Iride01 

My big issues post crash is the floaters in both eyes and at times bright little flashes in the shape of an arch. The flashes started in each eye separately about a month about a month apart from each other and lasted about a week. Each time my ophthalmologist examined my retina and said all was good. A deviated septum I've had for a while got worse from the blow to my face, so I just had a septoplasty two weeks ago. I now wish I'd had one decades ago. Didn't know breathing was supposed to be this easy!

However the big unknown post crash issue for me is that I always feel like I have a headache about to start. It never gets to the point of a headache, but it's annoyingly there.

One of the nagging or intriguing... (not sure what word to use to describe this) ... is that I don't remember ever being in pain. Also, that I was cognizant of what was going on around me when I was specifically talked to or ask questions. And I can't even begin to count the many times I was ask "What is your name?", "What year is it?", "Do you know where you are?". Even to the extent the nurse would wake me every couple hours that first night in the hospital and ask the same. Continuing those questions till almost noon the next day. According to my wife, I never got the answers wrong.

I crashed on a solo ride after about forty miles on a very beautiful day. My last memory is four miles before the crash. After that it is just fleeting images after the crash. One being the police officer asking if I could get in his patrol car or if I wanted them to bring the ambulance down the trail. I thought I could and did. Then I remember getting on the cot at the ambulance at the trail head and then calling my wife to tell her not to worry, but they wanted to take me to the hospital just as a precaution.........In retrospect, they knew I needed to go to the hospital.... I apparently was in la-la land with adrenalin or something making me feel I hadn't a problem in the world.

The pic you posted of your bike shows a bike computer on it. Does it save data that you could look at? I had my Edge 500 and I know where I stopped pedaling, how fast I was going (23mph), and where the bike came to a stop. I also know the route the police officer took that carried my bike home. <grin>. There is a bump in the trail just past where I stopped pedaling, however it's been there for years. I usually forget about it, and never when it reminded me of it's presence was it any more than an annoyance. My son thinks that maybe I was taking a drink as one of my water bottles was missing. However my normal habit is to drink on a climb or when slow, not while going downhill or at speed. I've had a fleeting memory of a deer running off in the woods. However I don't know if that's for that ride or just the times I've seen deer in that area during previous rides.

My wife and I always share our location through google maps. When I crashed, she was actually checking where I was on google maps and saw that I was not moving on a part of the trail I have no reason to be stopped. Just as she was about to call me, the person that found me called her on my phone using the ICE numbers I'd set up on my phone. So all those precautions/safety measures worked as planned. And I really feel that if no one else had been around, that she would have called 911 and given them my position. However as a plus, It seems to me that adding Specialized's ANGI device might be a good thing. Fairly inexpensive. While some of the newer bike computers do something similar, don't really want anything more from a bike computer than my edge 500 gives me. As for MIPS, if the helmet has it, fine

My helmet had major cracks in eleven places. My skull had cracks in three places and my eye's were surrounded by big purplish, black donuts. So I'm wondering if MIPS is all it's cracked up to be or not. My wife found an article about one reviewer that was very pro MIPS, Seemed he'd crashed with a severe concussion too with a non-MIPS that had him out of action for a month or so. Then he crashed again while wearing a MIPS helmet and was only out of action a few weeks. Not sure how that translates to a plus. He still got a concussion both times.

I could go on and on and on..... but I've got to stop somewhere... still I'm amazed at how similar your crash and rescue seem to be. More than glad you are okay.... even if currently you are only some-what okay.

Biker395 

It's funny you would mention getting your deviated septum repaired.

My latest nightmare began when I decided to have mine broken nose set. My nose has never been anything terribly good to look at, so I wasn't worried about it being imperfect. But the procedure was advertised as being very simple, with no cutting or sutures involved. Just really a matter of setting the bone Albee it under general anesthesia.

To make a long story short, there was some kind of screw up and I had both corneas scratched during the procedure, the right one pretty severely. Let me tell you, that is one painful miserable experience. There's no kind of pain killer it is effective against a kind of thing short of just simply putting you to sleep.

I finally got a hold of an optometrist friend of mine who diagnose the scratched corneas in prescribe some antibiotics for it, but I spent about three days in hell with uber irritated eyes and unable to see.

I have only flashing memories of about an hour and half of the period surrounding the crash. But the good news is other than that, I appear to be asymptomatic. I've got no short term memory loss, no confusion, no speech issues, an ovation issues. I've been able to work (albeit a lot slower, since I can't type with two injured arms), without cognitive difficulty.

With regard to the MIPS helmets, my belief is that they really are only superior two regular helmets with glancing blows that may cause twisting moments. That's not really relevant in the kind of collision I had. I struck the helmet square on the front pretty much full force. But that said, my next element is going to be the best I can get. You really really really don't want TBI.

jppe

Hate to hear about the cornea but glad they are better and no other lingering symptoms for now.

I scratched my cornea last year and every time I blinked there was shooting pain... ..which was OFTEN.....Optometrist gave me a soft contact lens to wear to shield the tissue from the eye lid. It was more comfortable for sure.

