My F800GS is ok, but my foot is f****d

[Lucifer666]

My english isn't perfect but you'll understand .



25th of may I was returning home from work. I crashed my bike while crossing some train tracks that run across the road. The road is normal asphalt and between the train tracks the road is heavely damaged. The difference in height between the damage road and the tracks is 2-3 inches. My front wheel slipped away and baaaam I hit the ground. It happened so fast. My bike fell on my left foot with a big impact. Luckely I always wear my protection (bmw rallye 3 suit).

It happened in the harbor of Antwerp (Belgium).
Location of the incident:

white = road
red = train tracks
green = route of the bike
blue = place of crash



Immediatly after the crash people ran to me to help because I couldn't get up, I knew there was something wrong with my foot. They called the ambulance, and I was carried to the hospital where they made some x-rays and some scans.

Ow sh*t that doesn't look good:



4 bones that goes towards my toes are broken, 1 of those bones is shifted as you can see on the picture above. There's also a crack in my fibula.

They put a titanium plate on my fibula the 31ste of may:







and 1 metal pin through the bones that were shifted in my foot.


The day after surgery I was in so much pain and sweating like a horse. Never had so much pain in my life.


My foot, 1 week after surgery:






At first I didn't know the metal pin was visible, but the fracking thing stuck out of my foot. My first reaction was like: "Ow my god, what the f*ck is that thing!!!" The doctor: "Ow yeah, that's a metal pin holding your bones together. We pull that out of your foot in a few weeks WITHOUT local anesthetic." Me again:"What, you're out of your fracking mind!"


After going crazy he explained to me that there are no nerves in your bones and that it wouldn't hurt a lot.






That's a nice zipper :






Except for my foot I didn't have 1 scratch or a bruise, my foot was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.
The only thing I'm angry about is that my summer is over before it even started. My riding season is finished for the next 3 months, and then winter starts again, yipieee :(.


Some pictures of my bike after the crash, nothing serious, just some scratches, but it is an adventure bike right?












I can't wait to get back on my bike !!

[TeeVee]

i know your pain. i'm in the 5th month post ankle fracture. just starting to walk with crutches.

were you wearing boots?

[Lucifer666]

Originally Posted by TeeVee

i know your pain. i'm in the 5th month post ankle fracture. just starting to walk with crutches.

were you wearing boots?

Yes, I always wear my motorcycle boots. It are Daytona Travellers, but they are a bit soft. But the bike hitted my foot with the footpeg, that's 210kg on a square inch with an impact at 40km/h.

Ow well, gonna buy stiffer boots after this. Going for the sidi adventure boots. I'll never ride with soft boots again.

[Lucifer666]

Originally Posted by 2handedSpey

I'm happy you're on the mend, could've been worse. I just crashed 11 days ago, same looking X-ray scans! Mine was fractured tibia, fibula & Talus. I have the same number of screws as you but an extra plate on the other sides too.

Your comment about soft boot... Man oh man.

I always ride with boots too but my Gaerne Adv boots are soft without the lateral side protection. Guess who is also wishing I had harder MX style boots. I am looking at those Sidi's or the Aplinestar tech10

Those sidi's are really comfortable, also for walking around a bit. I also convinced a friend of me to throw away his boots and buy those sidi's . I will only wear MX-style boots from now on, it's safe and it looks cool .

You're not alone , take care mate. Stay positive, you will heal faster.

[74C5]

That's about the worst possible alignment for RR tracks. You ain't the first by any means.

Get better! I'm willing to bet that a microphone real close to that foot pin will give some cool sounds when they pull it out. One near your mouth will yield the expected noises as well, not even a local? Seriously?

[Lucifer666]

Originally Posted by 74C5

That's about the worst possible alignment for RR tracks. You ain't the first by any means.

Get better! I'm willing to bet that a microphone real close to that foot pin will give some cool sounds when they pull it out. One near your mouth will yield the expected noises as well, not even a local? Seriously?

Yes, not even local . I'll make a video and post it here . That metal pin goes inside my bones in my foot !! It even hurts when I think about it. They will pull it out the 4th of july, happy independence day!

[UNO_RIDER]

Sorry to hear of your accident. You’re well on your way to recovery!

Not to change the subject, but that looks like some great surgical work. Nice 3-D x-ray too. Can you please remind the US folks how much your surgery was? Do you need insurance to pay for it? Are you going to be responsible for an insurance deductible?

In the US a procedure like that would cost about $30,000 or so US Dollars.

[Tessitori]

Originally Posted by UNO_RIDER

Sorry to hear of your accident. You’re well on your way to recovery!

Not to change the subject, but that looks like some great surgical work. Nice 3-D x-ray too. Can you please remind the US folks how much your surgery was? Do you need insurance to pay for it? Are you going to be responsible for an insurance deductible?

In the US a procedure like that would cost about $30,000 or so US Dollars.

