tried moving my arms and legs.
Did he move them?
Yes, and I wanted to get up. Impossible! The pain incapacitated me. He had a broken hip, I later learned, and also ribs in several places: rib cage.
what was he feeling
The driver of the van who was sobbing “don’t die, don’t die”.
And then?
Ambulance, stretcher, corridors of the Clinic, fluorescent lights from the ceiling, unbearable pain, my partner arrives: “I’m alive”.
Take your polytrauma inventory.
Double bill of the left hip. All ribs on left side broken in many places. Broken left scapula. Damaged left lung, then contracted, almost gone…
Much pain?
Coughing brought excruciating pain. I wear nine titanium plates in my ribs, on the outside I wear a good seam…
How can you bear all this?
The marathons trained me to suffer: I endured a month in hell. I thought of Cruyff: don’t collapse and go on the attack.
What does it mean to live without a spleen?
Fewer defenses, I have to vaccinate more.
What was the worst?
Not seeing my five-year-old son for a month. I preferred that he didn’t see me like that.
And physically?
After five weeks in hospital, an infection sent me back to the hospital for three days.
This is discouraging.
And I almost lost my lung. And fluid in the pleura: again operating room to drain… ten days! The second time I got depressed.
Did they help him with drugs?
Luckily, yes! At some point I had brutal, hyper-realistic dreams from the fentanyl?: I would close my eyes and be in a David Lynch movie, and see dragons!
What worried him most?
“How will I be?”, he asked the doctors. I had only one goal…
Who?
Holding my son in my arms, again. play together As before
It has passed tough tests.
I’ve experienced old age in advance: the fact that you can’t stand up for yourself or to take a shit… Thank you, nurses and assistants, thank you!
What else have you learned?
The wonderful is the normal life! I didn’t appreciate it until it failed me. Today yes Today I can go to the bathroom at will! And without pain. I am born again. Also for radio.
For the radio?
Something hit a nerve and my tongue twisted. I couldn’t speak well. I got scared! “My radio career is over”, I thought… After four months it was fixed, phew.
What is radio to you?
Life. From the age of nine he accompanied his mother to radio booths, because she was a producer of radio programs.
How is your life now, Joan Lluís?
More leisurely, more conscious, better!
Has he taken the bike again?
One day I took it and went around the island from home, to check that I could. And then I parked it: I will never pick it up again.
Has he played with his son again?
As before! I’m happy!
