Total Motorcycle Community Forums

seems silly to start a story in the middle but thats all i got for now

Did you have the surgery on your leg yet? What's up with all that - post up and let us know how you're doing.

Yeah...it's August now.....we need a post.

Hey guys, Z-man just contacted me and asked me to update y'all.
He's still in the hospital, tomorrow will be 4 weeks since the accident.
It's hard to type for him since he has a broken right thumb (and trust me you think you can survive easily without one finger, it is no fun!)
He also had a left tib/fib/ankle break so it's another 2.5 months at least til he can do any weight bearing on it.
His spirits are up!
He's getting around in a wheelchair/walker now, but it's a PITA with a broken thumb.
He says he misses riding a LOT, but this is the worst thing he's ever endured. He's not sure what his riding status will be after this, but I'll make sure to let him know he's more than welcome to stick around!

Thanks for the update.

Hi everyone. It's been 7 weeks since I went down - Been home for a week and continuing to heal/recover here. I'm sorry I haven't posted in so long, it is really difficult to type on the laptop, but now that i'm home i have a regular keyboard which makes a HUGE difference.

Really great to see my family and be seen by them. My 10 year old son was talking to me the day before I came home from the hospital and said he's looking forward to being 'inwhack' again. I asked him to say that again, and he said since I have been in the hospital he's been 'out of whack' and was looking forward to being back 'in whack' again. Best story to come out of this whole ordeal.

Thanks to Ryan for updating everyone. I broke my right thumb, left tib/fib and a bunch of ankle breaks. They've installed some hardware in my ankle and leg, 7 screws and multiple plates. Doc says I'm healing well and should have full use back - as long as I follow his directions and stay off of it (which I am doing). He says I'll be walking by the end of October.

so, another friend of mine that I ride with and I have reconstructed the accident together and believe we figured out what happened. The truth is that there were so many cars surrounding me that there was very little I could do at that moment except to choose a different way to go. It was a slow speed crash - i was going maybe 15 mph. I stayed conscious the whole time as i was hitting the ground and rolling - and when everyone wanted to know what i was thinking, I actually remember very clearly thinking - 'oh, so THIS is what it feels like to hit the ground' then i concentrated on tucking and trying to protect everything as much as possible.

I felt my left shoulder hit first, then my head - BIG scrape more than a hard impact... rolled twice, then saw the bike come back into my field of view 6 feet or so away and then fall over.

Ok, I know that there is plenty of talk about helmets and gear on here, but I have now lived through one crash - and here is what I learned:
1) if i did NOT have a full face helmet, my jaw certainly would have been broken and my face would have lost a lot of skin - I will post pics of the helmet damage later.
2) my armored jacked saved me from a broken arm/damaged shoulder and/or elbow
3) my kevlar jeans kept all my skin intact - can't say the same unfortunately for my leg/ankle bones.

Now on to the bike. The insurance company totaled the bike immediately. it's 'book value' is just shy of $2000 and the repair estimate was about 4k. So, full loss. I haven't seen it in person, and have held off making a decision for the moment. At most, I will receive $2000 from the insurance company. If I get the bike back, it is then a 'salvage' title, and I will be unable (or virtually anyway) to sell it privately or trade it in at a later date.

However, if it's not in really bad shape, and ride-able (cosmetic damage aside) i know i can't get another similar bike for the same $2500 - this one was in considerably good shape.

so, any advice from those of you who may have gone through this would be welcome!

It's great to be back - I miss riding, and talking about riding, and everything. I honestly don't know what will happen regarding my riding after I am healed. My injuries, while only temporary and not life-threatening are fairly debilitating (albeit temporarily), and a huge pain in the "O Ring" for me and everyone around me.

My personal risk tolerance may have changed - not sure about that yet. Each of us have different set-points for this based on our own lives.
I DO know this - I will ride at least once or twice next season after my healing is complete - I won't let fear of riding stop me. Even if I just re-take the BRC or an intermediate class to get back in the saddle - I will certainly do that.

I am happy to be on the road to recovery, and that I have friends here who stayed in touch and are so so supportive - it's like family. Thank you everyone!

Fondly,

-Z

Yay! Glad to hear you're on the mend. As for riding again....it may take a while for the fear to go away...but it will. Start with very short rides to your local parkikng lot and work your way up.

first, I have to heal - cant even get on the bike now.
second, i need a bike to get on - have to figure that out now too
third, I have to explore whether the next accident will kill me, or whether my wife will do it pre-emptively for getting back on a bike.

just saying...

seriously - not sure about riding again long term. It just seems that the traffic and distractions of so so many drivers on the road make it an unmanageable risk.

I actually realized that part of my internal healing challenges are due to my mourning the potential loss of riding. Though I may very well stay on the horse once I get back up on him (so to speak)

thanks to all my TM forum family for keeping my mental rubber side down

hmm

My brother was in a 3 wheel accident that put him in a coma for 28 days and rehabilitation center for 180 days. He has no short term memory loss. first thing he did when he got home was get back on a 4 wheeler (his 3 wheeler was trashed). Yes he was nervous at first but got over it. He has now been riding 4 wheelers for almost 20 years now since his accident.

Just saying that if you are afraid and dont get back soon after your healed you will never ride again because you will always have that fear.

With that said I hope you get well soon

I hear you - I will definitely get back on to make sure that the fear is banished - even if i just re-take the BRC if I don't have a bike myself. I just don't know about long-term. but thanks Ofblong!