Cycling Related

How are you doing, TRR?

Rutabaga wrote: ↑

5 years ago

How are you doing, TRR?

Not bad thanks, my little root vegetable. It's a decisive sort of break but thankfully there are no other complications. A consultant who appeared to be twelve years old is going to assess the healing in a fortnight and if it's not sorting itself out will add metalwork, but I am hoping that won't be necessary. Not much pain unless I knock or jolt things, and the bike is safe and relatively unscathed.

The Real Ravenhurst wrote: ↑

5 years ago

Not bad thanks, my little root vegetable. It's a decisive sort of break but thankfully there are no other complications. A consultant who appeared to be twelve years old is going to assess the healing in a fortnight and if it's not sorting itself out will add metalwork, but I am hoping that won't be necessary. Not much pain unless I knock or jolt things, and the bike is safe and relatively unscathed.

That sounds good. One thing to consider at the 2 week mark if surgery is offered, is not getting it. In my case, the likely outcomes of the surgery was likely worse than not having it, and of course any surgeries have risk. I spoke with an private surgeon who said many people lived their entire lives with broken clavicles without ill effect, and felt in my case I could be one of them.

My choice was easy, because it was 6 weeks or more after the original injury, so the bone ends would have fused (or whatever the word is) and needed living bone from the hip to heal. So I could say no to the surgery, knowing that if I changed my mind five years later, the same operation could be done. At 2 weeks, your bones will still be living, so a simple operation than if you wait. But listen to what they say about expected outcomes, and possible complications and think about your level of discomfort.

As for me, literally the only activity it affects is riding on cobblestones. Which I hated to do anyway.

I had the plate and hip-bone graft more than 40 years after breaking my collar bone; years of constant pain due to a non-union. It has brought some difficult side effects, but I'm eternally grateful that I found a surgeon who was prepared to do it.

Thanks for the thoughts, experiences and advice. Medical care in Wales is a disorientating combination of extreme neglect in waiting rooms and dazzling brilliance or extraordinary kindness in consultation. I'll report back.

The Real Ravenhurst wrote: ↑

5 years ago

Thanks for the thoughts, experiences and advice. Medical care in Wales is a disorientating combination of extreme neglect in waiting rooms and dazzling brilliance or extraordinary kindness in consultation. I'll report back.

Much like the rest of the country then!

There's an article on the subject in the Dec/Jan issue of the CUK mag, written by a consultant surgeon who sounds as if he knows what he's about - essentially a checklist of things to be aware of, written in paragraphs rather than bullets.

And most of it isn't an advert for going private - even if there is a full-page ad for the private hospital where he supplements his NHS work on the facing page.

Iris wrote: ↑

5 years ago

There's an article on the subject in the Dec/Jan issue of the CUK mag, written by a consultant surgeon who sounds as if he knows what he's about - essentially a checklist of things to be aware of, written in paragraphs rather than bullets.

And most of it isn't an advert for going private - even if there is a full-page ad for the private hospital where he supplements his NHS work on the facing page.

Oh come now! Of late, it has been me getting all cynical about CUK’s succumbing to commercial realities, and you leaping to defend their honour and integrity....

Iris wrote: ↑

5 years ago

Much like the rest of the country then!

Yep - the same, only with extra fun-filled hours l in a corridor. A homeless man bought me a cup of tea from a vending machine. Which was nice. The kindness, I mean, not the tea (which was vile).

The Real Ravenhurst wrote: ↑

5 years ago

Not bad thanks, my little root vegetable. It's a decisive sort of break but thankfully there are no other complications. A consultant who appeared to be twelve years old is going to assess the healing in a fortnight and if it's not sorting itself out will add metalwork, but I am hoping that won't be necessary. Not much pain unless I knock or jolt things, and the bike is safe and relatively unscathed.

So, have you had the follow up?

I have an x-ray appointment on Monday afternoon. Developments in the meantime are that I have joined a gym so that I can pedal a recumbent thingy, that I have initiated a personal injury claim with Slater & Gordon / CTC, that I have less pain and a bit more mobility (but still can't put my hair up, godfuckit - it's driving me mental), and that I have an appointment to ride a recumbent sociable to a friend's 80th birthday do this afternoon. The weather's vile, but I'm kinda looking forward to it anyway.

Liked for the will to keep cycling, not for the pain and inconvenience - I remember it well. Presumably you can put a Buff round your neck and pull it back over your hair, to at least keep it slightly tamed?

What news?

Joan wrote: ↑

5 years ago

What news?

Well, I make it four weeks today and I'm definitely mending in some way, although whether it's the right way will be clearer when I have another x-ray on the 14th. I'm not in an awfully lot of pain unless I knock the shoulder or push my luck with the range of movement. I've been staying at my mum's for about a week, and as a consequence I am over-cared-for and eating an absolutely preposterous quantity of dairy produce. Got an appointment with Slater & Gordon's prescribed medics on the 4th, in Port Talbot (whodathort they had posh private medics there?).

Update! Got back on a Real Bike for the first time today - just for the commute but it's a start. Yesterday's x-ray didn't look all that convincing but it all feels much less painful and I have an almost normal range of movement. A gratifyingly breezy consultant of the old skool insisted that there was nothing to worry about and I should get on with whatever I like as soon as it feels OK. He also pronounced the proposed physio a 'complete waste of time' - I'm going along with it anyway though because I have agreed to it for the claimspeeps.