Ouch (possible NSFW pictures of my rear to follow)
Discussion
Had an accident on 31 May and been in hospital since. First off, the staff in the NHS Sre f
king brilliant. I don't necessarily mean the surgeons (although they are) but for me it's been the staff on the Major Trauma Unit and the orthopaedic ward who've got me this far. They've pushed me, held my hand, wiped away my tears, wiped "other" stuff too and have generally been utter superstars. I've accrued a debt I'll never be able to repay them.
My Tiger Explorer has been written off, as has my jacket and jeans (more about the jeans later...). Long story short, I was heading home from work, in lane two, when the driver of a Nissan Micra (FML!) pulled out from lane one into lane two to turn right at a roundabout a good half mile ahead. I braked but ended up going into the back of the Micra before sliding down the road. I ended up in lane two, on my back, head pointing towards the traffic I'd just filtered through at the lights... I then saw my bike sliding past me in lane one, on its side. One less thing to worry about hitting me. Then a bloke runs up and says "Are you ok mate? Oh funk, look at your leg!"
I did. Big mistake as my right thigh now had an extra 90° bend that isn't usually there and it was beginning to smart somewhat. Shortly after, the rapid response paramedic arrived and whacked me full of morphine and Entonox. Then the ambulance arrived and they set about getting me ready. Despite the drugs, them straightening my leg was agonising. So was being rolled to be put on the scoop stretcher. So was being put on the trolley. So was being put in the ambulance. So was the drive to hospital on blues... You get the idea. It REALLY fking hurt.
I don't remember much about A&E (thank you, morphine). I ended up with a shattered right femur, an "open book" pelvis fracture, a fractured right wrist, lots of gravel rash and some fairly spectacular bruising. I ended up having three separate lots of surgery, one to fix my femur, one to fix my pelvis and another to reopen my femur and debride/flush out the subsequent infection. I then developed blood clots on both lungs and then hospital acquired pneumonia...
I'm now able to get out of bed, use a walking frame to get to the loo and shower and move about a bit. It is exhausting! I've also lost over 25 kilos, although I wouldn't recommend this as a diet plan! I'm hopefully going home in the next couple of weeks, but it'll be another two or three months before I can get back to work. Luckily I'm mainly office based so a phased return will be fairly easy to sort.
The jeans? Yeah, about them... Regular Tesco ones. I was lucky not to get worse road rash. My two pairs of Kevlar jeans were in for some minor repair and stupidly I wasn't wearing any protective trousers. Would I ride without "all the gear, all the time" again? I'm honestly not sure. Right now I should be in Sweden, on my bike. I think I'll probably get another bike, but who knows how I'll feel when that times comes? Although I was badly injured, it could have been lots worse.
Right, the pictures:
Femur before surgery
The only titanium I've ever owned!
Apart from this bit of titanium
Apologies if you're eating
That's not going to buff out I don't think...
One of us is off our tits on morphine. Also, not wearing clothes.
My current "wheels"
king brilliant. I don't necessarily mean the surgeons (although they are) but for me it's been the staff on the Major Trauma Unit and the orthopaedic ward who've got me this far. They've pushed me, held my hand, wiped away my tears, wiped "other" stuff too and have generally been utter superstars. I've accrued a debt I'll never be able to repay them.My Tiger Explorer has been written off, as has my jacket and jeans (more about the jeans later...). Long story short, I was heading home from work, in lane two, when the driver of a Nissan Micra (FML!) pulled out from lane one into lane two to turn right at a roundabout a good half mile ahead. I braked but ended up going into the back of the Micra before sliding down the road. I ended up in lane two, on my back, head pointing towards the traffic I'd just filtered through at the lights... I then saw my bike sliding past me in lane one, on its side. One less thing to worry about hitting me. Then a bloke runs up and says "Are you ok mate? Oh funk, look at your leg!"
I did. Big mistake as my right thigh now had an extra 90° bend that isn't usually there and it was beginning to smart somewhat. Shortly after, the rapid response paramedic arrived and whacked me full of morphine and Entonox. Then the ambulance arrived and they set about getting me ready. Despite the drugs, them straightening my leg was agonising. So was being rolled to be put on the scoop stretcher. So was being put on the trolley. So was being put in the ambulance. So was the drive to hospital on blues... You get the idea. It REALLY f
king hurt.I don't remember much about A&E (thank you, morphine). I ended up with a shattered right femur, an "open book" pelvis fracture, a fractured right wrist, lots of gravel rash and some fairly spectacular bruising. I ended up having three separate lots of surgery, one to fix my femur, one to fix my pelvis and another to reopen my femur and debride/flush out the subsequent infection. I then developed blood clots on both lungs and then hospital acquired pneumonia...