Only $30,000? Maybe a little more ... Universal healthcare vs. US healthcare debate here we go
I once got in a bad accident in Italy. I required 15 stitches on my head. I was taken to the red cross and my total bill was $8.00 for the stitches. To take them out it was free. Here in the US I paid $386 to have stitches taken out in 1984.

Back on Topic, the bike does not look bad and I am sorry your summer is over even before it started. I was just in the market for boots and your post has me leaning towards stiff boots as well.

Wishing you a speedy recovery.


Andrew

[Eyes Shut]

Yeeowch!! I had some "zipper" work on my leg and ankle myself about 6 months ago. You might find this thread on ankle fractures useful. Even though you didn't fracture your ankle, some of the information may be good to know:
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=742690

Hope you heal up quickly!

[UNO_RIDER]

Originally Posted by Tessitori

Only $30,000? Maybe a little more ...

I was just in the market for boots and your post has me leaning towards stiff boots as well.

Wishing you a speedy recovery.


Andrew

The actual cost is likely closer to $95,000-$115,000 with rehab which is ridiculous. Everyone deserves healthcare regardless of income status and without unnecessarily bankrupting folks.

In terms of boots, seriously consider Sidis. I have pair of the crossfires...they are awesome, provide good protection and can flex. Very, nice boot for adventure/dirt/super-moto riding.

Again, sorry for changing the subject.

[Lucifer666]

Originally Posted by UNO_RIDER

The actual cost is likely closer to $95,000-$115,000 with rehab which is ridiculous. Everyone deserves healthcare regardless of income status and without unnecessarily bankrupting folks.

In terms of boots, seriously consider Sidis. I have pair of the crossfires...they are awesome, provide good protection and can flex. Very, nice boot for adventure/dirt/super-moto riding.

Again, sorry for changing the subject.

I have Sidi crossfires already but only use them when I go out with my KTM 690 . Those boots are the best. I'm sure that when I had worn them, my foot was in a much better condition. Lesson learned ...

About the costs for surgery and rehab. The insurance company of my employer has to pay for all of it, because I was driving home from work. The insurance company sees it as a work accident, It's the law here in Belgium. I don't have to pay 1$. They even pay for my fuel for driving to a medical inspection. The first month I'm home my employer will pay my wage, the second month and furter the insurance company will pay my wage when I'm recovering home. Again, it's the law here in Belgium. The only thing they don't compensate is the damage at my bike, the bastards .

In this case if the insurance company of my employer refused to pay, I can still rely on my personal insurance. And if my personal insurance fails, I can rely on another insurance that everybody in Belgium has to pay for (a kind of health insurance).
A lot of bigger company in Belgium give a personal insurance for free to there employees, just like mine.

I can't complain about health insurance in Belgium, it's really good. But a lot of other things are just f****d up over here. If you want to understand Belgium, you can watch this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlwHotpl9DA& .

[IndyChizzle]

Originally Posted by UNO_RIDER

Sorry to hear of your accident. You’re well on your way to recovery!

Not to change the subject, but that looks like some great surgical work. Nice 3-D x-ray too. Can you please remind the US folks how much your surgery was? Do you need insurance to pay for it? Are you going to be responsible for an insurance deductible?

In the US a procedure like that would cost about $30,000 or so US Dollars.

Looks like a rider from Belgium would pay approximately the following for his health insurance:

50% Income Tax if earning above 35,060 euros
http://www.expatica.com/be/finance_b...8618_8286.html

Regional Income Tax of 0-8.5%

Value Added Tax (Not sure which one this would have been for a motorcycle): 21% for most items, 6% for transportation.

Gasoline (not sure % tax): ~$5.91 per gallon in US Dollars
http://money.cnn.com/pf/features/lis...bal_gasprices/

Glad to hear that the rider is ok, and that the pins come out soon. Heal fast, and beware of those train tracks! I slid around on some tracks like that in Portland, OR where the public transportation rails run right down the middle of lanes of traffic. Pretty sketchy when you have to change lanes in the rain...

[nwdub]

70+% of the injuries from accidents like that are foot and hand

helmet, gloves and GOOD BOOTS are essential gear

glad to hear you weren't more hurt. I hope your recovery goes well.

[WhichWayNow]

My wife broke her wrist last fall and they set it with 5 pins like the one in your foot. She was expecting the pin removal to hurt, but it really didn't. The doctor just grabbed the pin with a pair of pliers, twisted a little bit and pulled it out. My wife didn't even wimper. You should have no problem.

[Lucifer666]

Originally Posted by WhichWayNow

My wife broke her wrist last fall and they set it with 5 pins like the one in your foot. She was expecting the pin removal to hurt, but it really didn't. The doctor just grabbed the pin with a pair of pliers, twisted a little bit and pulled it out. My wife didn't even wimper. You should have no problem.

That's a bit of a reassurance, thanks mate.