Just about to head out, I’m being easy on myself and taking my Rad Power fat tire e-bike.

Wednesday I go under the knife, 6 th time since July 2016. None major, two vein procedures, two carpal tunnel repairs, thumb repair post-accident in August.

This is just repair of age and genetically caused deterioration of joints in my foot. One is being replaced with a titanium fused artificial joint apparatus, then a bunion repair and “hammer toe” repair.

Two weeks non-weight bearing, on crutches, another about 6 weeks with a boot.

Probably won’t get to ride until Late January- but never say never, I would love to do my annual New Years Eve ride in the snow. I’ll have to evaluate the potential for that closer to 12/31.

2017 was a “rebuilding year” for me - some S*** hit the fan in my life, years coming, and once I wrapped my head around some concepts, such as “I am not defined by my past” and “there’s no shame in asking for help” to really feeling and believing the sentiment behind one of my now-favorites, something John Bonjovi said better than I can:

It’s ok to be a little broken,
Everbody’s broken in this life
It’s ok to feel a little broken,
Everbody’s broken, it’s alright, alright
It’s just life

So, ride on, guys and gals, and thanks to everyone here who helped me turn 2017 from a pretty rough start to a pretty great ending - crutches, boot and all.

Well Mr. Q24, I wish you an easy procedure and a speedy recovery. Your good attitude will get you thru this. Let us know how it goes and especially when you are back on the bike.

Yes, we're all a little broken - some call it patina .

Good luck with your issues and get well soon. Other than listening to Bon Jovi, you are doing great (hehe joke).

Hey, watch it! Bon Jovi was “the” band the year I got my undergrad, 1987. We were all livin’ on a prayer, not just Tommy and Gina.

"Long May You Run"

We've been through
some things together
With trunks of memories
still to come
We found things to do
in stormy weather
Long may you run.

Long may you run.
Long may you run.
Although these changes
have come
With your chrome heart shining
in the sun
Long may you run.

Well, it was
back in Blind River in 1962
When I last saw you alive
But we missed that shift
on the long decline
Long may you run.

Long may you run.
Long may you run.
Although these changes
have come
With your chrome heart shining
in the sun
Long may you run.

Maybe The Beach Boys
have got you now
With those waves
singing "Caroline No"
Rollin' down
that empty ocean road
Gettin' to the surf on time.

Long may you run.
Long may you run.
Although these changes
have come
With your chrome heart shining
in the sun
Long may you run.
-Neil Young

Thanks guys. It was a great ride ... except I’m rapidly discovering I have a propensity to indulge my lazy side on a pedal assist e-bike. Big hill - crank up the pedal assist. Running late on my ride schedule - because I always have other things to do afterwards - crank up pedal assist. “Tired” - pedal assist.

Well - the ebike did have a purpose, to let me get back on a bike without worrying about pain or fatigue from my broken leg. And I want to commute on it.

But in 2018 for actual training/exercise - no e-bike!

I was going to say he was in fine shape other than his taste in what he thinks is "music." Always nice to be the first one to pile on, not the first one to kick the guy who is down.

I'd say, good for you to have gotten this year out of the way, so you can start healthy next year.

Also ... you are not broken you are fixed ... or at least repaired.

pics or it doesn't happen :-) but seriously, good luck & best wishes!

Gory bloody post-surgical pics? I would be happy to oblige, but it would need to be a link to a hosting site - Imgur will work. I posted a bloody bruised post-phlebectomy photo a while back and mod removed it. Personally I have no problem with bloody medical images on a forum as long as a “be advised, the following comtent contains ...” warning.

So - bloody content ahead - you’ve been warned!

Post phlebectomy bleed

https://i.imgur.com/lnK1Jq8.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/QrqR6Cv.jpg

Carpal Tunnel release right:

https://i.imgur.com/nKUeKDe.jpg

CT release left:

https://i.imgur.com/aJaRi9n.jpg

Right thumb repair:

https://i.imgur.com/SeNAN00.jpg

well, alrighty then! hang in there. I guess x-rays are more tolerable

I don’t have any good x-rays of anything interesting. I havs the ER x-rays on cd, but the breaks are surprisingly subtle - just pale lines in the bones / I guess a traimed eye can flag those images as abnormal in a nanosecond.

