I've broken myself pretty bad!!!

[zcookie49]

This is my first time back here since before my wreck on April 21,2002... I went riding on that sunday at a track we like, and just came home this past friday, the 27th. I was helicoptered to Hershey hospital in PA and spent 3 days in intensive care and 3 days on the regular floor. I have been and currently in so much pain, it sucks, but I look forward to the day I can ride again.
here is my damage report:
compound fracture to right femur and clean fracture to the left femur.. Both had titanium rods hammered in the femurs and they stapled me up. I also fractured the radial bone in my left forearm, broke my nose, busted my lip and lacerated my forehead near my right eyebrow. this causes headaches still, I lost over a liter of blood through that cut that was quagulating on my face.. (fellow rider report to me)...
Needless to say I thank God that I am alive and not paralyzed. I know the road ahead of me will have many bumps.. (all I can do now is roll my legs out of bed, use a walker to stand up,pivot then sit in wheel chair....)
......
How did it happen, ? i hit a jump with a bad kicker, either it bucked my rear wheel up vertical or I hit my rear brake, either way, when I realized to bail, it was almost too late, slamming into the the shallow bottom between jumps.
THANK god for PROTECTIVE GEAR!!!!. I wear it all and it works. even though I broke a bone in my forearm, my elbow pads protected it enough that I do not have a shattered elbow, because my elbow is all bruised up. The helmet is cracked on the head and the mouth guard area is bent. Nothing happened to my feet which I had on the A-stars and both of my CTi2 knee braces are cracked, but I have no damage to both of my reconstructed knees..(i am post op 7 months on left knee ACL)
So I think it is very important for everyone that rides to have medical coverage, protective gear, and riding buddies that care, for I sure did.
Again, I am thankful to be alive and look forward to the day I can post some riding/race info on here from my own experience...
-battered, but not broken, Chris :D

 

[WoodsRider]

Chris - OUCH! Sorry to hear about your accident. Here's wishing you a healthy, speedy recovery.

 

[Moteaux]

Chris,

Sorry to hear about the accident, but I hope you have a speedy recovery. Glad to hear you had all your protective equipment on and helped to minimize some of the damage.

Motohead00

 

[Okiewan]

Dang man, when you go, you go big. Heal fast.

 

[nikki]

Chris - Get well soon!! Thats one helluva crash - glad you're injuries weren't too severe. Broken bones heal. Nice to be home now I bet. Take care and hope you're back in the saddle soon.

 

[Papakeith]

Best wishes for a quick recovery.

it sucks, but I look forward to the day I can ride again.

Gotta love it! :)
Take care of yourself Chris.

 

[RM_guy]

Man that's gotta hurt. Here's for a speedy recovery. Good plug for wearing all your gear. You never know when you're going to need it. It's amazing how much and how little abuse our bodies can take.

 

[KiwiBird]

Ouch! Get well soon.

 

[Trail Boss]

Sorry to hear about your crash., but you seem to have a very positive attitute and I believe that will help with your recovery....good luck!!

 

[JuliusPleaser]

Chris, that sucks man! Sounds like you're lucky to be alive. How big was the jump? Do you remember everything about the crash? How long will it be before you can ride again?

 

[Treejumper]

Get Well Chris! Before you know it you'll be riding again. Until then have your buds prop you up on a bike so you can atleast make bike sounds! :D

 

[MrLuckey]

Originally posted by Okiewan
Dang man, when you go, you go big. Heal fast.

I'll second that!

 

[BEEF706]

Heal fast and take care of yourself. Before you know it you'll be right back out there!

 

[2001yz250]

Wow! That double wouldn't have happened to jump the INTERSTATE would it? Sounds like you got hit by a truck! I hope everything heals up right! Don't try to ride before your body's ready. I'm sure you'll have to do some physical therapy first. Good luck.

 

[truespode]

Ouch. Get well soon man.

Ivan

 

[scar tissue]

Sorry to hear about the damage.

I to have been repaired by the surgons erector set. The rods help you heal faster. Do your therapy and hopefully you'll make a full recovery. Good luck, and god bless.

 

[Farmer John]

Get well Chris!
I would have said "soon", but please take your time. All the time you need to make sure its right.
Fortunatly the most important thing (your spirit) is not broken.

 

[super rat]

Dam sorry to hear that. Keep your chin up and don't pay too much attention to what the doc's say. 90% of healing is in your head, keep a positive attitude and your body will follow. Get well soon!!!!

 

[needsprayer]

zcookie,

You should change your name to Terminator with all the metal that you now carry. Keep your spirit strong. Where did you post from? Are you home already? Glad that you will be walking again. Will include you in pray.

