Updates Archive

1. 7/8/2007: Crash on Hole-In-The-Ground trail in Truckee, CA. I break my tibia, fibula and ankle.



2. 7/10/2007: Home from the hospital. The doctor sent me home without doing surgery or setting the bones because my legs are covered in road rash and a particularly nasty cut above my ankle on the left side of my right leg. The doctor would like these injuries to heal so that he can perform surgery using internal plates to set the bones and hold everything in place.



3. 7/18/2007: Surgery. Unfortunately, my legs didn't heal in time so we had to go with an external fixator. I have an internal plate on fibula (right side of leg) and an external fixation device for my tibia. This uses pins to hold everything in place: I have a rod through my heel and two pins in my tibia. The pin sites are connected with bars that were alligned during my surgery.



4. 7/20/2007: Finally home from the hospital.



5. 7/21/2007: First picture update after surgery.



6. 7/23/2007: Things are looking decent. Swelling is coming down a bit. I removed one of my bandages while cleaning up my leg to expose a ton of staples on the right side of my leg. Yikes!



7. 7/31/2007: Had my first post-op checkup since leaving the hospital. My leg is looking great. Looks like four more weeks in this external fixator and if the healing goes ok I'll be able to walk again. I also got a bone growth stimulating device, called the Exogen 4000+ that's supposed to speed up fracture healing by something like 83%. I'm game. I'll get pics of that tomorrow :).
   
   
8. 8/1/2007: The pictures of the Exogen 4000+ bone-stimulating device are up. This is the only FDA approved and clinically proven device to heal fractures faster. Thanks to Kaiser for picking up the tab 100%; This device retails for $4500!
   
   
9. 8/6/2007: Back to work! Working from home until I'm ok to walk and drive again. I'm hoping for mid-September.
10. 8/11/2007: Some new pictures up (by request). Not much has changed since the last update. My foot is still swollen, my leg is still broken. No pain anymore though, which means I've stopped taking my painkillers (endocet 5/325). The first few days were really rough and I'm not sure I've ever felt so sick but I made it through and now I'm doing good.
    
    
11. 8/12/2007: I have added the full story to the top of this page.
    
    
12. 8/16/2007: Things are going well. Leg and foot look better each day. I uploaded two pics today, one of my corner office at home and one of my shower (a lot of people have wondered how I shower so here ya go).
    
    
13. 8/26/2007: Not much to report on. Just some new pics to keep tracking the healing. I visit with my surgeon in four days for a progress report on how the bone is healing. I'm hoping it's healing well; I'd really like to move on to the next phase of this and get closer to walking.
    
    I'm getting pretty mobile on my crutches though. If I could drive this probably wouldn't be too bad as I can go most places I could before getting hurt. Last night my wife and I went out to dinner with friends and saw a movie. I had no problem getting to the restaurant, moving around inside, getting to the theatres (I even rode the escalators without killing myself) and sitting in the theater for two hours. That was a little uncomfortable but not too bad and I did it. My foot was pretty swollen when we got home from not being elevated all night but the swelling came down pretty quick once I perched it on a huge couch pillow.
    
    Well, I will update this again after my appointment on Thursday. I hope I have good news!
    
    
14. 8/30/2007: My appointment went well! The xrays look good. My doctor removed my external fixator and had a walking cast put on. He even allowed full weight bearing!! This means I can start walking again, putting as much weight on the leg as my pain level will allow. This is a huge weight off my shoulders - it feels so good to start getting some mobility! The next step is a darth boot, which I should get at the end of September. I'm healing really well and this leg should be a thing of the past before I know it.
    
    
15. 9/1/2007: I've spent two days in a walking cast now. It's been interesting so far. The cast is hot, and it's been 100 degrees F and higher this week. I'm constantly over-heating in the house and going outisde is extremely hot. I can't put full weight on the leg, but I can put quite a bit on it. It's nice being able to stand on two feet again, and it's giving me a lot of freedom. I did the dishes today and I can sit normally in a chair now, which means I can go to dinner with friends, lounge in the back yard, etc. Unfortunately, the walking cast doesn't give me enough freedom to attend school this semester, so I dropped yesterday (full refund since the semester hasn't started). Overall, I'm feeling great and loving the added freedom of being able to stand. My next appointment is September 28 and my surgeon says I should be out of this cast and in to Das Boot. At that point I will start PT and will be allowed to ride a bike on a trainer indoors! If things continue to go well, another four weeks in the boot and I'll be released to normal life again (well, life on two feet without casting or external fixation). Still no biking until he clears me, which I don't expect to be until May or June.
    
