Thanks for the update. Sounds like you're progressing well.

Back when I was racing MX, I had a good friend that had a pin in his upper arm( forget what that bone is called?) The rod protruded slightly up thru his shoulder. After he healed up, they removed the rod and he has had no problems in the years since then.

Hope it all works out well for you.

RB

Thanks RB

That would be the humorous - think of banging your funny bone inside your elbow.

Now I have been able to get out to the shed I have confirmed that the bike is totalled. The front rim is bent like a banana, forks bent back at the yokes and the front of the frame is bent out of shape so that the front mudguard is rubbing against the front down-tube - no saving that one. I might have some spares available at some point.

Last time I spoke to the police they said that they were going to charge the driver - even without witnesses, other than my riding buddy who was too far back to see much other than giving an approximation of my speed. The marks on the road surface were enough that they were able to confirm the position of both vehicles before and at the point of impact, as well as where they ended up. They confirmed that the driver was on the wrong side and continued to move forward after the impact with the bike.

All of this is now with a lawyer who is hoping to recover my losses (bike, equipment, medical costs and loss of earnings) as well as injury compensation. Not sure what sort of figure this will end up at though.

Medical professionals often confuse dirt biking injuries with street riding, and lump them together. The impacts and injuries are vastly different. Their recommendations often reflect this confusion.

Are you sure the steering head of the frame is bent? The forks being bent could cause the front fender to touch the radiator.
Good luck on all of it.

Heal quickly and well!
Jim


.

Cheers Jim

Unfortunately the frame is definitely bent - the front down-tube is distorted.

I sorry to hear that.
What year and model is your bike?

2010 ec 300 - I need to find out what is happening with the insurance and whether I can break it to sell the parts. Shipping might be an issue though.

On a positive note I am off the crutches and only using a walking stick when the leg gets tired - I have a slight limp which increases when I get tired hence the stick. My knee is a bit crunchy as I flex and straighten it but the physio says this is due to the knee cap being pulled out of alignment by uneven strength muscles - once I build up the muscles down the outside of the thigh this should improve. Good news that this is not due to a damaged knee and the knee braces did their job.

After the last lot of x-rays the surgeon confirmed that the sections of bone in the leg are all showing signs of growth so should heal properly over time. Another set of x-rays in a week or 2 to monitor progress. The arm is fine and the surgeon does not need any more x-rays of that. I am still lacking a bit of grip strength in my hands, especially the thumbs, but this is improving.

I'm glad you are healing properly. That's a big plus.

A used frame might be a cost effective fix for you. They are pretty easy to come by in the US. Regarding the front end, it would be a great time to do the fork/front end swap so many have done.

No way I can do a frame swap unless I can track down a frame locally. The rules here prevent any vehicle being registered unless it is either a new vehicle with certificate of conformity or has been registered abroad and imported through an officially recognised port. If it hasn't got a stamp from the port authority they won't register it - this is to prevent vehicles being imported through the Turkish occupied territory.

I see.
It's good to learn what is going on in other countries, but this really sucks.
I hope that you can get some legal recompense from the person who was driving the truck.

Good Luck on all this.
Jim

Things have been moving on.

First one os the truck driver was in court where he admitted careless driving. This means that his insurance company won't contest liability. Once we finalise the losses, my lawyers will put in a claim which should be agreed fairly swiftly.

I have been making progress too, I was almost walking normally without a stick. However it now feels like I have made a backwards step. At my last x-ray appointment one of the screws at the knee appeared to be bent. Rather than risk breakage my surgeon had me in within the week to remove the offending screw, with the option of removing both screws if he felt the leg was stable enough. The good news is that he removed both screws at the knee. The bad news it that the screw had already broken and that half of it is still inside my leg. To top it off, I am back on crutches for a couple of weeks to ensure that the new bone formation does not compress, shortening the leg.

I know it is good news that the leg is stable but going back on crutches when the muscles in the leg were regaining strength is frustrating. The portion of broken screw is also a headache as it will have to be removed somehow before the rod can be removed.