I Will not Break

I will not break. At least my spirit remains unbroken. I wish the same could be said for two left side ribs and my left greater tuberosity. Those broke.

I was on my usual joyous mountain bike ride on my favorite non-technical trail until I was not.

I recall a man standing over me and saying he was going to unclip my feet from my bike and that an ambulance was on the way.

I do not recall being loaded in the ambulance nor being wheeled into the emergency room. Usually these rides are the result of being creamed by a car — four times. But this time it was down to me except I have no idea how this accident transpired. I was unconscious on the trail and am damn lucky to be found because I was leaking and very hurt.

Every time I’ve been brought by ambulance to an ER, I have ended up with all my possessions. Even the clothes cut off me. This time was different.

My three jersey pockets on every ride will contain a cell phone in the leftmost, energy gels in the rightmost, and in the middle wrapped in a newspaper delivery long plastic bag; 4 credit cards, a debit card, my driver’s license, my passport card, health insurance card, and some less significant items wrapped by $300 cash. The bag wrapped around my car’s key fob separately. I got the phone back. Nothing else nor the jersey itself. I got back shoes, socks, the chest strap for a heart rate monitor, the cutoff cycling shorts and my helmet and prescription sunglasses. I got the Camelbak I wear for hydration, but mysteriously the electric bike pump in a compartment adjacent to the bladder was missing too.

The explanation given by the Emergency Department was that my jersey was incinerated by mistake. Well a first time for everything, right?

So this crash was literally painful in cost to my time and finances to replace the lost items.

The surgery to repair my fractured greater tuberosity was more involved than I expected. The post surgery radiograph showed 8 long screws holding a weirdly shaped plate. Combined with the plate holding a previously fractured clavicle that was reduced to four busted pieces that x-ray really shines! As well I suffered nerve damage which adds to the joy. But it should not come as a surprise, there is a drug for that.

So yet another upcoming physical therapy appointments. I am going to need help to get my range of motion back for my arm and shoulder.

So, I will not break. For affirmation read my next post We Must not Break