 

[yzeater]

Hope you get riding again soon Chris

 

[geremacheks]

Wow! Makes us all think, and think more--about jumps.

One compound fracture is enough pain. Can't imagine how you are suffering. Hope your medical coverage does it all--they are sometimes touchy about helicopter runs. Get some advice on that, and keep in touch.

 

[MxRyder187]

ouch....i broke my right femur...although it hurt...i miss that feeling where your hip moves...the rest of the leg moves with it.

i was in icu for 3 days too i know its no fun. welp i hope you heal up quick with alot less complications than i had.

 

[Thump]

Get well bubba. My Dr. told me I would have been better off snapping the femur than the damage I did to my knee. Bones heal and you will be back in no time. Till then I guess we will see you around here a little more.

 

[zcookie49]

thanks all!

I just logged back on my laptop and read all these replies... it is such a great feeling to hear ALL the encouragement here.
Just gonna answer some questions here:
I came home this past friday to my parents house, they are out of town, but the apt my wife and I share has 25 steps up to it and THAT is out of the question. Luckily my work supplies me with a laptop so I can now shoot onto the web and talk to you all.
** you know what is so Ironic?
my bike seems to be ok!!!
I had just received a new graphics kit, (seat cover, tank/shroud, and accesories) from CEET technology 2 days before my ride, I spent the day before my incident placing all this on, about $150 worth of unnecessary stuff, but I had worn out the stock graphics and had some extra cash on the side...
It's the CEET contra kit with flo orange, it is awesome...
There is no damage at all to any of the items I had installed from this crash...!, my buddy brought my bike and tattered gear over yesterday. The bars were bent down, but he loosened them up, raised them back up and they seem to be fine. They are renthals, but not twinwalls.. I am very surprised, for I have laid this bike down lots and these bars have held up extremely well. The pipe is fine, rims look good, spokes loose though and I did have fork oil seeping out alot... So I know I will have to drop the forks and have them resealed, but that appears it.. there is a white stress mark near the back of the seat on the rear fender but I could care less about that stuff. I was thinking tripple clamps, bars, rim, etc...
BTW.. this jump was brand new at the track. It was a jump that you could peice two together, if you did, the total jump about 65-70 feet. OF Course I didnt go large for I had just rolled it over several times. the first jump is a step down about 25 feet, then a valley to another 35-40' table/single jump. I kept over shooting the step down way too easy...
My thoughts were to just step down, roll over next jump, but in the air after take off, I knew something was wrong, my rear wheel shot up soo high, I was facing downward the bottom gap between the two jumps for I overshot. the first milisecond, I said "oh s@#*", the next mili second I decided that there was no way I could throttle my way out of this that the nose had dropped way too far. the last milisecond was used to "bail out"...I remember trying to bail off, how far off I got, I dont know. I have lots of track reports to me now from the track. My 3 buddies that I was riding with were parked off the track, engines stopped behind these jumps, they saw me go up and nose dive, they heard the motor cease and even tho I was hidden from them because I was in the valley of the jumps, they knew something was terrible. 2 of the guys on 2strokes started on 1 kick and came over. My best friend was having his first ride on his YZ400f and couldnt get it started for over a minute due to freaking out. My one bud said that when he got there it literaly looked as though I was dropped from a 200' building.
One unknown rider had also jumped the fence at the park lot (breaking it) and rushed out and had his son go to the crest of the jump to waive off riders. I later found out this man came to the hospital to see how I was!! Awesome.....they said when I came to at the track I didnt know where I was, when they told me the track, I asked where on the track. They said, "you know that huge jump near the park lot? My friend said I replied "Did I make it?". The track guy replied, "no, you are laying at the very bottom of it"
Oh well, sorry for the play by play but I think some of you have asked...
I will not rush this.. they say my left leg will heal fast, but since the right was a compound, it may be 6-8weeks before I can put full weight on it.
..............................................
How Ironic that the very bad leg is the one that will have to kick start a 4 stroke yamaha, what luck I have LOL ,, just kidding
Again thanks, I had a smile on my face from reading all the posts and will continue to check... I dont want to sound mushy, but when something like this happens to you ...its great to wear a smile on the face and move on
thanks all, Chris

 

[needsprayer]

Chris,

What else can you do but keep a smile on your face. You'll heal a lot faster with a smile and a good attitude. You may want to trade that "Yama-hard-to start-ha" for an e-start. :p

At least you can catch up on your motocross game skills while you heal. :)