free at last...

....to do the really hard work of rehabbing my tortured wrist.
The cast came off, Thursday, and after Dr. M* looked over the xrays,
pulled those dreadful skewers out of my hand and wrist, and had me
perform various feats of wrist evaluation tricks, he gave a favorable
nod to my potential recovery.
All that meaning that I have a tremendous amount of therapy to do , over
an indeterminate number of months before I can even think of doing
handstands or anything that requires the range and strength of a normal
wristed guy.
I am guessing that it may be as many as 9 months or as few as two months
before I will be back on the asphalt hunting deer.
There isn't any doubt that I am motivated to do the work, but it's
anyone's guess as to how it will actually be before I can claim anything
like a recovery from this whole thing.
I have already created a journal, with digital pictures to track my
daily progress. I think it will be good to keep a record of things as
they improve. Sometimes it's easy to feel that you're not getting
anywhere when things move slowly.
http://colevalley.net/progress/
Perhaps comparing measurements and notes over a period of time will give
me a sense that things are indeed getting better.
Of course the goal is to finally get to the Bovine Bakery in Point
Reyes, and have the jalapeno and cheddar cheese scone I never got way
back on May 20.
By the way, thanks to all for your ongoing encouragement!
Jim Stinnett
YZF R1
R1100RS
NX250

 

Yowza, there is very little pain left in my wrist at all. I feel sooo
fortunate.

Clicking through your links I read about the difficulty the paramedics
had getting you out of your one piece 'stich. This is something I had
never considered before, but I suppose racers are in the same boat. I
figure the medics on the race site must have better techniques for that
sorta thing than the those serving the general public ya reckon?

 

Jim -

keep on doing what you are doing. Your valiant progress is quite
inspirational, and I think you'll find a bunch of us will be eager to join
you in Point Reyes (and pay for the jalapeno and cheddar scone, but geez,
perhaps you'll have reviewed your nurtition by then

Way to go - and may the fairies of tissue, nerve and muscle repair perform
miracles on you soon!

....pablo

 

I'm about 3 months out from finishing rehab on my right wrist. Broke the
ends of both bones pretty good ("shattered" was the term the doc
used)last November and after being in some external fixator apparatus
for a few months he released me for rehab in February. Did a few months
of that and got released but carried on the exercises at home to try for
that last 20% rehab didn't get me.

Best advice I can give you is do just what the rehab specialist tells
you, no more and no less. They know what you can take and what it takes.

Good luck on the recovery!

Richard

 

My surgical experience has been fortunately limited, and in different
parts of the body (knee and teeth), but this has been my experience with
recovery, FWIW:

1. It does get better. I went from crutches to cane, then to cane all
the time (it was strapped to my back when I rode) to cane for longer
walks to cane for uneven surfaces to no cane.
2. Progress was not always unidirectional. This morning (7-1/2 years
post op), I woke with a minor pain in the knee, but it was gone in an
hour, and without resort to naproxen. Mostly though, that knee causes
less pain than the other one, which was never injured.
3. Coldpacks are your friend. Occasionally, the injured area gets
inflamed, more frequently in early recovery. Sitting for 20 minutes
with a gelpak from the freezer does more than most NSIDs to make the
inflammation subside.
4. Recovery is a long-term thing. As with weight management,
day-to-day fluctuations mean nothing, and progress is only visible over
longer terms. I visit my mom once or twice a year, and sleep on an air
mattress on the floor. In past years, getting out of bed was a major
chore -- now it isn't.

Keep getting weller.

Rich, Urban Biker

 

Great news. Considering your motivation, I expect you'll be back
way sooner than anybody expected.

 

Oh they had a big pair of shears ready to cut through it and make it
unusable. But I told them we could negotiate it off as well as cut it
off. It took some painful wiggling and pulling but they managed.
Ironically that suit now lies in state in the "Aerostich
Rotunda"..having been pronounced a total.
JS