I feel for ya, man. That necrosis is not something to fool with. I hope you get better without further intervention.

That pinning business was a lucky deal for me. Dr said the key was that my bone did not move much from it's proper position within the socket, and it broke cleanly, although in several places. He thinks that blood flowing to the knuckle will not be an issue. I sure hope so.

Ouch! I've watched the Orthopods pin hips and screw bones back together and it's pretty grissly... but the end result is pretty amazing.

Depending on your hospital, you can get copies of your X-ray's on CD which should play on your home computer provided the CD comes with a DICOM viewer.

Get well soon!

V

I have several RR crossings and none of mine are with the tracks being exactly perpendicular to the road either. What I do is go out into the lane so I can cut back as I cross the tracks making my crossing at a perfect perpendicular angle.

You got that right! I busted up my leg and ankle in 5 places being young and stupid (er, I mean dunking off a picnic table and crash landing). 2 screws, pin and plate, 12 weeks crutching around college. Marvelous exercise. By the time the doc took the cast off I was in easily the best physical condition of my life, shriveled up leg notwithstanding.

I've long been tempted to break the other leg, but figuring out how's the tricky part

Heal fast, good luck!

Tom

Yep, which is why we can't afford not to be paying attention. I'm glad you are relatively ok...sucks to have to sit out the nice weather that's finally here, but hopefully you'll heal fast and well.

probably Chipcom-

They seem to transplant his head a lot! (from one of his posts in foo)
EDIT: apologies to Chipcom...I should have asked first.


Heal quickly man. It really sucks to be out for 3 months.

Damn. So sorry to hear. I've got tracks like that on one of my rec rides. I haven't had the wheel get stuck in the grooves, but I've had my front wheel slide out from under me on the rail. Didn't wipe out, but it was close. Since then I now traverse perpendicular across the lane. this crossing has 3 sets of tracks and it sure pisses off cars behind me as I zig zag across the lane, but screw 'em.

Oh man. That's horrible. I once got my front tire stuck in the track in front of the VTA light rail in San Jose and went down - fortunately the train was still half a block behind me - but managed to pick myself up and limp home with no more injuries than a bruised ego. I can't imagine laying there on the ground knowing I've ****ed myself up and waiting to be taken to the hospital.

Happy recovery - get in with a good PT as soon as you. I tore my ACL a few years ago, and my PT had me back up and running (literally - I was training for a marathon) within a few weeks of the surgery.

Harsh! Get well.

I am not sure the clipless pedals changed things much, but I have also gone down on my side while clipped in and your shoulder and hip really do smack hard! I had my motorcycle front wheel grabbed by a Loveland, CO trolley track crossing the road when I was going 20 - 30 mph. The tracks were on my right, I never noticed them as they crossed the road at a low angle because I was reading detour signs. The tracks grabbed my front wheel and I went FLYING!!! I did a spectacular spread eagle flying face plant in the middle of the road. I was unhurt because I had on full protective garb. There was a car behind me, I twisted around, got feet first while still sliding, and attempted to stand up to run out of the way. Twisted my ankle real bad in the attempt, and couldn't walk for a few days. I would've been fine if I hadn't tried to stand and run while still sliding.

All the above is to show that protective garb works and is worth it, that when your front wheel gets grabbed you are going down no matter what, you might have landed in a similar way without the clipless pedals? It happens so darn fast its not like you have much controll. Or you might have extended limbs during the crash and had equally serious but different injuries without the cleats. So don't try to second guess yourself, just heal.

I hope you recover fully.

GAH!!!!!

My eyes!!!!

Dontcha wish your girlfriend was hot like me?
Dontcha wish your girlfriend was a freak like me?
Dontcha?

Hey BVT! I hope you heal quickly! Getting laid up like that sucks.

Tough break. Sounds like you knew how to cross tracks correctly, but just weren't paying attention. That's a good lesson for all us. You can't daydream while bike commuting.

I have learned that the hard way, indeed.

I hope that you recover well and quickly. It sounds like what you went through was damn painful and scary to boot. There is a big difference between "knowing" that things like this can happen to anyone at anytime, and facing it yourself. Railroad tracks and semi-to-parallel cracks in the pavement scare the hell out of me.

Do what they tell you when you start your rehab. Enjoy the drugs while they last, and take care.

Good luck man. That's a tough place to get a fracture. I got a stress fracture there (nothing like you're looking at by a mile) and even that that took me 6+ months to get right.

I learned more about necrosis during that process than I ever wanted to. Really hoping you pull through on that one.

Congrats on the 4 pins, I only got 3 for my procedure. My ordeal was the result of some chucklehead deciding in an early season cat 4 race that 13th place was more important than 14th, and so he rammed me on the side taking my bike out from underneath me. I knew something was wrong when I tried to get up and my left leg wasn't cooperating much. It's been 4 years, and no signs of necrosis, so listen to your docs, and do what they say to maximize your chance of full recovery. Crash happened in March, I was back on my bike in June, and had pretty good fitness again by August. Stay positive, and heal fast.

That sounds pretty rough. I can't count the times I've gone over railroad tracks at an angle like that and thought about how easy it would be to hit wrong and catch a wheel...

If you never read Landis's book "Positively False" it might be worth it, as he had about the same kind of injury. The title of the book is way old news now, but he also talks a lot about his injury and a whole lot about the recovery process.

Good luck!

ahh man get better

I hope to read about you being back in the saddle soon.

Yes, I also knew right away that something was wrong. I hit really hard, and when I pulled myself up by the bike, it was obvious that the leg couldn't bear any weight at all. That, plus all the severe pain, told me I definitely had a significant break in there somewhere.

If I can recover at the same rate you did, I'd be pleased. Very pleased.

As recovery goes: I just completed my first lap around the house on crutches. And, I took my first unassisted shower earlier this AM. The pain is falling off a little already and some strength seems to be returning. I think my leg will heel-up fine.

My doc emphasized not putting any weight on it for 4-6 weeks (as I recall). I believe it had something to do with not stressing the fracture as the blood supply tried to re-establish itself. It's been 4 years though, so I may not be remembering exactly. You may want to at least ask about this.

I Pretty much received the same advice. The only difference is I can apply a little (call it: "toe pressure" level) weight to my leg already. That is huge because it allows me to move around.

As I heal, we monitor weight bearing limits for the entire 6 weeks. We hope to build up with gradual increases in applied load starting after 2 1/2 weeks. I am pushing for clearance to ride a stationary bike after 3 weeks. And, I hope to apply close to 50% walking load after 4 weeks.

So, will we see you in the TDF this year? Do they allow stationary bikes?