Total Frivolity
- Thread starter Nigel
- Start date
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In addition to trail riding I started doing MX racing. Just racing the +40C class. I thought I could keep it under wraps and minimize the chance of injury. That was not the case, I think injuries are inevitable unless you can rally keep yourself dialed in to being careful, which then makes it hard to progress. After a couple of races I found myself pushing toward the front of the pack, no wins but definitely getting faster. Even pulled the holeshot at one event.. The last race I entered, I got a shitty start and at the second turn got on the brakes a little hard and stalled because there was a lot of clutter in front of me. So mentally I was like Ok bullshit, I am going to make up some ground and salvage some of this. This is where the poor judgment comes in, I go to pass this ding dong, and just as I am overtaking the guy, he makes a sudden jog in my direction, God knows why. Well we both go down, but I was off the edge of the track because ding dong left me know room. The fuck started screaming like I did something wrong after the spill, I was a little dazed and like WTF. Go to pick up my bike and my right shoulder is not right, got the wind knocked out of me ... I am not going to go into the ding dong part anymore, but to suffice to say, when you are slow don't do unpredictable stuff, other wise unpredictable shit happens. If I know I have faster guys coming up behind me, I stay predictable, was dumb of me to think other ding dongs do the same.
Well I get the bike back up with my left arm, get on, and putt off the track. I already know my collar bone is broken, I get a guy to help load up the bike. Had an hour drive home.
The wife sees me pull up and is like uh oh what happened. I said we got to go to the ER and get some x-rays. We went to a smaller hospital because I am thinking it will be quiet and easier to get in and out. I get there and they start taking x-rays and it turns out to be the collar bone, three ribs, and a collapsed lung. So they ship me over to the bigger hospital.
They try to put a tube in the chest with a catheter, but that did not work. The tube is to vent the air so the lung can expand. Well the trauma surgeon shows up. All they did was shoot the area up with some novacaine and cut right in between the ribs, spread the ribs, and stick the tube in. That was the worst part, extremely painful. The novacaine did not work that well.
Three days later I get to go home. Six weeks later still waiting on the collar bone to get better. Probably got another six weeks before I can start putting a load on it.
I think its time to retire from the dirt bike thing. I don't think I can slow down at this point, and I don't want to get busted up at 57+ again. Getting old sucks, but I had a fun last few years. Just did not want to end like this, but I would do it again, just can't afford this kind of injury again or worse. Last thing I will say though, that KTM 250 is a bad ass bike, my most favorite machine ever. Painful to give it up.
Well I get the bike back up with my left arm, get on, and putt off the track. I already know my collar bone is broken, I get a guy to help load up the bike. Had an hour drive home.
The wife sees me pull up and is like uh oh what happened. I said we got to go to the ER and get some x-rays. We went to a smaller hospital because I am thinking it will be quiet and easier to get in and out. I get there and they start taking x-rays and it turns out to be the collar bone, three ribs, and a collapsed lung. So they ship me over to the bigger hospital.
They try to put a tube in the chest with a catheter, but that did not work. The tube is to vent the air so the lung can expand. Well the trauma surgeon shows up. All they did was shoot the area up with some novacaine and cut right in between the ribs, spread the ribs, and stick the tube in. That was the worst part, extremely painful. The novacaine did not work that well.
Three days later I get to go home. Six weeks later still waiting on the collar bone to get better. Probably got another six weeks before I can start putting a load on it.
I think its time to retire from the dirt bike thing. I don't think I can slow down at this point, and I don't want to get busted up at 57+ again. Getting old sucks, but I had a fun last few years. Just did not want to end like this, but I would do it again, just can't afford this kind of injury again or worse. Last thing I will say though, that KTM 250 is a bad ass bike, my most favorite machine ever. Painful to give it up.
- Joined
- May 28, 2001
- Messages
- 16,789
A "profound" statement, to say the least.
Good luck with the patching up!
Thanks Chuck!
- Joined
- May 28, 2001
- Messages
- 16,789
Had 1 close call on my HD. Some asshole knocked me down while stopped at a light.
That was it....Adios to the HD.
I was racing a local fair supercross in 2002. coming out of a corner then need to a rhythm section of 3 doubles. I missed a gear (didn't get the gear I needed and came up short on the first double back end kicked up while the front plowed into the face of the next jump. Crawled off the track with wind knocked out like I had never felt before. Once off the track medical people checked me out. I got back to pits and knew something is wrong. I couldn't talk for a little bit. I asked my friends look at my shoulder, and tell me if my collar bone is broken. They look and say yes, it's sticking out. I call my wife and tell her and ask should I go to the hospital where I am at or back in our town. She worked for Mayo clinic at that time and I wasn't sure our insurance would cover the hospital in the town the race was at. She got a ride from my dad to the town I was at to pick me and the bike up. Once at the hospital the took xrays and got the bone somewhat back in place. I kept telling them I had never had the wind knocked out like that before and think I broke a rib. They say we just don't do nothing for broken ribs. I then tell them we are going to Las Vegas tomorrow morning. They say no problem I can go. Drugged me up and flew to Vegas the next morning. Once there just hung out. I had an x brace on that just bothered my neck so bad we walked to a Walgreens and got just a sling. After 2 hours I couldn't stand that sling. You could feel the collarbone keep moving around. Put the neck brace back on. The whole time in Vegas I could keep feeling stuff in my mid-section moving. We called my doctor and setup an appointment for once I returned. At the appointment they did xrays and said no broken ribs. Lat that afternoon I got a call back. My doctor said I have something wrong. Once the radiologist looked at the x-ray he noticed my lung did not show up in it. I had punctured it. My doctor said since it was almost a week, I didn't need to have a tube stuck down it and we would just check it out on Monday. Monday came he looked at me again and x-rayed again. Decided we would just x-ray every week and make sure it is growing. He also said you were on vacation, how did it go. I told him where I went and he said you didn't fly did you? Once I said yes, he said I could have died, the pressure could have collapsed the other one. Before this I always thought a broken collarbone was not a big deal. I now know it is very painful with the weight of your arm always pulling on the broken bone.
That's me fear.
I didn't have insurance on the vacation; I would have been out the money. So, I made it through it. Funny story now, wasn't then.I don't think I would have prescribed a vacation after taking that kind of beating.
