Hipsters

T

The Spaceman_imp

Road warrior
Thread starter
On November 6, 2012, I had a minor crash on my VStrom 1000 that turned out to be not so minor. Even though the crash basically consisted of me and the bike falling over, I broke the top of my femur (the big "ball" at the top of the bone) off. An ambulance ride to the hospital, surgery to put 3 big pins into the bones, 5 months of no riding. I finally started riding again shortly after I got the CB last March, and I was doing ok until about 3 months ago. Then the pins started coming out, the end of the bone died, and I developed a horrible limp because the joint was collapsing leaving my left leg almost an inch shorter than the right.

January 27, 2014, I went into the hospital and had one of the leading hip replacement surgeons do his thing. Two days later I was walked out of the hospital with a cane. The past two weeks I've been getting better virtually on a daily basis. I cut the lawn Saturday. I'm now walking with almost no limp, and I expect by the end of this week I'll be cane-free.

TODAY I RODE MY CB AGAIN!! It's about 65 degrees and sunny out, so I just had to get on that bike. I only went a couple miles, but damn it felt great. And I got to try my brand-new Nolan N104, which is an awesome lid.

What an amazing time we live in. To think I could be in such terrible shape only a few weeks ago, and now it looks like I'll recover to being virtually as fit as I was before the accident, is a gift from God.

I can't wait to show up for the Sunday ride with the South Florida Rider's Club. They're going to cuss when they see me ride up!
 
That is awesome Spaceman. Congrats.

Man what a terrible outcome from such a simple fall. Dayum.

As you know my wife had her hip replaced a couple months ago. She says it feels great. Hope your experience is the same. They are performing miracles these days. It is truly amazing.
 
Good news for you.
I had an artificial disk installed for my back a couple years ago, now I live a normal life.
I also work at a hospital so good to see so many people being healed and sent on their way!
 
Thread starter
The ferret_imp said:
That is awesome Spaceman. Congrats.

Man what a terrible outcome from such a simple fall. Dayum.

As you know my wife had her hip replaced a couple months ago. She says it feels great. Hope your experience is the same. They are performing miracles these days. It is truly amazing.
Click to expand...
I'm literally amazed at the outcome of this surgery. To go from barely able to walk with a horrible limp to striding along like nothing happened in less than 3 weeks is astounding. It was very lucky that one of the world-leading replacement surgeons practices in my area. I would have had to have waited months to even get an appointment with the Dr., but I lucked out because a fellow club rider works at his hospital and she got me in.
 
Welcome back to the two-wheeled world. Enjoy your ride and, since you're feeling so good, fly up to Chicago and shovel my driveway. ;)
 
Spaceman, your story of recovery now ranks amongst my all-time favorite posts around here.

Congratulations, and enjoy!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Good luck fellow hipster! I dislocated my hip in '78 and had four pins used to put it back together. It put an end to my motorcycle and bicycle riding days because my left leg also became shorter than my right and I no longer had the flexibility to sit in a riding position without pain. Fast forward to 2001 and hip replacements become the latest thing. Had mine replaced (also by one of the country's leading orthopedic surgeons) and have never looked back. I suffered through 23 years of painful arthritis before the new hip, but now feel blessed to be back riding again! It sucks to have suffered the initial injury but the replacement changed my life!
 
I too had my hip done three years ago. For me recovery then was 3 months before I was back on a bike but let me say it makes riding more enjoyable!

Sure sounds like things have changed over the years!

Sent from my XT1055 using Tapatalk
 
Spaceman, that's fantastic news. I hope the recovery continues fast and you're soon spending lots more time on the bike. Thanks for sharing your story with us.

Many, many years ago, when I was in my final year at school, some clown knocked my off my Suzuki 250 (I don't remember the model, but it was a 2-stroke and went like the clappers). I broke my leg (tibia and fibula) which disagreeably refused to heal. By the end of the year at exam time, I was still hobbling around on crutches. Exams were externally administered and were undertaken in a large centre and I was given dispensation to sit in a smaller room where I could get up and wander around to ease discomfort in my leg should I need to.

My younger brother was sitting the same exams and wandered out the door after an exam only to be hit by a car as he crossed the road. He broke the neck of his femur. It was quickly fixed with a plate and screws, but he had the same problem as you: the bone around the ball joint died and he was quickly in trouble. We were told at the time that it was not uncommon for that to happen with breaks to the femur.

If I hadn't already recorded my age on this forum, I'd pretend that anaesthetic had barely been invented in those day. Actually it had been around a couple of years. But hip replacements certainly had not, so his only choice was to have the thing re-broken and reset in a way that allowed the weight to be taken on a healthy part of the bone. The consequence was a significantly shortened leg which he has endured until this day. It hasn't stopped him leading a very active life. He's been a bit of an inspiration to me as are all of you who charge on with life carrying these injuries.

