Still waiting

After falling and breaking my clavicle on Sept. 25, and the October 1 appointment with the orthopedist who severely restricted my activities for the next few weeks while I healed, I was quite hopeful that my follow-up appointment today would enable me to resume most everything, as it has seemed to me to be healing well. However, the Physician's Assistant I saw said that, in the fracture, it had been offset pretty substantially. And the good news was that the x-rays show that it hasn't moved, so I'm on the right course. But it is not all the way healed yet, so, while I'm OK to resume driving (and thus go back to my job for which driving was necessary), I'm still prohibited from riding outdoors until at least after my next follow-up appointment on November 26. She said that riding a bicycle was "most problematic" in the case of a clavicle fracture, and it wasn't entirely clear to me whether she meant that riding causes such fractures frequently, or whether she meant that the patient had to be especially carefuly when at the stage where I am now, not to rush a return.
While this is mildly disappointing to me, I'm most happy about being able to drive (and work) again—and after all, I will concede, that as the old sayings go, "Better safe than sorry" and "Better to err on the side of caution." Meanwhile, being able to drive again will make it much more feasible for me to get back to LA Fitness to ride on the elliptical. And, on days when I absolutely must get outside, I always have the option of walking.  So, all in all, I would classify this as good news. I still plan to take up riding again when I am able to, however—though I admit that it may have to be quite limited until springtime.
The Physician's Assistant also cleared up a mystery for me when I asked about the large lump that developed over the clavicle. I had expected that it would gradually have gone away as the healing took place, but she said that the severity of the break caused a large ball of bone to form asymmetrically around the injury. With time, it will gradually abate somewhat—but will probably never disappear entirely, and that side will always display a difference from the other.

Health update

After my fall last Wednesday, September 25, with the resulting broken clavicle, they told me they wanted me to have a consultation appointment with an orthopedic surgeon, and that took place today at Domino Farms with Dr. Asheesh Bedi. He was very personable, and we had a nice discussion of my situation. I had written a note to him on my laptop, explaining that, "For my job it is critical that I be able to drive. I feel ready to resume that, but only with your approval." He said, however, that mine is what they call a "gray zone" fracture, with some separation of the bone and a decent chance it will heal itself, as most clavicle fractures (the most common fractured bone) do, but also a chance that it won't. And, as regarding driving, he recommended that I wait 3 more weeks before resuming it - I have a follow-up appointment for October 25, at which time they'll do another x-ray. So, all things considered, it is not quite the unmitigated positive news I had hoped for, but at least I know now, and can continue to move ahead.

Michelle often kids me about my "gift of patience." As we were leaving today's appointment, I grinned at her and said, "Well, I guess have to practice my gift of patience."

A further change

Michelle and I had a surprising conversation this afternoon, initiated by her, in which she said that she realizes how much riding means to me, and therefore wants me to feel free to continue—as long as it is with strict limitations. For now, I should do no more long rides on the road (such as to Saline), and should ride primarily off-road on bicycle paths or trails, other than the short route to and from work once my broken clavicle has healed up enough for me to resume. I'm certainly good with that, and grateful to her for this show of mercy—and as far as getting to trails concerned, it isn't as if they are right outside our door (with the exception of the Lohr-Textile Greenway, which begins only a few hundred yards from us), but it is not as if they are inaccessible either. So I am certainly breathing easier tonight.

Changing conditions

In the wake of Wednesday's fall where I fractured my right clavicle, I've been thinking a lot about my cycling, and have come to some difficult decisions. I am concerned in light of the several falls I have experienced over the last few months, and particularly because, with this one, I have a clear mental image neither of the environment that led to it, nor of what I did wrong. The next thing I knew, I was on the ground, unable to get up, and someone called an ambulance and away I went.

I have really enjoyed riding very much, but it seems as if it is not a safe mode of exercise for me. So I have listed my bike for sale on craigslist, and am going to investigate the possibility of getting a recumbent bike, which I am told is more stable, or possibly even an adult trike. It's all up in the air at this point—but that's what I'm considering, anyway.

154th ride

Today was a highly disappointing day in my riding career—and even to put it that way is a substantial understatement. After riding to work again this morning, and then working a longer than average workday (until nearly 4:00), I set off to ride to our 5:15 Weight Watchers meeting. I had been planning to ride by way of Saline again, but unforeseen delays in my afternoon work duties ruled out this roughly 13-mile ride for time reasons. So, instead, I planned to ride south on State to Textile, and take it west to Maple, and then back up to the Weight Watchers meeting. But those plans took a detour, when, riding on State, a little south of Ellsworth, I fell. After my August 29 fall and broken rib, I had vowed to try harder to really focus on safe riding. Particularly distressing to me today, though, in retrospect, is the fact that I do not retain a clear mental image of the environment, or of what I did wrong. I am not aware of having taken any chances, or unnecessary risks. But clearly, I did something wrong—someone insisted on calling an ambulance, and they insisted on taking me to University Hospital and on calling Michelle, who met us there.

In the course of treatment through the ER, I was administered a set of x-rays, as well as a CAT scan of my head (since initial reports indicated that I was acting somewhat "goofy"—but then, I think this is just my nature). Pleasingly, the CAT scan came back completely normal—but not so the x-rays, which indicated a rather severe triple fracture of my right clavicle. Upon hearing this, I was happy to note that there was some justification in my having accepted the trip to the hospital (though, initially, I was a bit chagrined that I hadn't found it within myself to get up and keep on riding).

I am happy to have been sent away from the hospital in a nice navy blue sling, emblazoned with a large maize block M.

As I write this, at home some hours later, I am experiencing considerable pain and discomfort in the shoulder. That has increased greatly since the initial event, which was largely pain-free. But as the magnitude of it has set in to my system, it seems to be overcoming me.

In light of all this, it seems almost unimportant to note that I rode roughly 4 miles today, in about 26 minutes.

153rd ride

On another completely gorgeous day to ride, I almost precisely replicated yesterday's ride—all but the last couple of miles before getting home, when I took a slightly varied route. But I rode again to Saline on the way home, for a 13.1-mile ride, and when combined with the morning's ride to work, this gave me 15.2 miles for the day, in 1 hour and 26 minutes.

152nd ride

After giving myself a day off yesterday—a rarity—I was glad to be able to get back to riding today. After riding to work this morning and then working a fairly good full day, I did a long ride to give me my fullest day of riding since returning on September 14 after my August 29 broken rib, going to Saline and coming back up to Ann Arbor by a 12.8-mile route, to total 14.8 miles for the day in 1 hour and 27 minutes.

 

Back in the spring, Doug Franklin and Doug Tidd counseled me, on my rides to Saline, to avoid riding on Michigan Ave. (US 12) and Ann Arbor-Saline Rd., respectively. I have followed that advice diligently since that time. However, today, after careful consideration, I decided to ride a route that included a short stretch on Michigan Ave. My reasons were that it was short (only a couple of miles), and the road there is straight and well surfaced, with excellent visibility, and for the most part broad paved shoulders on which I was able to ride (and also, today, I was riding it in brilliant daylight, at 4:00 p.m.).