Well just to let everyone know who were watching or checking the race results, there were no problems with my timing chip, or my ribs, or the computer tracking my progress on the race. I actually did crash hard about 25 miles into the bike section of the race.
It happened soo fast I had a hard time processing it. It was just a fluke accident. at the instant it happened I was reaching back for a water bottle with one hand and only had my left hand on the bars when i hit the right edge of a highway reflector that kicked my front wheel out from under me and in an instant i went down. at first I didn't think things were too bad. I my shoulder was all cut up and sore, and my hip hurt like a bitch, but i somehow managed to never hit my head or lose consciousness. I knew it wouldn't be pretty, but i figured i would probably be able to finish the race - i mean i still had 14 hours left.
At the time both feet were still clipped into my pedals. it wasn't until i tried to unclip my feet that i realized i was in real trouble. i was totally paralyzed. i was completely turtled on the side of the road. by this point several volunteers had arrived on the scene to help, but i was informed that they couldn't touch me or i would be dq'ed. not wanting to be dq'ed i continued to struggle with freeing myself from my cycling shoes. after about 20 minutes i managed to free my right foot by releasing the velcro straps, and eventually managed to kick the bike off me and free both my feet. by this point the NBC cameras were on site recording everything. i was unable to move my left leg. I knew i was in trouble, but refused to give up on the hope of finishing. I hoped i had just a really bad hip pointer, that would get better if i kept moving it before it stiffened up and started to swell. I sat on the side of the highway for about 30 minutes passively moving my leg up and down as much as possible, screaming in pain any time it fell off to the side even slightly.
by this point the medical support had arrived to assess the situation. ironically the team consisted of the only orthopeadic surgeon on the island. after about 2 seconds she knew it was broken and said so. i was skeptical of her diagnosis and continued to try and move my leg. they eventually moved me out of the sun and got me up on my good leg before sitting my down on a chair. she was very nice about the whole situation, repeatedly asking me if i wanted to quit. I told her i really didn't think I had broken it, and that eventually i would get better. after about 90 minutes sitting at the side of the road, and the last of the racers passing me by, i tried one last time to stand and weight bear on my leg and get back on my bike. I took ONE step and was on the ground in excruciating pain. as I lay there on the ground in tears, i finally gave up and told them "I quit. I'm done".
unfortunately that was not the end of the the pain. I unfortunately had to then climb into a van and drive 35 miles to the hospital, where i again had to climb back out and onto a stretcher. and by this point the adrenaline was definitely wearing off, and the pain was becoming VERY apparent. I was then wheeled into the emerg department where I was met by a team of doctors and nurses that cut all my clothes off me, took my vitals, started an IV, xrays taken (probably the most painful thing of all), and was finally given pain killers - mmmmm pain killers.
after about 30 minutes i was informed that i had an intertrochanteric fracture of my hip and that i was scheduled for surgery later that afternoon. i didn't know what to do. I immediately called my parents from a cordless phone from the emerg department that was really bad, so i had to yell so everyone could hear my conversation. as i struggled to hold back tears, i informed my parents about the situation and asked them to try and get in touch with my friend ian ball so i could ask his opinion on the surgery. I also frantically called around to friends in London to try and get cell phone numbers of friends and family watching the race so that someone knew where i was before i went under the knife.
i managed to get in touch with ian almost immediately and he really made me feel better about the situation. he informed me that it was a really simple surgery with very few complications.
nexted i managed to get in touch with tony frost in london who i ended up playing phone tag with for the next 2.5 hours as we tried different avenues to try and get in touch with anyone we knew in kona. we ended up calling and texting anyone and everyone we know at he race, including graham fraser in hopes that he may be able to do SOMETHING to get in touch with our friends. I can't thank tony enough for his assistance.
eventually i managed to get in touch with ryan hugget and rob whitmill. i informed them of what had happened so everyone wasn't running around after the race looking for me, as i knew they wouldn't release my medical info at the med tent. to my surprise rob and ryan jumped in the car and sped up to the hospital to be with me before surgery. i can't tell you how much that meant to me. by that point i was feeling very isolated and alone - and quite frankly scared shitless of having surgery without anyone knowing where i was.
at 5 pm i was rolled into surgery where i was met by the same crew that picked me up at the side of the road. apparently the 3 medics that picked me up were the anesthesiologist and physician assistant as well as the orthopod. they had made an exception for me, and came back on their day off after volunteering all day to do this surgery. again, i can' t thank them enough.
