Accident dissmount

[Aldavid]

Great article moosterbounce, I knew our calorie burn was higher during fracture recovery but maybe not that much. As an ex paramedic we learnt all this years back but it is easily forgotten. A non smoker, light drinker (none at the moment) all helps. Been having issues getting medication that my gut doesnt react to and ruin my appetite.
My biggest issue is just frustration. Brain says do this do that....body says sorry cant compute so end up trying to do too much and paying the price at days end.
No reason why it wont be all good in the end. Just prefer that to be 2moro not some day in far off land that I cant get too.

Al

[kicyclist]

Another message of support to you Al. My accident of 3/7/14 at 40kph resulted in a smashed acetabulam and broken femur. My surgeon had to rebuild the leg& hip and it was a long time to recover. Now I'm near where I was before in cycling tho I can no longer run. Due to the internal fixation required I was able to fully weight bear earlier than you. After taking pain killers twice daily for 11 months I found them a restriction to improving fitness.
Now I try to make part of each week with no tablets especially cutting back on panadol.
Do you plan to use an exercise bike as part of your rehab? I found it very safe & kept me from trying to mount the bike outside before being ready. You may find it hard for a time to do a sideways stretch and to raise your leg over a bicycle frame. I had to lay the bike down to mount& dismount for 8-9 months. Good you have some physio & osteo support from personal friends. Enjoy those movies and recover well.

[Aldavid]

Thanks kicyclist,
Dr tells me it will be painkillers for a fair while. Progressing well at this stage now nearly 6 weeks in. Am in the water doing non weight bearing exercise which feels really good and gives me a sense of doing something. No stretching allowed yet as not allowed to stress the joint at all. If any of the pieces of my accetabellum move so much as a millimetre we are back to square one, so not going there.
Not driving yet but hoping to cut back on the morphine soon which is one of the impediments to driving.
Will be allowed on stationary bike at abt week 12. That seems like a lifetime away. Probably buy one I can hook up and do virtual reality rides with, the boredom is driving me mad.
Am researching kevlar hip guards which are available for the elderly to spread the impact if they fall. Pretty sure I will be able to adapt these to go in my bibshorts. If not I may design a guard that will. Not going through this again, EVER.

[trailgumby]

I looked up a little earlier what you said you'd broken, and all I can say is wow ... and ow! A lot more serious than I first understood - my apologies.

Glad to hear you are progressing according to plan. Keep your chin up!

[Aldavid]

I looked up a little earlier what you said you'd broken, and all I can say is wow ... and ow! A lot more serious than I first understood - my apologies.

Glad to hear you are progressing according to plan. Keep your chin up!

Thanks mate. Good days and not so good ones. Huge part of this, as I am sure others will attest to is psychological as in fear of the unknown, feelings of not contributing at home, work etc, and the worst is the ill feeling you get when you remember the fall. I am sure getting on the bike again will be a huge challenge when the time comes.
Am hoping my ramblings may help others in time to come.

Al

[gabrielle260]

I know exactly what you mean! I'm still not fully comfortable on the road.
Andrew

[Aldavid]

I know exactly what you mean! I'm still not fully comfortable on the road.
Andrew

Remind me please, how long ago was that ?
I prob should have mentioned my dissmount was a fellow rider who turned across my front mistaking a street for the one we usually go round. Riding 2 abreast me on the inside will take some time to do again.

[gabrielle260]

I know exactly what you mean! I'm still not fully comfortable on the road.
Andrew

Remind me please, how long ago was that ?
I prob should have mentioned my dissmount was a fellow rider who turned across my front mistaking a street for the one we usually go round. Riding 2 abreast me on the inside will take some time to do again.

After 4 years without a fall, I had one in October 2014 and then another in July last year. The October one was a bit of a mystery- I just watched the front wheel come out from under me. The July one was a pedal axle snapping.

[Aldavid]

I feel for you mate.
Talking of axle breaks, I once broke a chain out of the saddle on a 10% climb. Drove my right knee onto the big ring, tore my foot out of my shoe leaving the shoe clipped in and my toes dragging the ground doing a toe painting. Can still see the tooth marks on my knee from 10 years ago. Clown in car horned me while screaming get of the f&€%ing road.
To this day I still think of chain breaks as I come out of the saddle. Funny how the memory tries to stop us from doing it again.

Al

[trailgumby]

I looked up a little earlier what you said you'd broken, and all I can say is wow ... and ow! A lot more serious than I first understood - my apologies.

