First Sunday in Jan headed out to a frequent ride. Trying to clear my head for exams. On my way back on a fast part 25 mph my back wheel caught some mud and I could do nothing to stop having a very bad fall.
I fell in the middle of a road and tried to get myself out of the road but my arm was buggered and I couldn’t move. Luckily for me a car driver pulled in front of me so nothing would hit me. I was very impressed with how many car drivers stopped and helped me. A local shop owner taking my shattered bike leaving me her phone number. Another gentleman telling me I should not let this stop me from being a cyclist. And someone was on the phone to 999 and a lovely couple who waited with me whilst the ambulance was on route.
To cut a very long story short initially hospital said nothing broken sent me home, only to be called back next day as I had a posterior dislocation so was in hospital a few days they could not put it in
To place and wanted to operate on me. Surgeon not happy so sent me for an MRI scan and that is where the bad news gets worse. I had a 7cm tear in my rotary cuff, and the ligaments had torn away from my bone, the consultant made no bones about how bad this was. He said I had to have two major operations in one but cos it was a long surgery they could not carry it out for 2 weeks which was very bad as my arm kept dislocating and was very painful. Doctor put me on morphine for paiin.
Nothing prepared me for the pain when I woke up from a 6 hr operation Oh My God! It was the worst pain I’ve ever had! Was in hospital a week and that was 2 weeks ago. Having just taken myself off the morphine which was actually worse than the op itself, and took a further five days, horrible stuff.
I’m convinced I’ll never cycle again, my mum collected my bike which apart from a buckled back wheel has gotten off better than I have.
Has anyone else had a bad accident and gotten back on? I’ve even given some cycling bits away I’m that convinced.
Don't act in haste, although it is easy to understand how you must be feeling right about now. You have had a horrific fall. Anyone would be having second thoughts.
I came off my bike at speed on a downhill in Western Australia while I was midway through a 10,000 mile solo trek around the continent - although my injuries did not require surgery, I had fractures that required rest and I was some weeks off the bike, and feeling rather timorous when I eventually got back on it and continued my trek. My first couple of days were very anxious ones and it was another couple thousand miles before I really felt confident on the downhills again.
Many years passed before I had another fall and that was here in England, on a frosty January morning when some unsuspected slickness on the road sent me base over apex in an instant. Nothing I could do. Down hard and messed up some shoulder ligaments which are still not quite right five years down the track. Once again, I was apprehensive when I eventually got on my bike again and to this day I do not ride in winter anymore, or at least when the temperature is low enough to suggest there might be frost on the bitumen. A pity, because I used to love to ride on cold winter mornings, before dawn. But no more. We all make our own compromises.
Hopefully you will see your way clear to ride again. Don't think about that now. Think about getting better. Don't give away any gear. Make those sorts of decisions later, if at all, once the memory of this has had a chance to settle in your mind.
Lastly, I remember vividly coming off my bike in a bad way when I was a kid - in '66 - and messing up my knee, putting myself on crutches for a few weeks. I remember the hard smack of landing and sobbing that I was never going to ride a stupid bicycle ever, ever, ever again - and a gruff old neighbour, who came out to help, telling me not to be silly, of course I'd ride my bike again.
And of course I did.
I hope you will too.
(OK, I know it doesn't work like that).
to your recovery.
