Gutted!!

I have just returned from my Hospital out-patients appointment.
They went through my x-rays with me, so I actually saw how bad things were, they explained what the consequences would be and how long things would take to heal.

The ankle was badly fractured on the inside, just by the joint. No damage visible to the outside of the ankle.

The toe (big toe on the right foot) was seriously broken (pretty much shattered to be fair!), again just on the joint, also leaving a nice big chunk of broken bone to sit over the joint.

The right collar bone was quite spectacular. The nurse even went to get another nurse to have a look as it was possibly the worst she'd seen for quite some time! It was snapped completely in half and was about an inch away from the other piece of bone. This was right by the join to the 'wing bone' as the Doctor put it!

The right wrist was broken in several places and had been plated - quite spectacular as well. Several breaks to joints as well. I am going to be left with a 5" scar on the inside of my wrist - it will be visible no matter what clothes I am wearing!

The left wrist (which was not noticed as being a problem in the first instance and was only noticed when I went and sat in A&E for 5 hours) is probably the most serious. There are a couple of breaks and the worst one is the issue here... It has had a "waist" fracture, where it is almost broken clean in two and it is in an awkward position. The problem is the blood supply to it - it may lose t's blood supply when the bone scars over & therefore will die. This will leave it weaker & probably painful too.


They then took the right wrist out of plaster & put a splint on it after checking the post-op wound and put the left wrist in plaster! They also reinforced the plaster on my foot which had started to collapse a little.




They also told me the following...

I will be in plaster for at least another 6 weeks.

It will take at least 6 months before I can contemplate doing anything much again.

They think that I will never ride a bike again due in the most part to the break in my left wrist.

As most of my breaks are on joints, as I get older, I wil most likely be riddled with Arthritis.

They may have to operate on my left wrist and my collar bone if they do not heal sufficiently.

I will probably have some degree of pain from the injuries for the rest of my life.



All in all I'm a bit fed up. It still hasn't sunk in properly yet but I'm sure it will.

Awww man..... that sucks.

Best of luck with the recovery, but never give up hope. Doctors give you a possible worst scenario. You'll be on a bike again next year!!

Gutted for you, that's quite a list!
You never know though, people have made suprisingly good recoveries before now.
Hope you join them in surprising the doctors.

Good luck mate.

Gutted for you mate like I said,

I'd go along with the worst scenario stuff, they usually try to pain the worst possible picture for you so maybe it won't be quite as bad for you.

on a positive note, Chicks dig scars

That is gutting but hang in there! Doc's do give the worst case scenario, been there!!!

A few years back I mashed my ankle playing rugby, sounds similar. I was told by docs to never play again; 4 years later I was playing for combined Australian Universities V N.Zealand Uni's, in front of 10,000 and as a warm up match for a full on super 12 game in Canberra. My ankle hurts a bit but that is it...

Don't give up!!!!

**** mate. I reckon you'll ride again though. Work hard on the physio and prove them wrong. Maybe you should investigate how they missed the worst break in the first place and then didn't plaster it but simply gave you a splint too dude. Personal injury claim now must be huge to compensate for these life changing injuries.

[fizzwheel]

gutted

Dont give hope of not riding again you never know..

Lance Armstrong was told he had something like a 2% chance of living after he was diagnosed with cancer and even at best he would never ride a bike again and he's won the Tour de France 6 times ( I think ) since recovering from his cancer

I know it seems hard but try and stay positive and you'll get there

If you want a positive read about dealing with being poorly go and buy his book "its not about the bike" really good read

All the best, hope you recover and get back out on the bike

Chin up Tim

Doc's usually go for the worse case scenario, so you don't sue 'em

A lot of it is in the mind - a positive mental attitude will carry you through, with a bit of support from your friends, and from a look at the threads on here you won't have much of a problem with that

Remember Barry Sheen - how many bones, etc. did he break, yet he got up and carried on

coombest - I know it's easy for me to say sitting here, but to be honest I wouldnt worry too much about it mate. I bet your back on a bike quicker than you think. The body is a wonderfull thing and can recover from the most serious of injurys, it just takes a bit of time, let the breaks heal and then concentrate on exercising and moving those joints to try and get as much movement back as possible. I play ice hockey and have lost count of the ammount of broken bits I have had, my wrist and 2 fingers on my right hand have been broken 3 times through fighting on the ice (I will grow up one day), it WILL heal, just give it time dude

Yeah, chin up mate. Cos hey, even if that does all come to pass you can still bike - even if your left wrist means your grip won't pull in a clutch comfortably. Mods can be made to allow for it.

From my experience the worst thing that will suffer in the relatively short term is your confidence. Trusting that bad ankle with the weight of a bike for starters - so start back with something short and light that gives you no second thoughts about weight.

Keep on in there and build your confidence back up. As Baggazee says, defy the doctors - I speak from experience here.

6 months into biking and a had a shunt from the side - wrote the bike off and nearly had me paralysed. I know it sounds daft by I vaugely remember jumping from the bike - so he impacted with my leg rather than hip.
All down the left side - Multiple compound fractures to both Tib & Fib (lower leg bones), hairline fractures to my pelvis and upper arm, broke about three ribs. Bones were sticking out of my leg and x-ray's showed large chunks of bone floating about inside.

I was told that I'd be unlikely to walk any great distance unaided, could forget doing any active sports and I'd be crippled with arthritis by the time I was 40.

My surgeon was a genius however, reset my leg five times within the first three weeks (my foot kept twisting in all directions!), no plates or bolts, just a couple of operations to reposition the largest of the floating bits of bone. Plaster up to my hip for 6 months, then another 3 months with a plaster upto my knee with a supporting hinge strapped to my thigh. 18 months in total on crutches - passed my test within 6 months, skiing within 12.

Five years later and the damage to my knee ligaments that went undetected at the time became aparent and I snapped my Anterior Cruciate Ligament. Told that I'd never regain full movement and unlikely that my leg would ever be strong enough to support the weight of a bike. Also cost me my army career.

Same surgeon = ligament replacement, 12 months on crutches and I regained full mobility. Still biking.

OK, so they were right about a couple of things - I sit in the cinema and then leave at the end walking like a cripple for five minutes because my knee is so stiff. Same for biking in the cold, leg stiff and aching, but it wears off in the warm.
Yes it's a bit weaker, but a couple of years on an NC30 built my confidence back up and Iwas throwing it back round left hand bends like the old days.

Moral of the story, Doctors are doomsayers, but it's only a warning of the worst. Keep confident, be bloody minded and don't be beaten.

And remember, chicks dig scars!