Femoral shaft and radius - major wreck

[Jim Cook]

That is good news.
I'm glad that you are mending, and have a plan that should yield positive healing results.
It sounds like you're ready to get started with the exercises that will build and strengthen your muscle and ligament tissue while you're waiting on the bones to mend.

[RBrider]

Thanks for keeping us posted . Hoping the healing and rehab goes well.

RB

[hadfield4wd]

Originally Posted by Jim Cook

Last year, I had x-rays for something else, and the radiologist pointed to the x-ray and said, "When did you break your neck? It was a long time ago."

Funny I had that exact discussion 15 years ago with a Dr. I did mine skiing though.

Originally Posted by rossi

Jim, the doc would have had you taking a break from riding for sure.

Good news is that I had an X-ray on the leg last week - the bone is now healing and the surgeon says it should be good to take impact exercise by the end of the year. The wrist is going to have a bone graft and pin but I'll have to wait to get that done - after 10 months a few more weeks won't hurt - and that should be ready about the same time.

For now i need to keep on with the physio and rebuild the muscles.

Thanks for keeping us posted. Good thing you have a path forward. Keep pushing.

[Skyrooster]

I broke my femur in a motorcycle vs car crash over 35 years ago. I had the pin removed 3 years after it was put in and went on to own and operate a mechanic shop for 20 years, professionally drive a race car and play and coach competitive tennis. I took a long break from riding motorcycles and it's one of the biggest regrets of my life. Everyone has to make their own choices so I'm certainly not trying to tell you what to do but if you think you might want to ride when you get better it would be wise to borrow a friends bike and take it for a spin. You will know pretty quick if it's for you. I stayed off bikes for over 25 years and I was on a friends wave runner running across a lake on a windy day and it reminded me of attacking a woop section on a dirt bike. When I got in the car to go home I told my wife I needed to buy a dirt bike asap. Hopefully you make a full recovery and are able to do what you want to do.

[rossi]

Originally Posted by Skyrooster

I broke my femur in a motorcycle vs car crash over 35 years ago. I had the pin removed 3 years after it was put in and went on to own and operate a mechanic shop for 20 years, professionally drive a race car and play and coach competitive tennis. I took a long break from riding motorcycles and it's one of the biggest regrets of my life. Everyone has to make their own choices so I'm certainly not trying to tell you what to do but if you think you might want to ride when you get better it would be wise to borrow a friends bike and take it for a spin. You will know pretty quick if it's for you. I stayed off bikes for over 25 years and I was on a friends wave runner running across a lake on a windy day and it reminded me of attacking a woop section on a dirt bike. When I got in the car to go home I told my wife I needed to buy a dirt bike asap. Hopefully you make a full recovery and are able to do what you want to do.

Well, it didn't take me 35 years ;-) however I have decided that would be best to stay off dirt bikes for a while as my leg doesn't have enough strength, either in the muscles or the bone, to cope with it. Instead I have decided to follow up on something I have been planning to do at some point in the future when the time was right - I now have an R80G/S (actually an ST frame that has been rebuilt as a G/S) that I plan to update with some more modern suspension. This will give me something that I can use for pottering about on, at a sensible speed, and possibly tackle some longer, mild adventure type rides on. I actually collected the bike a few days before my wrist surgery and am OK riding it but supporting the bike on my bad leg while getting on and off is a bit awkward so I am quite a way off being ready to ride a tall bike off road.

On the progress front, I am still waiting for the official word from the surgeons on the x-rays I had at the beginning of the week. The radiographer however thought the scaphoid was looking OK and, while the fracture lines are still visible on the femur, there are no longer any gaps between the various fragments. I won't claim to be walking normally yet - as a friend put it recently' "you've only got a limp now." My walking is improving, but with my left leg an inch shorter (corrected by a shoe insert) it will probably never get totally back to normal.

[rossi]

The final instalment

I had x-rays in November - mainly for the wrist but we also got a set done for the femur. The femur is all good - the fracture lines were still clearly visible but they were lines in the bone rather than gaps you could put your thumb through. The surgeon was happy with that. The scaphoid was also going well but needed a follow up set in January before it was signed off.

So now the surgery is done. Physio still ongoing if I want it - the joys of not having to pay for medical care.

I've still got a way to go to get fully fit, and no amount of physio is going to grow back 2cm of missing femur - a wedge in my shoe takes care of that. I rode my R80G/S down a dirt track at the weekend - the bike won't allow me to go too fast which, for the moment, is a good thing. I expect I will be back on a dirt bike in the next 12 months but not yet. I did manage a game of badminton last night for the first time though so progress is being made.

[GasGas]

Best of luck with your recovery! I'm off the bike for 3 months due to a broken Sternum from open heart surgery. It's going to be a long 3 months as my bike is sitting in the shop all studded up for winter riding and the conditions have been perfect since my operation of course. At least I got a few rides in before hand.

[RBrider]

Originally Posted by rossi

The final instalment

I had x-rays in November - mainly for the wrist but we also got a set done for the femur. The femur is all good - the fracture lines were still clearly visible but they were lines in the bone rather than gaps you could put your thumb through. The surgeon was happy with that. The scaphoid was also going well but needed a follow up set in January before it was signed off.

So now the surgery is done. Physio still ongoing if I want it - the joys of not having to pay for medical care.

I've still got a way to go to get fully fit, and no amount of physio is going to grow back 2cm of missing femur - a wedge in my shoe takes care of that. I rode my R80G/S down a dirt track at the weekend - the bike won't allow me to go too fast which, for the moment, is a good thing. I expect I will be back on a dirt bike in the next 12 months but not yet. I did manage a game of badminton last night for the first time though so progress is being made.

Best of luck to you going forward, Rossi. Sounds like you're going to be OK.

RB

[rossi]

Originally Posted by GasGas

Best of luck with your recovery! I'm off the bike for 3 months due to a broken Sternum from open heart surgery. It's going to be a long 3 months as my bike is sitting in the shop all studded up for winter riding and the conditions have been perfect since my operation of course. At least I got a few rides in before hand.

Sods law that conditions are good when you are laid up. Hope all goes well and you have a good chest protector for when you return.