The postscript to the accident was that I turned up to an exam the morning after my brother's accident and was asked by the invigilator, "Were you the boy who broke his leg in the accident last night?"

"Nah," I said, "That was my brother."

She didn't believe me.
 
Dang Cormanus ... What are the chances? Two brothers, same school, broken legs by being hit by cars ... That's uncanny..in a bad way.

Btw if it was in the mid to late sixties and a pure street bike and it went like clappers it was probably a Suzuki 250 X6 Hustler. Very fast in it's day.

1967 Suzuki X6 Hustler - Motorcycle Classics
 
Thread starter
Cormanus_imp said:
Spaceman, that's fantastic news. I hope the recovery continues fast and you're soon spending lots more time on the bike. Thanks for sharing your story with us.

Many, many years ago, when I was in my final year at school, some clown knocked my off my Suzuki 250 (I don't remember the model, but it was a 2-stroke and went like the clappers). I broke my leg (tibia and fibula) which disagreeably refused to heal. By the end of the year at exam time, I was still hobbling around on crutches. Exams were externally administered and were undertaken in a large centre and I was given dispensation to sit in a smaller room where I could get up and wander around to ease discomfort in my leg should I need to.

My younger brother was sitting the same exams and wandered out the door after an exam only to be hit by a car as he crossed the road. He broke the neck of his femur. It was quickly fixed with a plate and screws, but he had the same problem as you: the bone around the ball joint died and he was quickly in trouble. We were told at the time that it was not uncommon for that to happen with breaks to the femur.

If I hadn't already recorded my age on this forum, I'd pretend that anaesthetic had barely been invented in those day. Actually it had been around a couple of years. But hip replacements certainly had not, so his only choice was to have the thing re-broken and reset in a way that allowed the weight to be taken on a healthy part of the bone. The consequence was a significantly shortened leg which he has endured until this day. It hasn't stopped him leading a very active life. He's been a bit of an inspiration to me as are all of you who charge on with life carrying these injuries.

The postscript to the accident was that I turned up to an exam the morning after my brother's accident and was asked by the invigilator, "Were you the boy who broke his leg in the accident last night?"

"Nah," I said, "That was my brother."

She didn't believe me.
Click to expand...
Wow, that's a hell of a story! And it's probably the first time the old expression "I feel your pain" actually applies. Ok, your brother's pain.

Has he considered the hip replacement option, or does he figure he's made the adjustments and he'll leave well enough alone? Honestly, I was trying to avoid a second surgery because I'm lazy, cheap, and thought I'd have to go through another long and painful recovery. I thank God the Dr. and others convinced me to go ahead with it.
 
The Spaceman_imp said:
Cormanus_imp said:
Spaceman, that's fantastic news. I hope the recovery continues fast and you're soon spending lots more time on the bike. Thanks for sharing your story with us.

Many, many years ago, when I was in my final year at school, some clown knocked my off my Suzuki 250 (I don't remember the model, but it was a 2-stroke and went like the clappers). I broke my leg (tibia and fibula) which disagreeably refused to heal. By the end of the year at exam time, I was still hobbling around on crutches. Exams were externally administered and were undertaken in a large centre and I was given dispensation to sit in a smaller room where I could get up and wander around to ease discomfort in my leg should I need to.

My younger brother was sitting the same exams and wandered out the door after an exam only to be hit by a car as he crossed the road. He broke the neck of his femur. It was quickly fixed with a plate and screws, but he had the same problem as you: the bone around the ball joint died and he was quickly in trouble. We were told at the time that it was not uncommon for that to happen with breaks to the femur.

If I hadn't already recorded my age on this forum, I'd pretend that anaesthetic had barely been invented in those day. Actually it had been around a couple of years. But hip replacements certainly had not, so his only choice was to have the thing re-broken and reset in a way that allowed the weight to be taken on a healthy part of the bone. The consequence was a significantly shortened leg which he has endured until this day. It hasn't stopped him leading a very active life. He's been a bit of an inspiration to me as are all of you who charge on with life carrying these injuries.

The postscript to the accident was that I turned up to an exam the morning after my brother's accident and was asked by the invigilator, "Were you the boy who broke his leg in the accident last night?"

"Nah," I said, "That was my brother."

She didn't believe me.
Click to expand...
Wow, that's a hell of a story! And it's probably the first time the old expression "I feel your pain" actually applies. Ok, your brother's pain.

Has he considered the hip replacement option, or does he figure he's made the adjustments and he'll leave well enough alone? Honestly, I was trying to avoid a second surgery because I'm lazy, cheap, and thought I'd have to go through another long and painful recovery. I thank God the Dr. and others convinced me to go ahead with it.
Click to expand...
I haven't talked to him about it for a long time. I've a recollection he told me it wasn't an option for him, but I can't for the life of me remember why. In light of your story, I'll certainly ask him again.

Sounds to me like there's a fair bit of shared pain on this site.

It's so good your surgery's been a success. And Mrs Ferret's too.
 
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