Parents with broken bones, share your stories

[sirthumpalot]

Parents might appreciate this, share your stories too! No riding for me lately so this might be long.

2 month old kid at home, haven't ridden in months. Make a deal with the wife; I ride all day, then I'll baby sit at night while she goes out with the girls. Sweet! Off to the track for a spectacular day of riding. Last lap of the day, exhausted and against all reasonable judgement I go for one last bonzai lap. Then, on the roughest part of the track, wfo 3rd gear down a pot holed blue groove strait I get rear end swap so bad the bars are moving almost lock to lock. Don't have the strength to recover and over I go, quite the spectacular dismount. Now if you've never experienced pot holed blue goove at 50-mph sans-bike, I don't recommend it. Thank God for elbow + knee pads and chest protectors! I hit the ground still holding on, the bar gets me in the groin (misses the "important parts" by 1/2") and tears my pants from the zipper to the knee, taking some skin along the way. The bike goes right and I go left, so far apart we're in different zip codes; at some point I apparently hit my right hand. After that "my body hurts and doesn't work anymore" feeling begins to fade, I ride 1/2 lap back to the pits, taking all the jumps and lift the bike back onto the stand using my right hand, which is still working OK. About that time I notice my hand feels a little funny. 10 minutes later it's getting a little stiff. 1.5 hours later it's swolen, slightly bluish and hurts like hell to move at all. Here's the important part, pay close attention. At home I spring in the door, "hey baby I'm home, spectacular ride, go ahead out with the girls and I'll see you later!" That's right, when you get hurt, even broken bones, do not ever let it get in the way of your kid duties!! The wife takes off and i'm on my own with the kid. The first time I set him down, head in my right hand, the pain is so intense I'm seeing stars. Then it registers in my brain; this might not be just a sprain! A few hours later the wife gets home and I have to say, "baby I have to go to the ER". About 8 hours after the crash I get x-rayed and find out I have a broken scaphoid bone in my right wrist (wrong bone to break I've learned). Bah... I got lucky; a couple months in a cast followed by a couple months getting movement back and now I'm 95% back to normal and ready to ride! I do catch a little flack about not changing any poopie diapers for a couple months, but hey I still baby sat!!

Sorry for the long story, I need to ride soon!!! Lets hear your stories.

[Climber]

Funny how long it takes some broken bones to feel broken and haw fast others feel broken.

A few years ago I took a 25' ground fall onto a flat piece of limestone, while climbing. Took almost 12 hours before I realized I needed to have them check out. That night I found out (at the ER) that I broke on calcanius. Two days later at the doctor, He exrayed my right heel and found that I broke that Calcanius, as well as tearing the planter tendon and the achilies. My feet grew a full size in an instant.

When I broke My ankle, I knew it right away.

Just don't get yourself so jacked up that your kid has to change your diapers. ?

[BergArabia]

Yesterday was my first day out on the bike since September.

On Sept 3 I came off the top of a dune into a bowl and broke a collar bone and fractured an L2.

Didn't think anything was broken at the time, bit of tingling. Got up to start the bike. Picked it up and kicked etc. But noticed it was kind of hard to hold my arm up..

95% recovery now and really enjoyed my day out yesterday. And yeah not riding has meant a bit more time at home with Baby on the weekends...

[NOMADAK]

I am headed back to work on the 23rd of November. I have been healing since 8/16/06 from a right upper arm fracture I suffered in a MX racing accident. I came up short on an uphill triple. The break required a plate . I have to be able bodied to perform my work duties (critical care flight paramedic).

I have a family of 5 (3 kids, 2 are teens and one is a 4yo). My excellent benefits and wonderfully understanding wife have made the last 3 months much more bearable.

Two years ago, I broke my left collarbone and severly bruised my ribs in another racing accident. I landed off the side of the track in the duff over a 80 footer. It had a blind landing that was offset from the face of the jump. I was out of work for a couple of weeks with that one.