the next 5 hours are a blur. surgery apparently took about 2.5 hours where they put in 2 IM nails into my femur and hip joint. i was then taken to the ICU where christine was waiting for me, exhausted after an amazing race, and still managing to stagger up to the hospital to see me. i unfortunately don't remember her being there, but can't thank her enough for doing that.
the first thing i remember after surgery is waking up in my hospital room as a team of nurses hooked up my morphine pump and checked my vitals. i asked how everything went, and what time it was, and where my friends were, etc. i was out of it to say the least and i drifted in and out of sleep, especially after using a shot of the morphine pump. as effective as it was at relieving the pain, i tried to use it as little as possible as it gave me VERY strange dreams. i still remember dreaming i actually made it into T2 in the race and when i took my shoes out of the transition bag they actually came to life and started chasing me. as i said - very strange.
the next morning i was awoken at 6 am by my roommate trying to watch NFL football. I was a little confused to see football on at 6 am, but soon realized it was now 1 pm in NY and time for some football. Breakfast came at 7:30 am and i was starving not having eaten anything in over 24 hours. I quickly scarfed down the toast, eggs, and coffee. They tasted soo good. better than i ever remember them tasting. unfortunately that feeling of satisfaction was quickly lost as i became very nauseous and sick to my stomach.
at about 8 am i had my first appointment of the day PT. His name was Barry, and as it turns out is from Tucson and used to work at the same place i do now about 10 years ago. small world. unfortunately the small talked needed to be kept to a minimum as i needed to get moving if i wanted to get out that day to see christine pick up her award and the post race banquet. As Barry grabbed a walker and slipped on a gait belt, i slowly managed to get myself to a sitting position at the side of the bed. After a few minutes i managed to take a few steps and pretty soon we had managed to make it all the way around the floor with me dragging my left leg behind me. I was informed i was only allowed toe touch WB for 6 WEEKS!! and although i knew it was easier to get around lifting it off the ground rather than dragging it, that was just impossible. the pain in my hip everytime i tried sent me through the roof.
after doing 2 laps of the floor, we returned to my room, where to my delight and surprise christine sat there waiting. i can't tell you how amazing it was to finally see her. she hugged me as i broke into tears. she was amazing. she just hugged me back and told me everything would be ok, and that we would get through this.
after my little breakdown and finally learning the details of how she did (awesome by the way) we took a very slow walk to the gardens area out front of the hospital. our visit was cut short unfortunately as i needed to be taken for more tests to check for blood clots or damage to the blood flow to my left leg. I told her i would call later, and that i hoped to be able to leave that day to be a the awards banquet to see her get her award. she wasn't too keen on the idea, but reluctantly agreed to wait to see what the MDs said - sure they would agree with her that it wasn't smart.
later that afternoon, Ryan and Diana Hugget stopped by to see how i was doing. It was a total surprise, and above and beyond anything i expected. I was soo happy to hear that Diana had finished in fine form, and that Ryan had managed to get back to see her finish after coming up to the hospital to see me. i filled them in on what had happened and on surgery, and on my plans to go the the banquet. Diana was not sure it was such a good idea either.
unfortunately i'm pretty stubborn at time (ok most of the time) and i managed to persuade the MD's to give me a LOA for the night. They were gracious enough to loan me a wheelchair and walker for the night as long as i promised to return them ASAP as Larry the nurse case manager was putting his neck on the line for me. (yet another person i have to thank for going above and beyond what they ever needed to).
christine picked me up at 5 pm outfront of the hospital as i sat in my w/c holding my walker like a 90 y/o man. with a lot of help (and A LOT of pain) i managed to get into the car. maybe this wasn't such a good idea. oh well, no turning back now.
with the assistance of christine, i managed to get back out of the car, and hobble my way in where i needed help getting my food, drinks, and even to go the washroom. everyone was amazing. and as much pain as i was in, i was glad to be able to be there to share everyone else's victories, and especially to see chris pick up her award after watching how hard she had worked all spring and summer. she definately deserved it. congrats chris - i am soo proud of her.
i will have to fill you in on the rest of my adventure at a later date before this becomes a novel. but i really need to finish this off by thanking everyone for their help, assistance, and kind words. I would like to thanks all the doctors and nurses at the kona community hospital, the OR team, Dr Chang the surgeon who even went as far as to call my parents, Larry the RN manager who enabled me to go to the awards banquet, Barry and Ric my 2 PTs that got me walking again, to all my friends that have called and helped me after i got home. But I really need to thank Christine who i have had to rely on for almost everything. She has been amazing. more than amazing. she has been awesome. she has had to do everything from help me get dressed and shower, change my dressings, and help me get in and out of the car a million times. I have no idea how i can repay her for all she has done other than to say thank you and i love you.
