Had this wreck on the 24th of September. The bruise grew from a cantaloupe size bruise on my left thigh to a bruise stretching from my waist to about 3-4 inches below the bend in my knee. Today a week and few days after the wreck the majority of the bruise is fading out. My left buttock is still purple and let me tell ya I have been riding like this but yesterday was the first day I felt any real pain. I rode 38 miles and my left buttock hurt for the entire time. It's weird to me that I would have pain this long after the wreck but I am no doctor. The swelling is slowly going down on my left thigh.If I did not know better I would think something crawled up and attached itself to my thigh because it just feels and looks alien. LOL The area of my ribs that got hurt still aches a bit but I can sneeze/cough now without it feeling like someone is hitting me in the achy spot.
As for the equipment. I am still undecided on a helmet. I will likely get the same helmet that I normally ride with which is the Giro Air Attack. They have newer version out with a shield but Since I wear sunglasses with a reading lens, I think the shield would be pointless, unless someone can tell me otherwise. My carbon pedal will stay scuffed as it is cosmetic. My ISM seat also gut scuffed a bit, it will stay also. The plastic covers on the front of the shifters got ground down pretty good but I found replacements and they look much better. My old Garmin Oregon 450T computer has a few lines of LCD's that act up now but seem to start working when it has been on for awhile.
Anyway, I look forward to someone telling me the purpose of the shield on the Giro Air Attack, whether it's for aerodynamics, looking cool, especially since the pro cyclist I have seen wearing them seem to wear glasses underneath the shield. I just don't know.