Recovery Update

Things continue to heal. Unfortunately I had a concussion from the accident, and now am having post-concussion syndrome symptoms. I have no short term memory, a constant headache, fatigue issues, and more. I am able to exercise, although I can't ride my bike outside. The doctor is concerned that I might fall again.

I rode the stationary bike at the gym for 45 minutes today, and now the back of my leg is really sore. I think it's going to be a while before my muscles heal fully. I must have done some serious damage to them in the fall. I start working with my trainer again on Tuesday, so hopefully that will help. Therapy is really helping a lot too.

So overall, after 5 weeks, things aren't too bad. I still can't stand anything touching my knee, and might not be able to until after it heals more, so I have to wear boots a lot to keep my legs warm!

Evening in Lethbridge

We took the dog for a short walk in the coulees near the University this evening, about 6:30. took a few shots that turned out nicely. You'll need to enlarge them to see the details.

One Month Later

Things are continuing to heal well. I have some skin to grow back on my knee & ankle, but everything else is doing well. The lump on the back of my leg is still there, although smaller. I have a lot of bruising in that area still. The doctor says I might never get rid of that lump. Hopefully the sensitivity will decrease though, because I still find it hard to sit properly.

I am free to exercise again. I rode my bike to the gym yesterday. It was a bit scary to be riding again. I think I'm going to be very nervous the first time I ride Whoop Up. Hopefully I'll feel less nervous as time goes on.

Here's what my knee & shin look like now. Apparently the scars will probably remain obvious through the winter, but they'll tan OK in the summer.

Deer!

John went to take the dog out tonight about 8:30pm, and there were 3 deer hanging around the neighbours' house, eating in their garden. I had to try some pictures, using the "night picture" function on my camera. You'll probably want to enlarge them to see the deer better. I couldn't get rid of the red (white!) eye though.

There was a really nice sunrise this week too. I was actually up early enough to see it, which is something these days. It's back to work on Monday though, so I'd better get used to the early mornings again. Things are still healing, but I'm doing fairly well. Hopefully soon I can get back to working out and riding. The doctor thinks I should be riding again by November, so I'm planning for that. I started therapy this week too, so I'm hoping that'll move the recovery along.

Roses

As you know, I have a love/hate relationship with roses, but I am obsessed with them. I planted this one in the summer just before we went away, and it's still going strong.

Road Rash, Almost 2 Weeks

The healing process continues. The doctor thinks I could be riding again by November, which is good news. My kneecap is still missing a lot of skin, so that will still take some time. The hematoma is also going down, but it hurts a lot, particularly when I'm moving around. Still, things are definitely improving.

Rachel & Natalie sent me the get-well poodle!

Healing?

I guess things are healing. It's a painful process though. The skin is very tight, so every movement stretches it. The bruises are beginning to fade in places as well, though unfortunately not the butt! I went to gym and walked on the track today, but I only made it 400 meters. Ugh.






























The Buchanan Library staff sent me some lovely flowers.















I found more of the clothing I was wearing when I fell. Those are my capris on the left.

Doggy Daycare

Given the difficulties we're having at the moment, Molly has been going to Paws on the Run Daycare this week. She still isn't playing much, but is apparently is milling about happily with the pack. She follows the dogs around wagging at them. Sometimes she sits down and watches the staff. The best thing is, the first time we took her in she screamed & shook so hard her tags were jingling, but now she happily walks right in and doesn't worry about what John is doing.

There are 2 yorkies at the daycare who are a little nervous about the big dogs. They put Molly in with them to convince them it was OK. She just sat there with them. I guess they liked Molly, and felt more comfortable.

RR, Day 5

Since all I've been posting is pictures of my injuries, I thought I would put one up of me so you can see I'm actually in one piece. I've also attached one of the hematoma on my left leg, so you can see the bruising that's starting to show. Strangely, the bruises itch.

Thanks for all the emails.

Road Rash, Day 3

I had to go to the doctor again today. I just couldn't manage the pain. I have some drugs now, so hopefully that will help. I can't put much (any) pressure on my left leg at all, so I am using a cane to get around. By get around I mean to the washroom, because that's about as far as I can go. I have to try having a Jacuzzi bath tonight, because I need to debride the wounds. I am not looking forward to that, as it's bound to be excruciating. If you hear someone screaming, it's just me.

The doctor felt that my wounds were some of the worst he's seen, and he's a long time cyclist. He also works as a doctor at triathlons. He was very impressed by the damage I caused myself. He also felt that riding a recumbent may have saved my life. Had I been on a road bike I might not have survived. Thank God I ride a 'bent.

That's about it for now. Here are some more pictures of the progress of the injuries. Apparently as they heal they will become tremendously itchy. Something for me to look forward to!

Road Rash

had my first serious cycling accident today. I was on my way to work, going about 65km/hr down Whoop Up when my front tire exploded. I lost control in about a second, and slid about 100ft down the hill. I spent about 4 hours in Emergency. Fortunately I didn't break anything, I just lost skin. Having the abrasions scrubbed wasn't much fun though, and I have to admit I cried. I hadn't until then.

Some really great people stopped to help me after I fell. Thank you to them.

Here are some pics of the damage. I'll add more as things change. The bruising should be worse tomorrow. I feel like hell right now though. I can barely move, and it feels like all the nerve endings in my body are on fire. It'll only be worse tomorrow.

SNOW!!

I was just saying to John the other day that I needed something interesting to happen so I could update the blog. Lo and behold, it snowed today. It's only Sept 19! It started this morning about 7am, and continued for most of the day. It didn't last of course, but for a while there some areas were looking quite white. I took the pictures when I got home from work about 2pm today.

It's supposed to be 21 degrees on Friday though, so hopefully this is just a fluke, and we'll get more warm weather before winter really hits.

Snake on a Plain

We thought we'd take the pup for a walk in the coulees this afternoon, as we had "ignored" her for 2 days while we were preparing for a party we had on Sat. We were only about 50 steps from the car when the dog stopped to poke around at something. That something started rattling, and we quickly realised she had found a rattlesnake! Fortunately she is somewhat obedient, and when John & I started yelling she came away. I went back to take some pictures of it, but I wasn't that keen on getting too close, so I don't know how clear the snake will be. I don't what the striking range is for a rattlesnake, but I didn't want to find out! It was a bit hard to tell as it was coiled up, but it seemed to be about 6 feet long, and 3-4 inches in diameter.

PS: John gets credit for the title of this entry!

A Drive

After our breathing returned to normal after the snake incident (see posting above), we continued on a drive of some roads we'd like to ride.

They are building a house on the coulee at the end of street, and it looks really nice. Great location too, except for those rattlesnakes!

The sky was really dark off the northeast when we were out, and it looked really threatening. Someone was getting some rain!