Won't be riding for a while.

[Carbon_Dude]

Surgery went very well on Monday.  Not sure how many screws were put in.  Just taking my meds and trying to stay as comfortable as possible at the moment.

Merry Christmas .

[cmh]

Surgery went very well on Monday.  Not sure how many screws were put in.  Just taking my meds and trying to stay as comfortable as possible at the moment.

Merry Christmas .

Lemme pile on with the well wishes for a speedy recovery. Sucks to have broken it on vacation, but it is the off season. You will probably be convinced that the PT's personally hate you, but do what they say and think of it as the start of your return to the bike and train your ass off.

Never forget: http://rule5.org/

[Carbon_Dude]

Thanks for the well wishes guys!  I have a post-op appointment tomorrow for the orthopedic surgeon to take a look at how I am doing.  Initial recovery is going pretty well, cutting way back on the pain medication the last few days.  Hopefully soon it will just Ibuprofen going forward.

Maybe I will post one of those cool pictures of an x-ray with lots of metal bits.

Meanwhile I'm spending lots of time streaming Netflix shows.  It's nice to not be stuck with just what's on TV at any given time because it's mostly crap.

[Patrick C.]

Good to hear the surgery went well, and hope the follow up today was good.

So are you ready to share how you did it?

[outriding9800]

Lol... this thread needs pics!

[Carbon_Dude]

All right guys, if you want to see the gruesome details of my injury, here you go.  I wish I had a good story to go with it but the injury occurred while my wife and I were on vacation.  We were on day 6 of a 7 day cruise.  In the morning, we were up on the pool deck, I got out of the pool to check on your stuff as it had started rain and when I stepped down one of the small wooden steps on the pool deck my foot slipped and I must have fallen on my leg while still on the step.  The fibula was broken in 4 places, the tibia was broken in one place down near the ankle.  A plate and screws were my best option for a speedy recovery.  I think the X-ray pic below says it all.

[cmh]

I think the X-ray pic below says it all.

I think the X-ray pic says "OUCH". Damn. Heal up!

[velofranner]

A plate and screws were my best option for a speedy recovery...

...So is it Phillips- or Torx head?

Enough joking, hope you get a speedy recovery!

[Patrick C.]

Ouch!  Hope everything heals well.  Was there any damage to the ankle, or just the bones?  Hope you are back on the trails by spring.

The company I work for has a group that does carbon composite orthopedics- they make name brand carbon bikes look cheap

[Carbon_Dude]

A plate and screws were my best option for a speedy recovery...

...So is it Phillips- or Torx head?

Enough joking, hope you get a speedy recovery!

Not sure what type of heads the screws are, may even be square drive, like deck screws .  I also wondered what the torque spec is on the screws .  Thanks, for the well wishes.  I will be in my cast for 2 weeks, then they will remove the staples, and put me into a boot, then starting some PT after.

Ouch!  Hope everything heals well.  Was there any damage to the ankle, or just the bones?  Hope you are back on the trails by spring.

The company I work for has a group that does carbon composite orthopedics- they make name brand carbon bikes look cheap

Luckily no damage to the ankle joint, ligaments, or tendons.  Even still, I won't be able to put weight on the leg for another 5 weeks.  So I won't be driving probably for another 7-8 weeks.

Hopefully be Spring I will be back on my bike(s). 

[cmh]

Luckily not damage to the ankle joint, ligaments, or tendons.  Even still, I won't be able to put weight on the leg for another 5 weeks.  So I won't be driving probably for another 7-8 weeks.

Well, it's been two weeks at least, how's it going?

[Carbon_Dude]

Thanks for asking.

The hard leg cast has been off for a week now.  Thank goodness!  A cast on your leg, with staples in your skin is pretty damn uncomfortable.  That was a difficult two weeks.  When the cast was removed, so were the 32 staples (ouch).

I am now about 4 weeks post surgery and the leg is feeling better, at least my foot feels connected back to my leg.  I have one of those orthopedic (Frankenstein) boots that I have to wear if I go out and when I sleep at night.  The good part is I can remove it during the day while I relax and watch TV.  The bad news is I cannot put any weight on my right leg for another 2 weeks so I continue to hop around on one leg.

I am also doing Physical Therapy (PT) twice a week.  PT is so helpful in getting the ankle moving again, however, there is still some swelling around the ankle so movement is difficult. Each day the ankle feels a little better and I'm able to move it a bit more.

I've been able to cut way back on the meds, down to two Ibuprofen a day, and one Hydrocodone at night before bed.

I've been able to work from home on the computer as well as taking some PTO days when I have PT.  As you can imagine, I have been spending lots of time on the computer.  Not sure when I will be biking again but I'm not going to rush it, my break was severe and it takes considerable time to fully recover.

[cmh]

Sounds like recovery is coming along nicely, glad to hear it! Definitely don't rush it, an extra week or two of patience will seem like nothing once you're all healed up and back to normal.

Thank god for WFH, huh? Although after a couple weeks of nothing but I'll bet you're pretty eager to get out.

[Sitar_Ned]

Hey, good to hear you're on the road to recovery. Damn, injuries/accidents suck. One thing is you do realize just exactly how much you take for granted.

Hopefully, you'll be full riding healthy by spring/summer!

[Carbon_Dude]

Just realized I haven't given you guys an update in a while.

8 weeks since I basically shattered my leg, and  6 weeks post surgery now.  On Thursday I have an appointment with my Orthopedic Surgeon, actually his assistant, to take a look at how well things have healed.  At this point, if everything looks good, I can start to put weight on my right leg and begin to walk again.  Initially with one crutch, and probably in the orthopedic boot, but it will be a nice change from hopping around on one foot or using two crutches.  As I continue my Physical Therapy (PT), I will work to transition to no crutches then no orthopedic boot.

You don't know how much you miss carrying something in your hand until you've been on crutches for several weeks!  I can't go get a drink of water and carry it to the kitchen table.  I'm dependent on my wife to get me things, which I guess isn't the worst thing in the world.

No more pain meds either, the Hydrocodone, which did a nice job with almost no side effects, was starting to be a bit addictive.  After getting the leg cast off, I was down to one pill each nigh before bed.  It would help me sleep and as the pain decreased I stopped taking them altogether.  However, the first night was weird, a very minor withdrawal, better the second night, by the third night I didn't miss it anymore.  Still taking Ibuprofen as there is still quite a bit of swelling around my ankle.

PT has really shown good progress, I have about 50%-60% of my range of motion back.  As the swelling continues to go down and I continue to stretch out the ankle joint during PT, things will get back to normal.

I've tried standing with equal weight on each leg (don't tell my wife) and the leg feels strong enough to begin walking so hopefully I get good news on Thursday.

Cheers!