Car accident = Down But Not Out
04-08-21, 01:40 PM
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Shawn of the Dead
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Car accident = Down But Not Out
Hello Bike Forums , This is my first post and its gonna be a doozy.
Last year I had reached a few major cycling goals. I had added some sweet Dura Ace brakes to my old Trek 2.3 (my main road bike) as well as added a few other things. I had also spent the winter rebuilding my vintage (early 2000's) Giant Rainier with all XTR components. I managed to cycle over 1000 miles for the first time ever (not including mountain biking) and was looking forward to a new modern mountain bike in 2021 as well as further Dura Ace upgrades to my trusty Trek. I also have a motorcycle collection that I spent tons of time on (rides to the smokies, light touring, big fun) as well as refurbishing an old Yamaha Jet Ski that I bought with a blown motor.
I had big plans for 2021 but on 12/6/20 everything was derailed. I swerved to avoid some nasty potholes on an old hilly country road. I got off the shoulder and lost control coming back on the road. I spun out right into a stand of trees. Tough suckers those trees...they don't move at all.
My old beater Ford Ranger was crushed (sucks because I had just flushed the radiator, brake fluid and changed the oil the day before) ......the truck was totaled. I was nearly totaled as well. EMS extracted me from the vehicle using a big sledgehammer to bash my door open enough to get to me. I was covered in cuts since the drivers window shattered into my face. The cab roof was crushed as the vehicle had started to roll over before it hit the trees. I went out the passenger side on a backboard and went to the local level one trauma center.
Several xrays, CT scans and an MRI later and I had all the bad news a guy could asked for....a comminuted depressed tibial plateau fracture (the top of my shin was shattered and pushed down) , 4 broken ribs , avulsion fracture of my occipital condyle and a burst fracture pf my C-1.
In Laymans terms my head was dislocated from my neck as the main ligament from my C-2 pulled its attachment point (the occipital condyle) away from my skull and my C-1 was broken in 4 places (or as my neurosurgeon said....pulverized). I was orthopedically decapitated.
I was a hot topic around the ICU as most people with this injury (about 90%) die in the accident or shortly thereafter due to spinal cord injury or disruption of the vascular structures that are intrinsic to this area. I had surgery after lunch on 12/7. The solution for my neck was a plate in the base of my skull, screws in my c-2 and c-3 and the whole thing connected by rods. I finally got all the titanium I wanted. Eventually my while skull/c1 to c-3 will be solid fused bone. I will lose 50% of the rotational mobility in my neck. My neurosurgeon would like me to stay off bikes until June and motorcycles forever....that means bikes in May and motorcycles in June but don't tell....I don't want to scare Dr. Stockwell.
As for my leg .....it was in about 20 pieces and is held together by about a dozen screws and a long metal plate ......yay more Titanium !!! The surgeon said all the puzzle pieces went back together pretty well. I have bone paste and some dead guy bone in there.
I spent 12 weeks non weight bearing and 14 weeks in a rigid cervical collar. After I was allowed to bear weight I started PT. The guys at ATI loved me .....they thought I was an animal. I needed a cane for about 2 weeks and then started carefully walking. I returned to work 12 weeks after my injury and started back full time. The best thing is all the warm up for PT was on an exercise bike and I went ape **** on that thing. They asked me if I was trying to set a record or something. They graduated me last Saturday (4/10) as they said they couldn't challenge me anymore.
By this time last year I already had plenty of riding done. Unfortunately this year my left leg is stupid and weak. Without the proper reflexes I'm a touch concerned with my ability to get in and out of my pedals but I am getting stronger everyday. I am pretty sure by 5/1 I will be able to go on my first tentative rides and get back to cycling. Its nice that it is low impact. Mountain biking may have to wait fa little longer and my dreams of sending big jumps has finally died. Any serious impact to my head/neck area would be super super bad.
Anyway , if you have read this far then thanks. I am going to need cycling this year more than I ever have. I was looking for a cycling forum to join and I guess this one will be it. I plan on buying a motorcycle airbag vest as they provide great neck protection. It will help feel better on my motorcycles. The short list of activities that my neurosurgeon says I should never do again .....bicycling, motorcycling, jet skiing, waterskiing, falling down, fighting, car accidents or anything that could ever hurt me especially my neck area for the next ...oh ....rest of my life.
Like I said .....Hell of a first post. When I get home I will post some pics .....squeamish Nancy's need not click !!!
ETA I guess I should say hello from central Indiana , been riding bikes for years and like working on them and occasionally building them .
Last year I had reached a few major cycling goals. I had added some sweet Dura Ace brakes to my old Trek 2.3 (my main road bike) as well as added a few other things. I had also spent the winter rebuilding my vintage (early 2000's) Giant Rainier with all XTR components. I managed to cycle over 1000 miles for the first time ever (not including mountain biking) and was looking forward to a new modern mountain bike in 2021 as well as further Dura Ace upgrades to my trusty Trek. I also have a motorcycle collection that I spent tons of time on (rides to the smokies, light touring, big fun) as well as refurbishing an old Yamaha Jet Ski that I bought with a blown motor.
