More of the Muse from the Rest Area

23 November 2011
After Action Report

At the end of the last article, a good-looking motorcycle enthusiast (me) had taken a nasty, high speed (less than 10 mph) spill at the Tail of the Dragon Stop Sign (located next to Honda of Norfolk).

Since the accident, I have replayed the accident in my head. As I felt the rear end fishtail out of control, all I was thinking about was the damage to the bike and how embarrassing dropping the bike in H of N's parking lot was going to be. These thoughts didn't last too long.

When the bike when down, my right leg stayed on top of the bike. The front and rear crash bars saved the bike from all but minor damage. Unfortunately, my left knee anchored itself to the asphalt. I quickly started to look like a wishbone being pulled apart at a chicken dinner. My thoughts immediately turned to "Damn this hurts; Damn this hurts; Damn this hurts."

I knew I needed to get off the bike to stop the right leg from traveling down the street while my left knee remained stuck somewhere behind me. No problem, the laws of physics took over. My stuck knee pulled me off the bike. Once clear of the bike, my left knee broke free of the payment and I started tumbling forward.

Victim's Note: I am very glad I had decided to wear my full face helmet. After looking at the scratches and dents from the tumble, it saved me from a lot of painful road rash (not to mention from pretty good knocks to the noggin and face.

Once I stopped tumbling and let out a primal yell or two, I found myself surrounded by most of the Norfolk of Honda staff. Thinking that pride was the only thing damaged, I tried to get up, a mistake on my part. They called 911 and stayed with me until Norfolk Fire and Rescue showed up on the scene. Leaving my bike in the good hands H of N, I was transported to DePaul Hospital on Granby Street.

Victim's Note: I can't say thank you enough to H of N's staff for their help.

By the time I got to DePaul, the swelling had taken affect and any movement was painful. Since I was breathing and not bleeding, I got to enjoy the reception area of the emergency room for about 20 minutes. I was then wheeled into an exam room. The first challenge was getting my boots and jeans off. It was a two person operation. I made it into a dressing gown and lay on the exam table.

They wheeled me to X-ray and determined that nothing was broken. Although they thought I had damage to the knee and associated parts, I wasn't considered an emergency patient and after 4 hours they released me with some pain meds, a full-leg brace, and advice to see my primary care doctor as soon as possible.

I then received the first indication that a bad knee was going to problematic. My wife was teaching and I couldn't get hold of her. My brother was with his wife going through foot surgery. I had no way to get home to Virginia Beach. I did the only thing I knew to do. When I was released, I went to the outside phone in the reception area and called the Black and White Cab Company. One of the civilians in the reception area was kind enough to push my wheel chair out in front of the ER's sliding doors.

The cab showed up in about 10 minutes. Of course, the cabbie pulled up and stayed in the cab. I managed to get out of the wheel chair, hobbled on my crutches to the cab, and inserted myself into the cab with a one-legged gymnastic move. He was nice enough to help me out of the cab when we arrived at my house. Of course, I had to tell him I couldn't reach the door to let myself out of the cab.

This all occurred on Friday, October 14. I was able to get an appointment with my primary care physician on Monday, an MRI on Tuesday, and an appointment with a knee specialist on Thursday (the Tricare referral was a little tricky). Despite having the MRI, my knee was too swollen and painful for the doctor to conduct an adequate exam. She decided to have me start rehab and see me again when the swelling had gone down enough to manipulate the knee (I didn't like the sound of that).

When I saw the doctor on November 3, she had mixed news. The good news was that the ACL (front side ligament) was badly strained, not torn (torn would be automatic surgery). The PCL (back side ligament) was torn, but the benefit of surgery is marginal. If the other ligaments heal and the surrounding muscles strengthen, they can help to minimize the lost of the PCL. However, the PCL does not heal or repair on its own, so that's a permanent condition. The MCL (inside ligament) was torn, but it is capable of healing (if not torn too badly). Additionally, the meniscus (the little cup that sits on top of the shin bone that the thigh bone fits into) was strained / bruised / torn. The only way to tell is to continue with rehab and if the pain continues over time, then surgery may be required to repair meniscus and MCL. So, the plan was to continue rehab and to reassess knee on DEC 8.

The interim good news is that I'm off crutches and off pain meds (except for some over-the-counter stuff at night). I can get my knee bent just enough to get into the van (if the door is completely open and the seat completely back), but not enough to get into the civic. I did try getting on the bike the other day. Unfortunately, the left knee isn't strong enough to hold me and the bike up. Also, I can't bend the knee enough to get my foot on the foot peg and to work the shift lever. I guess I'm just going to have to convince the therapist to get a motorcycle mock up in their facility.

Until next time, keep a look out for those stop signs and remember to be kind to people. You never know when you might need some unexpected help.