And I haven’t had a post- implant x-ray taken on the hand, I would like to see the titanium hardware someday.

Damned young 'uns, that was my second BA degree year, and no danged Bon-jalopy was on my cassette player, in the RX-7 I sported around in. Make if Classical or skip it, Bach, Sibelius, Vivaldi, and all the other masters for this old fart.

Glad you are on the up-swing now, stay with the PT in what ever form it should take. As always, feel free to drop me a line anytime you need.

Bill

Man it's scary to think someone who got their undergrad degree in 87 is on the Fifty Plus forum. I had just moved to my first major managerial job in the Pharma industry with 30 people reporting to me in 1987. Loved that company, never should have left.

Well Dave your body may be "broken" and under repair but your Spirit is flying high. You're so mentally strong now, it's very inspiring. Don't worry your body will follow.

Sorry, but I’ve been old enough to belong here for 2 years already. Graduated high school in 1983 then 4 straight years through for my bachelors. Kids can’t afford that now, tuition is so outrageous. My senior year at MSU, everyone was furious because over the summer the Board of Trustees had approved a $5 per credit hour tuition increase on upper class division tuition to pay for construction of the Breslin Center - so it jumped from $27 to $32 per credit hour. So tuition was somewhere around $600 for a full class load of 16-17 credits when the various fees were added.

I just looked it up for the heck of it. Now $543 per credit hour, but that actually is the equivalent of $362 per 1986-1987 academic year credit hour, because MSU had 3 ten week terms in the academic year then, but now has 2 fifteen week semesters. Just crazy, no wonder kids take 5 or 6 years to earn a degree now.

& don't forget study abroad programs. just laid out $4K for 5 months of housing (alone) in New Zealand

Wow, I feel really lucky. My son's entire education cost me about $145. Tuition was $105. "Supplies" were about $40.

Of course, he's a 3 year old, black Labrador retriever. We went to a Saturday morning obedience class for 8 weeks at the local middle school, through Community Education, and I had to buy a new 30' nylon training lead and a choke chain.

UPDATE -- I had the surgery last Wednesday afternoon. Surgery was uneventful, other than the fact that they were over 2 hours late taking me into surgery. This was an outpatient surgical center, they were just running really behind for the day. So, no big deal, I had stayed up late the night before finishing up last minute chores that I can't do balanced on crutches, so I had a nice, peaceful rest while I waited.

So -- I have to say, the pain of this is not anything that makes me gnash my teeth and scream for mercy, BUT ... it's also at least as painful as the worst pain from my accident last August (which was actually the shoulder injury). I haven't seen the actual incisions, instructions were NOT to unwrap it. I can definitely tell when the combination of Norco and ibuprofen I am taking has worn off overnight - it's pretty painful when I wake up, until the new dose kicks in. But I kind of feel like it's turning the corner, 5 days in - Friday evening, I brushed against a towel I dropped on the floor with the front of my toes - through a sock, a surgical pad, and an elastic bandage, I about went through the roof. Now, it's still sensitive, but a lot better.

But, I can also tell that it's going to heal fast, just like my injuries did. Last night, I was outside for a couple of hours after dark, finishing a few small projects to the best of my ability. Autumn is lingering on here - for a few days - it was about 50 yesterday, and the full moon was really bright and beautiful. I was thinking about the fact that the next full moon is on New Years - I can already tell that, by 12/31, I will be able to be back on a bike. I may not be able to pedal -- I may have to ride my e-bike on throttle only, but I think I can take my traditional New Years Eve ride and enjoy the moonlight, the cold, the snow, assuming we have some.

2018 - I plan on making it a great year of cycling. I hope all of you do, too.

hang in there, be a good patient. enjoy the internet!