I'm now able to get out of bed, use a walking frame to get to the loo and shower and move about a bit. It is exhausting! I've also lost over 25 kilos, although I wouldn't recommend this as a diet plan! I'm hopefully going home in the next couple of weeks, but it'll be another two or three months before I can get back to work. Luckily I'm mainly office based so a phased return will be fairly easy to sort.
The jeans? Yeah, about them... Regular Tesco ones. I was lucky not to get worse road rash. My two pairs of Kevlar jeans were in for some minor repair and stupidly I wasn't wearing any protective trousers. Would I ride without "all the gear, all the time" again? I'm honestly not sure. Right now I should be in Sweden, on my bike. I think I'll probably get another bike, but who knows how I'll feel when that times comes? Although I was badly injured, it could have been lots worse.
Right, the pictures:
Femur before surgery
The only titanium I've ever owned!
Apart from this bit of titanium
Apologies if you're eating
That's not going to buff out I don't think...
One of us is off our tits on morphine. Also, not wearing clothes.
My current "wheels"
Cheers guys!
It's not been easy but once the bones were fixed, with the hefty painkillers, the pain has been fairly manageable and now it's more discomfort than anything.
I cannot understate how brilliant the major trauma staff are. When it was confirmed I had pulmonary embolisms, which were agonising, one of the nurses should have finished at 9pm. She didn't leave until after midnight as she was making sure everything that should be happening, pain relief and drugs wise, was. That reduced me to a blubbering wreck, the care she showed. She was on her day off the next day and I know she phoned in to ch ck on how I was doing.
It's not been easy but once the bones were fixed, with the hefty painkillers, the pain has been fairly manageable and now it's more discomfort than anything.
I cannot understate how brilliant the major trauma staff are. When it was confirmed I had pulmonary embolisms, which were agonising, one of the nurses should have finished at 9pm. She didn't leave until after midnight as she was making sure everything that should be happening, pain relief and drugs wise, was. That reduced me to a blubbering wreck, the care she showed. She was on her day off the next day and I know she phoned in to ch ck on how I was doing.
Dibble said:
Cheers guys!
It's not been easy but once the bones were fixed, with the hefty painkillers, the pain has been fairly manageable and now it's more discomfort than anything.
I cannot understate how brilliant the major trauma staff are. When it was confirmed I had pulmonary embolisms, which were agonising, one of the nurses should have finished at 9pm. She didn't leave until after midnight as she was making sure everything that should be happening, pain relief and drugs wise, was. That reduced me to a blubbering wreck, the care she showed. She was on her day off the next day and I know she phoned in to ch ck on how I was doing.
NHS staff on the whole are utterly amazing. Having witnessed too many too often you realise just how well they do with a job which is literally life and death.It's not been easy but once the bones were fixed, with the hefty painkillers, the pain has been fairly manageable and now it's more discomfort than anything.
I cannot understate how brilliant the major trauma staff are. When it was confirmed I had pulmonary embolisms, which were agonising, one of the nurses should have finished at 9pm. She didn't leave until after midnight as she was making sure everything that should be happening, pain relief and drugs wise, was. That reduced me to a blubbering wreck, the care she showed. She was on her day off the next day and I know she phoned in to ch ck on how I was doing.
Always puts my email pushing work into perspective!!
Glad you're on the mend - that story had me wincing!
Any mods planned for the new wheels??
)Unlucky, hope you mend well and soon.
Out of curiosity, did they use a pelvic splint when they packaged you up? It would have gone around your hips at low bum level to 'close' the open book, so to speak.
Something like this: https://www.spservices.co.uk/item/SAM_SAMPelvicSli...
Out of curiosity, did they use a pelvic splint when they packaged you up? It would have gone around your hips at low bum level to 'close' the open book, so to speak.
Something like this: https://www.spservices.co.uk/item/SAM_SAMPelvicSli...
I always wondered why hospital gowns were backless, I mean, under what circumstances does a Doctor need to get to your arse on such an emergency basis that zips, buttons, ties, elastic waist etc lose vital seconds?
I mean, sorry to hear about your bike & your injuries - but you've performed a valuable bit of research for mankind in answering that age old question
I mean, sorry to hear about your bike & your injuries - but you've performed a valuable bit of research for mankind in answering that age old question
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