My cracked $180 helmet. Don't worry, I have already replaced it . . . just need to replace my collar bone now . . .
Here I am getting ready to get in the car to go to the ER. You can see some of the road rash on my left arm...
Well, you spend enough time on your bike you are bound to eat pavement every once in a while. This last Saturday, May 19, I took a nasty spill on my bike and ended up in the ER with a broken clavicle. Saturday morning I took a nice long ride to Mt. Vernon with a friend of mine from work, Kent Forde. I was amazed at how good I felt after completing the 45 mile ride, so I decided to take my wife's invitation to go with her and Katie Palmer up to the National Arboretum. After riding around for several miles, I was on a flat stretch of road and decided to stretch my lower back. I took my hands off the handlebars, and was stretching. Just then a big gust of wind came and turned my front wheel. I tried to recover, but couldn't. I hit and hit hard. My first reaction was "My Bike!" I quickly assessed its damage which consisted of a bent handlebar. I then felt sharp pain in the region of my collar bone; I felt it, and it was obvious I had broken something up in the region as the bone was protruding out. I also noticed that I had cracked my helmet, but my head didn't hurt at all. The helmet had absorbed the entirety of the crash. I am a huge believer in helmets, it could have been bad. Katie and Liz were riding behind me and saw the entire crash. I was lucky they were there. Katie went and got her car, we put the bikes on the rack and headed home. We took the bikes off the car and Lizzy and I headed to the ER. When I walked into the ER, I showed the person at the front desk my protruding collar bone, and he gave me a look like "you should be dead." They quickly got me in and began the examination of it. They gave me a few percocets and sent me off to get x-rays. The guy doing the x-rays was pretty rough with me and I think the percocets on my empty stomach was a bad combo. I got really dizzy and felt like I was going to puke. I told the guy and he said, just stand up straight so we can get the x-ray done. I finally just sat down because I was so faint...I think I blacked out for a minute. The next thing I knew, they had me laying back in the bed and were doing the x-rays with me laying down. It felt much better. The x-ray revealed a broken clavicle. They told me I would have to wear a brace for a month! This is disappointing news to me as I have been riding a bunch and my legs feel good, and softball season just started! Oh well, at least it is only a month. Lizzy has been very good to me and has been pampering me. Getting dressed is the most difficult activity, but I'm getting better at it.
Here is a closeup of the broken clavicle.
After getting back from the ER. I have to wear button up shirts because I can't get anything over my head.
This was the shirt I got from the ER, it is the only thing I can get over my head, so I sleep in it...
I am pretty happy with the results, and I believe our team is as well. I tried to make it so the chicken looked like it had the bird flu, and was coughing out a softball. We have had two games so far and are 2-0. We have a lot of great players on our team. Here are some pictures from our first few games.
Coach Nelson giving instructions to the pink gloved Mary Kosinski
The Pandemics posing after defeating ONDCP.
