Sunday, October 25, 2009

Worlds and my first DNF

Another story and another lesson (though I have to ponder what it is). Swim went great, very tough, 2/3 of swim was against a strong current, but I maintained a very solid effort and stayed with the bulk of my wave. Good transition and started out on the bike. Less than 1k from the start I somehow, trying to stay on the left (it's Australia), I drifted into a sandy gutter and the next thing I new I was going down. I was probably going ±25mph when I had a pretty spectacular crash, as my bike went down onto the curb and the grass on the sideof the road. I slid a good 20-30 feet. Spectators came to my aid, got my bike and encouraged me to keep going (go USA!). I did, and completed the bike with as hard an effort as I could muster,knowing that I was not right. I think I kept close to 20 mph despite very windy conditions. I knew my left shoulder was not good, and had a recurring twinge in my left hip. But, I didn't come to Perth not to finish! As soon as I got off the bike, however, I knew that I couldn't run. I spent 20 minutes in the medical tent where they injected my presumed grade 2 shoulder separation with lidocaine. I had range of motion in my left hip, despite the pain, so I got up and walked the 1st 5k loop, although the pain in my groin kept getting worse. After the loop I went back to the medical tent, came very close to passing out, very close. That got me a trip to the hospital. Diagnosis: small avulsion fracture (bone chip) left clavicle, and a small chip in the left actetabulum (hip). No major fractures, but certainly reason to be in pain and hardly being able to walk. I will heal from this, and contemplate my future:). In the meantime, I will enjoy the rest of my vacation, albeit with less walking and pretty much one arm:). As always, I gave it my best effort! I was proud to wear the red white and blue and perservere.

4 comments:

Fern said...

Sorry for your fall,proud that you managed to finish the race and I thought no news was good news. email when you get a chance
luv Mom

Unknown said...

Congratulations for trying!!

Two down one to go. YOur brother Marc was in a serious car accident on Monday, Aug.19, on the 405 freeway. Bottom line is that he did not suffer any serious injury, but is lucky to be alive. He rear ended a car in front of him going 65mph, his car flipped over and slid for 15 feet. The front end of his car was "pancaked." He was taken to trauma center at LB hospital where they did a complete CT scan. No broken bones, no external bleeding. They injected him with morphine for the pain in his chest. All ten airbags deployed. A week later his body is full of black and blue marks.
Although he walks very slowly, it seems that your injuries are worse than his.
I hope you enjoy the rest of your trip.

DAD

Fern said...

Hope you are starting to feel better, and your shoulder is not very painful. You are in our thoughts.
love Mom and Dad

Unknown said...

Raishel said you broke a "piece of your shoulder" what piece was that. DAD