I had big plans for 2021 but on 12/6/20 everything was derailed. I swerved to avoid some nasty potholes on an old hilly country road. I got off the shoulder and lost control coming back on the road. I spun out right into a stand of trees. Tough suckers those trees...they don't move at all.
My old beater Ford Ranger was crushed (sucks because I had just flushed the radiator, brake fluid and changed the oil the day before) ......the truck was totaled. I was nearly totaled as well. EMS extracted me from the vehicle using a big sledgehammer to bash my door open enough to get to me. I was covered in cuts since the drivers window shattered into my face. The cab roof was crushed as the vehicle had started to roll over before it hit the trees. I went out the passenger side on a backboard and went to the local level one trauma center.
Several xrays, CT scans and an MRI later and I had all the bad news a guy could asked for....a comminuted depressed tibial plateau fracture (the top of my shin was shattered and pushed down) , 4 broken ribs , avulsion fracture of my occipital condyle and a burst fracture pf my C-1.
In Laymans terms my head was dislocated from my neck as the main ligament from my C-2 pulled its attachment point (the occipital condyle) away from my skull and my C-1 was broken in 4 places (or as my neurosurgeon said....pulverized). I was orthopedically decapitated.
I was a hot topic around the ICU as most people with this injury (about 90%) die in the accident or shortly thereafter due to spinal cord injury or disruption of the vascular structures that are intrinsic to this area. I had surgery after lunch on 12/7. The solution for my neck was a plate in the base of my skull, screws in my c-2 and c-3 and the whole thing connected by rods. I finally got all the titanium I wanted. Eventually my while skull/c1 to c-3 will be solid fused bone. I will lose 50% of the rotational mobility in my neck. My neurosurgeon would like me to stay off bikes until June and motorcycles forever....that means bikes in May and motorcycles in June but don't tell....I don't want to scare Dr. Stockwell.
As for my leg .....it was in about 20 pieces and is held together by about a dozen screws and a long metal plate ......yay more Titanium !!! The surgeon said all the puzzle pieces went back together pretty well. I have bone paste and some dead guy bone in there.
I spent 12 weeks non weight bearing and 14 weeks in a rigid cervical collar. After I was allowed to bear weight I started PT. The guys at ATI loved me .....they thought I was an animal. I needed a cane for about 2 weeks and then started carefully walking. I returned to work 12 weeks after my injury and started back full time. The best thing is all the warm up for PT was on an exercise bike and I went ape **** on that thing. They asked me if I was trying to set a record or something. They graduated me last Saturday (4/10) as they said they couldn't challenge me anymore.
By this time last year I already had plenty of riding done. Unfortunately this year my left leg is stupid and weak. Without the proper reflexes I'm a touch concerned with my ability to get in and out of my pedals but I am getting stronger everyday. I am pretty sure by 5/1 I will be able to go on my first tentative rides and get back to cycling. Its nice that it is low impact. Mountain biking may have to wait fa little longer and my dreams of sending big jumps has finally died. Any serious impact to my head/neck area would be super super bad.
Anyway , if you have read this far then thanks. I am going to need cycling this year more than I ever have. I was looking for a cycling forum to join and I guess this one will be it. I plan on buying a motorcycle airbag vest as they provide great neck protection. It will help feel better on my motorcycles. The short list of activities that my neurosurgeon says I should never do again .....bicycling, motorcycling, jet skiing, waterskiing, falling down, fighting, car accidents or anything that could ever hurt me especially my neck area for the next ...oh ....rest of my life.
Like I said .....Hell of a first post. When I get home I will post some pics .....squeamish Nancy's need not click !!!
ETA I guess I should say hello from central Indiana , been riding bikes for years and like working on them and occasionally building them .
Last edited by Rdmonster69; 04-08-21 at 02:21 PM.
04-08-21, 03:39 PM
#2
Galveston County Texas
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Welcome to Bike Forums from a Texas Road Rider.
I went to Trikes after a 16 mph Bike Head Injury Crash.and Brain Surgery.
You may want to Test Ride a trike.
Take Care.
I went to Trikes after a 16 mph Bike Head Injury Crash.and Brain Surgery.
You may want to Test Ride a trike.
Take Care.
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Fred "The Real Fred"
Fred "The Real Fred"
04-08-21, 09:30 PM
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Not actually Tmonk
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Welcome Rdmonster69! That is a bit of a doozy for a first post! Glad to read that you are back on the mend and enthusiastic about cycling again!
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"Your beauty is an aeroplane;
so high, my heart cannot bear the strain." -A.C. Jobim, Triste
"Your beauty is an aeroplane;
so high, my heart cannot bear the strain." -A.C. Jobim, Triste
04-09-21, 08:57 AM
#4
Shawn of the Dead
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I can't wait for my new tires and clipless pedals to show up. Hopefully will get some relaxed first rides in starting in early May !! I like the recumbent 3 wheel idea but I am a die hard Schwinn Armstrong kind of guy !!