    
16. 9/8/2007: Today marks two months since my injury. It's amazing seeing all of the changes I've been through since I was hurt. Things are really getting better though. I'm feeling good enough that I can comfortably go out and see friends, have dinner, work around the house a bit (just cleaning up and small tasks since I still can't carry much). I'm also feeling well enough that we were able to schedule some vacation time, which means I'll be getting out of Sacramento for the first time in months. It will also make up for my vacation time, which was ruined when I got hurt on day four of my two week break when I broke the leg. Also, I already have my first physical therapy appointment scheduled (we scheduled it early to make sure I could get going ASAP, however if my leg isn't healed enough at my next ortho visit, it will be rescheduled) and I'm putting full weight on the leg without pain. My leg still swells if I'm up and doing things, but comes down pretty quickly once I get back on the couch and elevate it. I don't really have any pics to post right now. There's nothing exciting to see I have a cast over all of my cool scars and cuts. Once this comes off I'll get pictures of the leg, and of me going through PT, etc :).
    
    I'd like to also take a moment to point you to the page of another injured rider. Her name is Tara Llanes and she is a pro downhill rider. She was seriously injured on September 3, 2007, while racing the JEEP King of the Mountain competition. My injury is laughable compared to hers, so if you're a cyclist checking out my site, go check out her myspace and drop her a line http://www.myspace.com/mtbtara
    
    
17. 9/14/2007: I haven't updated for a few days so I thought I'd make one. Nothing really new to report. Things seem to be going really well. The swelling in my leg has come down considerably, it doesn't swell as much when I stand and the swelling receeds much faster when I sit. I'm up and around a lot, and with the exception of having a cast on my leg, I feel normal again. I feel good. I can stand and put full weight on the leg (I can stand on either leg now) and I walked unassisted and almost looked normal at it for the first time today. I have been using pain as my guide in everything I have done lately (per doctors orders) but have zero pain, so I'm not holding back. Not overdoing it either of course.
    
    Because I'm feeling so much more normal, I've also been working to try and get back in to a normal routine. That's been one of the major challenges. Since I don't physically go to work anymore, and I rarely go out of the house, I don't have a normal routine of waking up, showering, shaving, etc. I just sort of do that stuff when I get around to it - sometimes at 8am, sometimes at 5pm, and , sometimes not at all. So I got a haircut this week and am trying out a new look. I let my hair grow out for 10 weeks while I've been off my feet so that I could go with a longer hairstyle, something that I can grow with for the next few years. I've been getting up early each day, taking care of normal routine type stuff. I might even try to get in to work next week!
    
    
18. 9/28/2007: Had my 11 week visit today! The cast was cut off and they took x-rays. The doctor said the x-rays looked good. The bone hasn't shifted at all, which is great. He said there's no visible bone-growth yet but he said that it's normal as the growth I haven't hasn't calcified yet so it won't show up. They gave me a boot and said I could take it off around the house. I'm allowed to stand and walk without it as I feel comfortable doing so. First physical therapy appointment is next week to get my ankle functioning again!.
    
    
19. 10/13/2007: My last update was 9/28. At that point my doctor removed the cast and gave me the velcro boot. He said I could start walking without the boot as soon as I felt comfortable doing so, and that the boot would give me the support I needed until my ankle was strong and flexible enough to walk normal again. Well, it's been a little over two weeks since that day, and since then I've been doing physical therapy multiple times per day. I've also taken two seperate trips to Tahoe, one to Northstar and one to South Lake. During those trips I did a considerable amount of walking (sometimes in the snow) and stair climbing in the boot. I've also done a lot of walking around the house, cabins or hotel rooms without the boot. With some new stretches I've been doing, I finally feel like my ankle is strong enough and flexible enough to start walking outside without the boot and to start doing some other things. For example, I took my first standing shower (unassisted) today. Man that was a great feeling. Also, I'm going out with some friends for dinner tonight, and I'm not taking the boot. I'll take a crutch and leave it in the car as backup, but I'm not using it unless I absolutely have to. Tomorrow hopefully I can get out to buy some new shoes. My current shoes are just too small for the swollen foot that I have and won't work for the long-term (my foot will likely be swollen for another year). So that's it! Walking again, going to be driving again soon. I'll be riding indoors again soon, I actually had my first indoor ride on a recumbant last week! It was tough, but it felt good to pedal again.
20. 10/21/2007: I've been walking unassisted and driving for a week now. It took me 15 weeks to get here and I'm so glad it has finally happened. I never realized how much I took walking and driving for granted. The newness of it all still hasn't worn off! I've also started cycling again, but only indoors. I've got my road bike set up on an indoor trainer, a set of flat pedals with straps and the speed/cadence sensor hooked up to my Garmin 305 in order to track my distance, calories, etc. I'm looking forward to seeing how my fitness compares to what it used to be and also improving it. With tonights ride, my recovery really begins, and I'm hoping to be really fit by the time I can start riding again (hopefully by May!).
    
    
21. 10/27/2007: Things are progressing well. I've been making good progress in my physical therapy. I still have a limp when I walk but it's not that bad. I'm hoping to be walking normally again within a few weeks. I've been putting in a lot of time on my bike, doing my calf-raises, etc, and those things are really helping.
    