Glad to hear you are progressing according to plan. Keep your chin up!

Thanks mate. Good days and not so good ones. Huge part of this, as I am sure others will attest to is psychological as in fear of the unknown, feelings of not contributing at home, work etc, and the worst is the ill feeling you get when you remember the fall. I am sure getting on the bike again will be a huge challenge when the time comes.
Am hoping my ramblings may help others in time to come.

Al

I know what that's like.

Took quite a while to get comfortable on the MTB again after my shoulder dislocation and surgery/6 month recovery.

Took even longer to get my head right after I was deliberately knocked off by The Hater in late 2009. Needed professional counselling help to get me past that. Fortunately I'd just come off contract and was permanent, so no interruption to income. The hardware in my hand is my first ever bit of titanium bike-related kit

[Aldavid]

An update,
6 week visit to the orthapedic surgeon yesterday. Healing well but fractures are still evident on xray, so no driving yet, still on crutches but working towards 50% weight bearing over the next 6 weeks. Dropped the slow release painkillers a week ago which makes a big difference in how I feel as a human but still on opioids for a while yet.
Fortunate here where I live we have a huge sheltered waterway that I can access via a disabled ramp so get to swim and do hydrotherapy in the sea water each day, this makes me feel good as well, just to do something is good. Start physio this week at last, range of movement exercises only, no strengthening yet.

This is like watching paint dry, I have polished every piece of bike gear I have to within a micron of its life, stripped down two wheels and put coloured nipples on them for something to do, can recite every bike and frame listed on ebay word for word. Today I am going to mow the lawn with my nail scissors, 2moro I will vacuum the house with a straw lol.

Sorry for the monologue but I am bored.

Cheers

[find_bruce]

Patience can be the hardest work of rehab Al. It will pass, even though it seems like it goes on forever

[Aldavid]

Patience can be the hardest work of rehab Al. It will pass, even though it seems like it goes on forever

Trouble is I never had a huge supply of patience to begin with. I think the universe is trying to tell me something maybe.

Al

[gabrielle260]

Patience can be the hardest work of rehab Al. It will pass, even though it seems like it goes on forever

Trouble is I never had a huge supply of patience to begin with. I think the universe is trying to tell me something maybe.

Al

Look at it as a life learning experience! Not a nice thing to say when you are still hurting but I do think I came out of my "big" one in 2000 a better person.

[Aldavid]

Managed 10 minutes on the fluid trainer on friday and spent most of sat with very sore muscles, but gee if felt great.
Am on canadian crutches now instead of ordinary crutches and working towards 50% weight bearing 6 weeks from now.
Feels so good to a little more mobile, but still no driving apart from driving the velominisses nuts that is

Al

[Aldavid]

Update...
Halved the morphine intake.....upped the wind trainer to 30min per day.....60min of physio per day....boy do I sleep well now.
Btw...had 1 bourban day or so back, that was fun thought I had gone blind and stupid all in the same day. Think I might stay tea total for a while. Lol

Al

[moosterbounce]

Good to see you are making progress Al. I don't believe anyone realises how tiring and sometimes painful some simple rehab exercises can be - I say simple meaning that they would have been simple prior to unplanned dismount. I remember being exhausted from doing 5 arm curls...without a weight!! Don't panic if you get to a point where you can't do what's expected...you needed a rest day when exercising so you need to understand that you are still exercising and will need a rest. Also, don't be scared to tell your physio if you become bored with the program you have been given. I love program-change-day. It makes me feel like i have conquered the old program and have progressed to the next step. At the same time, I know I'll be a lot more sore in the first few weeks after a change.

Anyway, keep the improvement happening...and perhaps substitute carrot cake for the bourbon

[Aldavid]

Here we are, over 3mths since fracturing my accetabellum, 2 of the 4 fractures are still not healed. Pain is a constant companion. Have managed to get off the morphine and substituted it with !!! spammer !!! which has fewer side effects and not quite so strong. Using a pair of canadian crutches to get around. Am using the stationary bike as often as I can, its not like being on the road but better than nothing.
Bored, frustated and just over it. Am learning patience but think studying rocket science would be easier.

