Coming home from breakfast Monday (Labor Day) morning on my Husaberg 570FE motorcycle just before 1000hrs, on a narrow, shoulderless, closed-in piece of undulating tarmac two miles from the house, a young woman in a borrowed full-size late model GM pick-up, and on her cell phone, tried to James Dean me while she was making an unsignalled left turn without pause on a blind curve. I was already going slowly because sight lines in the area are very close, traffic was up, and I have driven this road for over twenty-five years. The actual accident presented to me very uniquely; the visual image of the big speeding truck head-on in my lane appeared and before I could even process it as vehicle, I was on my front brake. The front tire, trying to bank left and then brake hard, washed out, levered the handlebars violently, and I low-sided forcefully on my left side. Im afraid with the suddenness, the fear and the pain, I screamed for a while on the roadway just like an animal. And then I saw my leg; nothing I could fix at home. Everybody was very good to me, people stopped, the woman driving the truck called an ambulance, the POs and EMTs showed up, triaged my situation, got my bike out of the way (and I called for a tow) and I was in the Abbott Northwestern emergency department within the hour. I never lost consciousness and my uninformed opinion of no fractured bones and no head or neck injuries proved accurate. My boot, jacket and pants were trashed on the left side, although I slid a total of only 10 to 15 feet after low-siding. It took nine hours to process through the emergency department and, since I now live alone, I had to manipulate them into releasing me after I got somebody to come pick me up and give me a ride home. The main risk has been having the stiches on my leg de-hisc (pull out), because, as it was explained to me, with the laceration completely across the top of my leg above my knee, they only had one bite of the apple to get it stitched and healed. If I pulled the stitches out, there would be nothing else left to sew on to. I have a picture of the un-repaired wound, but it's nothing you want to see, although they came from all over the hospital and across the street to look at it. 22 stitches to close. So I have been very slow and careful, and there have been challenges taking care of myself and the girls, but when I was seen in ortho clinic last Thursday morning, the stiches were good, there was no indication my quads capsule had been damaged and there was no sign of infection. I even tried to go off of the narcotic pain-killers last Thursday. Big mistake. Reducing pain meds is still somewhere in the future. So I am getting better and doing fine and will make a complete recovery with no remaining residual effects. It will just take a little time. Indeed, I feel quite blessed and very grateful considering that if my 58-year-old reactions had not been what they were, I would have gone straight into the side of the accelerating truck (the driver told PO's and her adjuster that when she saw me, she accelerated "to get out of his way"), high-sided, spun and probably would have been hurt much more. Or the other alternative. And although no citations were issued, the other driver's insurance adjuster has taken full liability for my injuries and the damage to the Husaberg. The yoga, the meditation, and the Holy Spirit were all with me. May they always be with you. Namaste!
Take care of those stitches and don't stress them. I got 36 a few years back when a utility blade met my thigh. All the way to the bone, 18 stitches inside, and 18 on the outside. It took a while for the muscles to grow back together and have some strength. Mine was vertical, and I assume yours is a horizontal cut. That's hard not to stress, but do your best not to hurt it more. Heal well.
It might be a good idea to delete your post until you have money in your hand and you KNOW you have no additional injuries discovered. These things have a way of attracting lawyers and are suddenly not nearly so clear cut.
Shoei Hornet (Snell 2010), old style Aerostitch Darien, 5" Adidas hiking boots, Marsee deerskin summer adventure gloves, shirt and jeans.
Good that you are pulling through! Would be interesting to see the jeans and the Aerostitch next to each other, assuming they were both exposed to similar stress. Any chance to see pictures of the gear?
Here's the Darrien; tried to include all damage: The Levis essentially "vaporized" above the injury sight, other straight cuts by EMT's scissors:
Good god! I thought it was bad when I put a 4 incision to my hip. I work with box cutters everday, and I train my fellow employees properly cause I don't want someone to get cut and learn the hard way like me. It's kinda scary when you got a gash like that. Me and my girl saved up $2500 for a down payment on a cage, spent all day looking for one bought a LAME PT cruiser 5speed, didn;t get enough sleep. Got home at 6:15 had to go to work at 7:30PM. Around 1:30AM I go to get a new razor blade from my boss. He says "don't cut your finger off!" Five minutes later I was cutting an emtpy water case in an X on the bottom, For some reason, I was half awake, holding the box on my hip (something i Never done before) and sliced through the box, then straight through my side. Not a good day. Bought a crap car and got some 2 stitches on the inside and 5 staples the outside. Atleast my job paid for the doctors. "Hey joe, I didn't cut my finger....!"