BlazingPedals

Glad to hear it wasn't worse, although it sounds bad enough! The scratched brifters should have counted to give you a 'pass' on the personal injuries.

Yep, those recom-bunny things. A few years ago I hit a rock that the pack somehow didn't warn me was coming until I saw it appear under the pedal of the person in front of me. I broke my front rim and immediately flatted; but had no injuries to self. Going over the bars is essentially impossible on my avatar bike. Butt-surfing is more common, but at least that heals faster and doesn't ruin expensive helmets.

woodcraft

Ouch! I missed this. All the best for a complete recovery.

Jay

Biker395 

Thanks! After a lot of odd screw ups and set backs, I think I’m on my way. I went for a short walk this week.

George

Sorry to read this Vic. Fast recovery and good luck.

woodcraft

It's good to get moving! I had a friend that broke both ankles snowboarding some years back- he cut a similar figure.

Are you planning any adjustments to your riding after this, safety or otherwise?

jppe

Walks are great!!! Looking good.

Biker395 

I would, but since I don’t remember anything about the crash at all, I’m not really sure what I’m going to learn from this. It isn’t really clear that I crashed because I ran over a rock ... that was just speculation from one of the drivers who stopped. I don’t think any of them actually saw the crash.

I don’t think I was going particularly fast, or riding carelessly in any way, and unlike last time, I don’t have the equipment failure to blame either.

I really wish I could learn something from this! Well ... besides patience.

OldsCOOL

Progress!

woodcraft

How's the recovery going? Right arm back in service?

Biker395 

Funny you would ask! Last week, I got the neck brace off (whew), and was cut loose by the spine doc.

Just today, I saw the orthopedist, and I no longer have to wear the wrist brace on the left arm, nor the sling on the right arm. I'm still in the process of healing the broken bones, but I'm on my way.

Physical therapy next (that was interesting ... the therapist has 3 different injuries to work with). With any luck, I could be back at it in a couple of weeks.

No more braces, no more slings. No more casts and other things.

My various implements.

woodcraft

That's a slightly kinky looking collection. Makes my neck itch just looking at that neck brace.

Good to hear of the progress!

Cougrrcj

Glad you're mending as well as can be expected. Unexpected faceplants rarely turn out better - just be glad you DID have the helmet! That dent/scrape at the front of the helmet would have been your foreheadl. That sort of injury is NOT pretty.

So.... it looked like your bike might have gotten a bit tweaked beyond the brake lever displacement. Be VERY leery of those handlebars, as they might have the beginnings of a crack - and I'm sure you wouldn't want a repeat performance of an endo... Likewise, a trip to a framebuilder might be in order to ensure the frame is straight and true. I had laid-down a motorcycle once - and it never felt 'right' afterwards - turns out the headtube was twisted about a degree out of true. With the help of a long steel bar, it was twisted back into alignment. It is always the little things...

Now get on with the healing and take short conditioning rides when cleared by the medical staff...

Joe Bikerider

Keep getting better. I just now updated my emergency contacts on my phone. I never even knew about that feature. Thanks for the nudge.

Biker395 

Well, I think it's finally just about over!

I got sprung from all my hardware about a week and a half ago and was told that I had healed well enough to resume normal activities. I was going to wait a couple of weeks until after PT was over, but there were delays in arranging for my physical therapy (still not happening), and everything seemed fine, so rather than sit around and atrophy, I've started riding short distances again. It gets better and I get stronger every time I do it. I'm not completely back to normal (occasional twinges when I really tweak my arms around and residual stiffness in the neck that kinda comes and goes), but I am good enough to ride. I'm actually going to do an extended ride this weekend, before all the rain starts.

I finally got the new helmet all set up. Attaching the mirror was a little more difficult ... it took several layers of super-velcro to get it arranged, but it's now working well. I also figured out a good way to attach a headlight (also with the super velcro ...boy is that great stuff). The bike has been inspected, and it is all good.

OMG, am I glad that nightmare is over. On to the next, I guess. There are plenty out there for us old farts. lol



Back at it ... before I got the new helmet set up figured out.

The new lid

rumrunn6

wow! you look good as new! wutz so super about super velcro? the velcro, or the sticky back?

rumrunn6

wutz that blue tipped probe-like object for? or maybe I shouldn't ask?

Biker395 

Something I needed when they determined both arms were broken. This is similar:

https://www.amazon.com/Toilet-Wiping...&s=hpc&sr=1-20

That thing was a godsend. I do not now how I would have taken care of business without it. It wasn't perfect, but it got the job done reasonably well. It's all plastic too, so you can use it in the shower to get to all those hard to reach places.

I'm thinking I'm going to keep it and use it for chips and bean dip at our next Superbowl party.

rumrunn6

oh haha interesting. maybe my brother who just went home after open heart surgery could find it helpful. don't know what his mobility is like. oh, & that party, I'm OK w/o an invite ...