boozergut

At 61 I decided to stop "sending it". The smallest of injuries take forever to heal. I often dismount now verses "going for the gusto".....

RB1-luvr

^^ agreed. And I don't want to traumatize my family any more after last summer's accident.

OldTryGuy

I'm almost 1.5 years from 2nd hit by a wild hog and still feeling it plus a 2011 paceline crash resulting in fracture of C6 with slippage/compression of C5-C6-C7 and from a recent mishap a few months ago having neck issues again.

250+lb piggy #2 T-boned me into my left leg on 7/26/2022 at 3:04AM. Sheriff stopped after driving by and seeing my recumbent down and me not doing well tried calling wife numerous times with no answer so they sent another Sheriff to the house and he had to pound on front door until she answered. She opened the door and straight up asked what hospital is he in knowing that I'd be in ER or morgue.

indyfabz

My advice on this part, let it go. You will never know, and thinking about it won't do you any good.

How do I know? (Apologies in advance to those who have heard this story before.)

During the holiday season of 2022, I somehow contracted sepsis and didn't realize it. I ended up passing out on my kitchen floor, hitting my head and suffering a brain bleed and a few minor strokes. I am likely only alive today because the observant neighbors to the east of me (I live in an attached rowhome.) noticed the back door to my deck open for an extended period of times and the car running in and out of the house. They also noticed that the only light on in my house was tin the bathroom. They went to the neighbors on the west side of me. The wife of that couple has the combination to my key lock box from cat sitting. They conducted a welfare check and found me on the kitchen floor at 7 p.m. on New Year's Eve. Based on what had been heard in the middle of the night, it's believed that I had been there for well over 12 hrs. The sepsis had infected my heart. One doctor said if I had been found much later there probably would have not been much they could have done for me.

Ended up having to have my mitral valve and part of my ascending aorta replaced. Spent a month in the hospital and two months in a crappy rehab place. I didn't walk for over two months and was fed slurry through a tube in my stomach until March 7th. Finally made it home at the end of March. Had to use a stairlift and a walker to get around. Graduated to a cane, which I pretty much ditched in early July. Went back to work at the beginning of June.

It's been a very slow recovery, IMO' although one doctor friend who came to see me during the 4 days I was unconscious and on a ventilator disagrees. I think part of that is due to me having to drive to work these days. I have to get ip very early so I can leave early to get home to find parking. I am so tired by the end of the day that I don't want to do much. Now that winter is here, getting out for walks in harder, but I still try to do so on the weekends. Rode a total of 44 miles in 2023. One ride of 12 miles and another of 32 miles. Planning on retiring at the end of March and getting in some real recovery work.

In any event, I used to constantly wonder how I got sick and how I ended up on the kitchen floor. What happened between Friday morning and Sunday night when I was found? What the hell was I wearing when I was found? (I was revived with Narcan administered by an EMT.) I could not find any clothing items missing that I would have been wearing at that time of year. Was I naked? Did I have on just underwear, which is something I would not have missed? I could ask my neighbors for more detail, but I came to the conclusion that it would do no good. What happened happened. More knowledge won't change that.

So...The moral of the story is...Never underestimate the value of a cat.

Dudelsack 

And we ride for the…health benefits?