    The biggest issue I have right now is free time. Since I couldn't drive, I didn't take any classes at University this semester. Because I'm not allowed to ride outdoors yet, the three-four hour bike rides I would take aren't possible. So now I just ... have time. Video games are starting to get a bit tired (I'm getting very good at them though) and I don't want to watch a bunch of TV. I'll make do though. Six weeks ago all I could think about was being here - walking again, driving again, being comfortable again and being able to ride my bike. I guess the grass is always greener...
22. 11/28/2007: I had an excellent visit with my OS today. X-rays were taken this morning and then evaluated by my doctor. He said my recovery is "dramatic and incredible", that I've recovered very quickly. He says he see's a lot of new bone growth, some remodeling and that things are going great. He said I only needed one more check up, in about four months, and that I should be good to go after that.
    
    The best news? I can start riding outdoors again! He said I should probably stay off the mountain bike for a couple of months, but that road riding is a-ok for now. I then showed him this site and some of the funny stuff I've been through, like the bactroban box that said to put it on my penis, the video of him taking out the pin for the ex-fix, etc. He thought it was great!
    
    Other than that, I don't know what to say at this point. I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed.
    
    
23. 1/14/2008: Well, I'm a little over six months now. I've added a new picture, one of my wife and I at The Wynn in Las Vegas over the weekend. Basically, it shows that life is getting back to normal. I'm walking well, getting a lot of strength back in my leg, having less swelling (even though it's still pretty swollen). I'm glad things have gone so well in terms of my healing.
    
    The best news? My doctor said to go ahead and start mountain biking again when I'm ready! He said to stay off the trails where I'd be doing very aggressive riding, so I will stick to the easier trails in Granite Bay, CA. Looking at my riding from last year, I was riding about once a week from January and had gotten myself in pretty good shape by July when I got hurt, so I'm hoping I'll have similar results this year. Before I got hurt, I was thinner and stronger than I'd been in the past 5-6 years. Unfortunately, I've put on about 10lbs while I've been unable to exercise like I was. Hopefully it falls off as easily as it came back on :).
    
    
24. 2/2/2008: Well. Today was big. Very big. Today was my first day back on my mountain bike. The weather stunk - rainy, windy, cold, but I didn't care. I got my riding group out there, along with some guys I hadn't met before, and we rode. We did an easy (well, less aggressive) set of trails that worked out to about 14 miles. I'm definitely not as strong or in as good of shape as I was, but I haven't lost much. I took it slower going down the hills, slow over the technical stuff, and even walked a couple sections (only big rocks, I hammered all the hills). I don't like walking, but now that I understand the consequences, they outweigh the pride of clearing that hard section. In the future I'll start riding that hard stuff again, but not now.
    
    My next appointment with my OS is March 26. If all is going well, he expected that it would be our last visit. That will be a weird feeling. It will be the end, or darn near it, of this whole thing and mark the end of a huge part of my life. I'm already planning out things for after that appointment though, and if he gives me that all-clear, I'm getting back in to everything I've been missing out on. Also, and this is a neat coincidence, there is a local racing series that I raced in last year. The first race for that series is the week after my next OS appointment. If he says I'm healed..I'm racin!
    
    Well, that's all for now. New pics to this site will probably be slow in coming, as will updates, as anymore, there's not much to talk about. I feel healed. I'm noticing little stuff, like my hair is starting to grow fast again. It grew slow for a while there, but it seems like it's going good now. My nails are also growing faster again. My swelling has come way down. My leg strength is coming back well - I can climb stairs without pain, walk without pain, etc. My ankle doesn't stiffen up as much anymore, just a little from time-to-time, but it's getting better always.
    
    Thanks to anyone who has read my site till now, especially those who have checked in regularly for updates. I know there are a few of you. Depending on how things go, I expect that my last update to this page will be July 6, 2008, when I intend to ride the trail on which I broke my leg. I need to finish that ride, and July 6 will mark exactly 52 weeks from the injury. My next update will be after my OS appointment on the 26th, though I might add some pics in the mean-time. Until then.. :)
    
    
25. 3/1/2008: Nothing much to report, so I'm leaving the old update here. Things are going well. The swelling in my leg is coming way down, my leg is getting much stronger now. I can run up the stairs at work again - something I couldn't do three weeks ago. I've added a new picture of me riding. It's from today out in Folsom, CA. I was descending a big chunk of granite. Lots of fun! :)
    
    
26. 3/26/2008: HEALED!!. My doctor said my healing is excellent and I'm fully released to all the fun stuff I did before I got hurt (except jumping)! At this point, I need to work on my ankle flexibility some, which he said would come back as I continued riding and doing my normal activities. This news came at a great time - the first race of the mountain bike series I love is next week! Watch for another update at the 1-year mark. I'll be riding the Hole In The Ground trail again. Hopefully I ride out on my own :).