Al

[moosterbounce]

I hear ya Al!! It does sound like you are making some positive progress which is good. I was 3 months with my shoulder immobilised so know your frustration. Now I am 15 months into rehab and only 4 weeks ago recovered a new movement!! It's certainly a long slow process and I don't know if I have been taught patience, but I seem to have mastered some pretty colourful language

Glad you are able to use the trainer if nothing else. I was banned from using my trainer for a time as I would twist too much and increase my effort which wasn't good, so I ended up using the recumbents at my gym while reading a book. Sure I was given a few weird looks, but it kept me busy for an hour or two.

That you can do some things is also good so you don't forget how to move. I know what sounds weird but when I regained my new movement the other week - putting my left hand on my right shoulder by going across my body at shoulder height - I knew my arm would move in that position, but for the life of me I couldn't work out how to get my brain to tell my arm!! It was like being given a square peg and being told that if you concentrate hard enough then it will fit in the round hole!! 2 days of practising and I was good, but it's amazing how something so simple disappears if you stop doing it.

I can't offer much in the way of support except to say that we are all thinking of you. It's difficult when you are a few months post accident and people expect you to be "fixed" and can't understand why you still mention it. For me, the bone had healed in 3 months but the musculature and range (the painful bits!!) are expected to take 2 years...if I get it back at all. I still have people questioning why I need to go to the physio/masseuse weekly, but I've learnt to ignore it. I don't wish serious injury on anybody but until someone does actually suffer it, they will never quite understand. I just think how lucky I was that although my injury was pretty serious for the type, it wasn't worse.

Are they considering plating/pinning your not yet healed fractures or are they confident a bit more time will do it?

[gabrielle260]

Hang in there Al! As Moosterbounce says- you just have to keep at it but that is easier said than done!
Good luck and keep posting so we can keep supporting you,
Andrew

[Aldavid]

Thanks for your well wishes guys. There is no plan for pins or surgery at this point. If at 12 mths we still have problems they will consider a replacement hip.
I get what you are saying, several people have said "are you still hobbling about" not helpful but as you said they havent been there.
My system has developed an intolerance to both endone and !!! spammer !!! and have always been intolerant to codeine, so its a struggle to get pain relief at the moment.
I am sure you understand the frustrations of things taking so long, I get to a point of not wanting to talk abt it because I am sick of hearing myself.
As a side issue, last visit to specialist he said all was healed after a 2 second look at the xrays. He didnt read the xray report. 10 days later at a visit with my gp he did read the report saying we still have 2 unhealed fractures. GP has sent a letter to the specialist to "Please Eplain". This has caused a bit of an issue in the way I see things. To be told all good and going well then to find thats wrong has upset me a bit. How dare a person in a position of trust treat it so cassually !
Needless to say myself and my GP are researching for another orthapedic surgeon.

Al

[TrikeTragic]

Hi Al:
Best regards and raucous cheering onwards, recognition for your pain, suffering and hard-fought patience.

From another member of the "Association of Alans".

Cheers

Alan!

[Aldavid]

Update time. 4mths on.
Latest xrays etc show 3 breaks out four healed, fourth one is partially there but not perfectly alligned. Second opinion ortho says best to leave alone for now and see how much grief it gives me. Happy with that.
Dig a Drug Bust 7 days ago ie put all the meds on the floor and crushed them under my foot, put the powder in a jar as a memento. The difference this makes to how I feel is amazing. Still have pain but this is better than the constant problems associated with ongoing medication.
Rode 55klm last sunday with no medication, bit of swelling later in day, some stiffness as well. But so good to hit the road. Cant get out of the saddle as this creates direct pressure on the joint. I will take the small gains and work on the rest.
Am allowed to walk without my support if I walk properly. By the end of the day it gets a bit sore and I start limping so out with the walking stick.
Long term prognosis is if still giving me grief in 9mths time then it will become a member of the titanium club.
Not the greatest result, but !! BAN ME NOW FOR SWEARING !! I am still alive so everything after that is a bonus.

[redsonic]

Huge kudos to you for working so hard to get back on the bike and get back to your life. It is easy to lose motivation after so many months, but it looks like you are almost there. Fingers crossed for a functional, pain free hip!

[VinceGU05]

thanks Al. i hope all has healed well by now. the first 6 month of my MTB riding i think i was a crash test dummy for some secret organisation. the old ambitions out weighted the ability big time. worst was a hard crash downhilling. nothing broke but lots of soft tissue damage.
so after reading yr story i feel some what humbled that that's all i had damage wise and should think myself very lucky, and should think a little more about consequences!
once again thanks for your stories, they are both important us as reminders/messages and therapy for you to get it off your chest and share the pain ( pardon the pun)
hope all is well on the improve.