jeff^d

On April 5, 2009, I broke my arm in a very bad mountain bike crash. Compound fracture that was very dirty and I lost significant amounts of soft tissue and bone. Been in a cast almost three months now and am happy to say that my radius has healed, but my ulna still has a 1/4" gap to bridge and has now been declared a nonunion by my surgeon. Therefore, I need to go for a bone graft and spend another 2-3 months in a cast hoping it heals.





Prior to the accident I was a daily commuter and avid mountain biker. I commuted over 6000 miles last year and raced Cat 1 mountain biking. I always cited biking, specifically commuting, as one of the only ways to stay sane in southern California. Now I seem to be eating those words as I drive every day. I tried the train, but at $12/day it's not really feasible. I tried the bus, but spending 3 hours a day commuting 25 miles round trip is not feasible either. The best I've found is to carpool with coworkers whenever possible.

I am trying to stay positive; I can still hike/backpack, and the injury was only my arm when it could have been much, much worse. The reality is that, given time, I will heal and be back on the bike. But, I'm still going crazy not being able to ride! Anyway, not trying to moan or complain, just venting.

Ride on!

cooleric1234

Yuck. I got squeamish just looking at those pics. I tried mountain biking a few times, the very real potential of injuries just like that is enough to turn me off of doing all but the simplest of trails.

I've had injuries that have kept me out of sports for long periods of time and I can relate. I hope you get better soon. Eventually it will just be a memory. It helps me to make sure that I keep my diet in control during those times, so I don't get depressed about not doing physical exercise AND gaining weight.

subclavius

You Miss Commuting? I'm Mr Clydesdale.

TheDL

I hope you heal up well man. I'm missing it too. Got taken out by a negligent motorist on May 10th.

bugly64

I miss commuting after a week off vacationing. I can't imagine for as long as you are missing it. Heal up good.

bkrownd

Daaaaamn... I partially cut a finger tendon with my machete saturday, so I am a temporarily crippled too. Mebbe we need a new sticky thread - "Crippled Commuter Club".

Tabor

1. Wounds heal.
2. Chicks dig scars.
3. America has the best doctor to dare devil ratio in the entire world.

lil brown bat

Hey Jeff,

I have a non-union fracture too -- in my right foot. Unlike you, mine was judged to be not a good candidate for a graft, so I've just had to live with it. I guess what I can say, on the upside, is that over the years it's healed (or done something; not sure "healing" is the right word) to the point where it's just about as functional as anyone else's foot. I don't think I'll ever be a competitive distance runner, but I'm handling it.

This is THE injury that will try your patience, because at the end of the day, a diagnosis of a non-union fracture really means, "The bone won't heal, and we don't know why." It may very well be a permanent injury, to some degree. You will ask your doctors "how long?" -- everyone does -- and make them tell you a date. Try not to become too invested in that date. Your body will heal, to the extent that it can, in the timeframe that it can. Until it does -- and afterwards -- there is only one approach that works: live your life with the body you have.

rumrunn6

Thanks for sharing, those are amazing xrays. That must have been so painful for you. Be patient. Can you run?

MMACH 5

Hang in there. You really get a sense of what is important to you when it is taken away. You'll have a whole new appreciation for it, when you get to ride again.

Take care.

jeffpoulin

Wow, that really puts things in perspective. I've been dealing with a torn tendon in my shoulder for the past 2 weeks and will soon leave for a 2-week vacation. I hope to be able to ride pain free again when I get back. The waiting is really tough, but it's nothing compared to what you're enduring.

[Edit: tendon, not ligament]