3 years ago, in another race, I broke my right leg (tibial plateau). My foot slipped forward off the peg while going full bore through the whoops. It planted directly into the face of the next whoop and went pop! Me and the bike basically came to a complete stop right there. I didn't even come off the bike in the accident. It required 5 months total to return to work.

I'm 39 now and after this most recent injury, I am ready to back it down quite a bit. It is really hard though as the competitive fires still burn and I am very capable of winning local vet class championships (provided I don't bail off). I don't crash very often but when I do things seem to go snap. My wife is getting used to all of this. She still supports me racing and insists that the kids continue to race even after they have had their own injuries.

I wish that my work was as understanding as she is.

[Birdy426]

Two years ago, first trip to Kennedy Meadows, first trip with the new (to me) WR426, first ride of a three day wekend. I was coming around a corner on Rattlesnake trail and was watching my son instead of the trail. I didn't even see the rock until it had wrapped my foot around the footpeg and broken the metatarsals in my right foot. I knew it was broken as soon as it happened. Rode about 12 miles back to the camp (had to have one of the guys start the bike...how ebbarasing). Anyway, I didn't want to ruin everyone else's weekend, so I wrapped the sucker up with an ace bandage and a flip flop. The bad part was that momma wouldn't tow the trailer down 9 mile canyon road, so I had to drive home with a broken gas/brake foot. On the plus side, I got to back out of a couple of less desirable business trips and spend more time with the fam.

[grayracer513]

...I get rear end swap so bad the bars are moving almost lock to lock. ...

? Instant replay! October '04, Ocotillo Wells, a series (one of seemingly thousands) of unnaturally huge whoops (thanks, all you quads and 4x4's). 40+ mph, rear end kicks out. Way out. Brain sends important emergency info: "Oh @#$%!" On landing it goes at least as far the opposite way, then back again, then, on the 4th kick, horribly off balance, it lands at the bottom of a whoop, and the bike becomes a catapult. I hit the ground as if grabbed by the ankles and slammed on my side. Broken left humerus at the shoulder joint, and a broken right radius 4" behind the wrist.

I rode again on New Year's Day, '05

I feel your pain, quite literally. Heal well.

[30-A rider]

Its riding day 20 years ago and My KX500 has a fresh top end and new pipe on it. Track one for that day and Im kicking ass...Im stoked. Gets a little to crowded with small kids and small bikes at that track, so we pack up and go to second track....ride it for an hour and Im still having the riding day of my life, and I dont know why, but dont want to stop..but again slower riders are holding me back. Next spot is on referral and is new to me, but looks killer. Startt he bike and Im bastind down the track already. So Im going down a strait, hard right turn. There is a big overgrown bush on the inside corner of that right turn which hides there is a jump immdeiatel;y after that hard right turn...... and the back end of my bike is sliding out sideways as I hit the jump. So Im a little sideways in the air...and as I come down Im straitening out and think I cant stick it good, but not enough, and for some stupid ass reason I put my foot down as intial reaction. OUCH! I dont wipe out, but something let go. I pull off the side , put my head down on handle bars supporting myself with good leg and I pass out and eventually fall over.

To keep it short I get driven out in a bed of a 4wd pickup truck....get home, ICE the knee to get the swelling out...a week later Im having my 3rd ACL reconstruction!

Moral of the story...as we all know...and should always follow...Ride the track slow a few times until you know it well..instead of being high and mighty, with no regard for better judgement.

[sirthumpalot]

That ride the track slow first is definitely mandatory! One of our riding buddies once showed up late on his kx500 but wanted to go full speed and ride with the rest of the guys. He went full speed on the first lap and hit a very fast double that the previous week was worn and low, but now was freshly built by the bull dozer. He went way way up and way way out, a mile past the landing, off the end of the track and landed somehow on his head. He broke something in his neck or his back, I don't remember which. He was out of comission for a long time, and honestly lucky to be alive.