Never Bet the Devil Your Face

“Mysteries force a man to think, and so injure his health.”

From “I’ll bet the Devil my head” by Edgar Allan Poe — see Tony Dammit in:

https://storyoftheweek.loa.org/2016/01/never-bet-devil-your-head.html

My parking ticket reciept read:

Amount: $105.00
Date and Time: 4/18/22 7:35 PM
Name on Card: John L
Account Number: xxxxxxxxxxxxefgh
Card Type: Visa
Reference Number: abc
Tracking ID: ijkl

At almost 90 years of age, I am at times forgetful, and occasionally find myself driving about uncertain how to get to my destination even though it is one known to me. That happened earlier today, until Siri and I found the UCD med center on Stockton Blvd. I parked and joined a meeting on Chron’s and Colitis. The meeting was rather uninspiring, and after lunch I opened a book of short stories:

Never Bet the Devil Your Head

by Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849)
 Edgar Allan Poe: Poetry & Tales

Abandoning the rest of my meeting, I went for my car. I had parked near the entrance to a three story parking structure. There were several such buildings; I seached for my vehicle.

How I fell into a full face-plant without instinctively turning to one side, or thrusting out my hands to break the fall is a mystery. Did I trip or faint? I had never fainted before, so I more likely tripped. In any case, a passerby stopped as I lay stunned on the cement. Aside from my contused face, my right hand was abraded and lacerated; my R shoulder was tender but undeformed. Both had a full, though painful, range of motion. I produced my Kaiser card; an ambulance arrived, which took me to the familiar S. Sacramento Kaiser Hospital Emergency Room. I remained stable. Xrays were normal, including a brain CT scan. A Blood count, and a chem panel with blood sugar were normal.

By the time all those things were done–several hours– my wife had been notified, and appeared to take me home. My car had been rescued by my daughter. She had searched the parking lot and structure , found the vehicle, and driven it home. However, I had not been aware of that when I began to search.

Of course it was not there and the mystery remaned. Where was the car? Why and How did I fall? Did I trip, collapse, faint, have a seizure? Had I bet the Devil my Face and lost? I shall never know, but if it was a bet about losing face. I have photos to confirm that I lost the wager, from several points of view.

Judging from my injuries I simply fell like a tree, face down, turned slightly to the left, onto the right side of my face, my right hand and R shoulder. Both patellas were scraped. But I was fully functional, alert, walking easily and moving without much difficulty.

Apparently a kind lady saw me fall and and called for help; I found my Kaiser card; an ambulance took me to Kaiser South Sacramento. XRays, Labs, and a brain scan were normal. I myself had checked my blood glucose before the ambulance came, and it had been normal. My wife appeared and stayed until I was released, then drove me home. I had been continually concerned about my car: Where was it? But arriving home I discovered that my daughter had found it in the UCD Med Center garage and driven it back. Thanks, therefore, to a stranger, and Kaiser, I had been treated promptly, kindly, and efficiently. My family had rescued me and my car physically, and supported me emotionally.

On the the other hand, unresolved problems remained. I had experienced an episode of confusion and loss of consciousness; the confusion was not entirely new because I had been occasionally forgetful although always alert, well, and functional. I had never fallen like that before, and I have no idea if I became unconscious after hitting my head, or simply blacked out and then fell.

From the nature of my injuries, it is clear that I fell straight forward, without avoiding the face-plant— something I would normally have done. Several days later I am nearly without symptoms. Yet obviously I have to explore my condition further. Meanwhile I refuse to Bet the Devil again even if I occasionally smell Sulfur of brimstone.