… as it were.<\/p>\n
Yesterday was the anniversary of the day the hit-and-run driver (white SUV; stopped briefly, turned and fled at high speed) left me for dead at the intersection of Lomas and Tramway here in Albuquerque. It’s been a long year in some ways, and a short one in others, and has inspired me to write a lot more on here than I’d imagine. The one take away is do the work; even in the face of relatively massive injuries you can get back to mostly normal. If you’ve found this on the acetabular fracture — I feel for you. It’s awful. It can be dealt with, at least if you have a good surgeon and PT.<\/p>\n
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The ABP for the driver was for elderly cyclist since there was so much damage to my face that I looked at least 30 years older than I was. I ended up with over 20 bone breaks in my face including a depressed skull fracture, lacerations to my knee, my femur having punched it’s way out the back of my pelvis leaving me with a displaced acetabular fracture and a badly dislocated hip. Additional damage included a carotid hematoma, pulmonary bruising, and more. (But almost no road rash). I was non-weightbearing on my left leg for over 13 weeks, and lost 30 lbs in 2 weeks — along with protein and calorie malnutrition as well as blood-loss anemia. There was the ICU, the SCU, and a fairly awful rehab facility.<\/p>\n
There were at least 6 ways I could and likely should have died, ranging from drowning in the bleeding from the throat (injuries that are almost always associated with post-mortem hanging and strangulation victims at my severity), stroke from the carotid, suffocation with the lungs, the skull damage and so on.<\/p>\n
Since then I’ve done a half-century in May, a full century in October, and over 2500 miles on the road (as well as a lot of stationary biking). I’m not superstitious, but I’m didn’t ride on the evening. I did on the morning, however.<\/p>\n