As many of you already know I'm sure, I spent this Saturday in the ER. I just thought I'd explain the story here so that I can avoid telling it any more times. Here we go:
The date : July 18th
So last Saturday some of my extended family was in town so we went on a traditional bike ride from Vail pass down through Copper and into Frisco. So with some effort I managed to convince Cheltsea to come along and join our bike ride. So began our trek. My brother Jay and my French exchange student Adde were in front on the Tandem (incredibly fast for some reason) followed by Cheltsea, then me, then my Parents and Cousins. Most of the bike ride was pretty uneventful. Just a bunch of people in a group desperately clinging onto a metal rod that steers two wheels that are the only things separating them from certain demise. Same old, same old, I know.
Finally approaching Frisco, there is a dirt bike trail off to the side of the road that I have ridden on since I was like 5. There are a bunch of little jumps that are pretty small but still big enough to get your bike off the ground for like a third of a second. But last year they built these jumps up. Now they are about 2 or 3 feet high. A joke if this was skiing, but biking... that's about all I'm willing to take on. So all is well and Jay and I are jumping and having a good time. Then my family starts to leave and I realize Cheltsea hasn't hit any jumps! Somehow I'm able to convince her to stay and do some more jumps with me. This is about when I have my great idea.
The biggest jump we're willing to go on is a decent size that you bike on the path, then down a short hill and off it. I wanted to hold the record for the most air so I decide to come at it like a police dog after Michael Vick and get tons of speed before the hill. And I mean tons of speed, like more than I've ever had even at the bottom of this hill before. So when I go down the hill it suddenly dawns on me, 'Holy Crap, I'm going really fast.' So this is where I made my mistake, I should've just gone for it but instead I focus way too much on the speed and try desperately to slow down and begin to lean too far forward. I went off the jump and my handlebars took a nose dive and flipped.
From here I'm going to have to go off of what Cheltsea said happened because I only remember about 2 minutes after the fall and then it goes totally blank. So here goes:
My head hit first followed by my left shoulder (which took the majority of the impact) and then the rest of my body. I remember laying there but not being able to open my eyes. I then hear Cheltsea run up and ask me if I'm ok, to which, being a man, I say "Yeah I'm fine" even though I know I'm not. I ask her to help me get up so we can walk back to Frisco when I suddenly realize I have no clue how to get there. I can't even move my own bike so she has to for me. Then the next thing I'm aware of is sitting on what appears to be a bus stop bench with Cheltsea next to me. So I'm still a little out of it and can't remember much and she tells me she's moving in two weeks. I had no idea! I looked at her like she was sniffing paint or something but for some reason the thought of her moving felt true. So I let it slide and my parents pulled up.
I was a parents nightmare right then. I was covered in dirt, clueless to most of what was going on around me, extremely pale, and could hardly move my arm because it hurt like crazy. So we drive to the Frisco ER, which I'm actually still not sure how we even found and I'm waiting for a doctor to tell me how bad I was messed up and my manager calls me. He lost his contract with the Old Spaghetti Factory, so in essence, I lost my job too. Perfect, this day is awesome so far. That's just the kind of call you hope to receive in the emergency room. I couldn't believe how bad a good day could become in just an hour or two!
After reviewing the X-rays and such, the final diagnosis was a level two separated shoulder and a mild concussion. That meant that I have to wear this stupid sling for 4-6 weeks but just barely avoided separating it bad enough to call for surgery. This is a picture of my shoulder and back from above, that'll just kinda give you an idea of the color that I was that night.
The date : July 18th
So last Saturday some of my extended family was in town so we went on a traditional bike ride from Vail pass down through Copper and into Frisco. So with some effort I managed to convince Cheltsea to come along and join our bike ride. So began our trek. My brother Jay and my French exchange student Adde were in front on the Tandem (incredibly fast for some reason) followed by Cheltsea, then me, then my Parents and Cousins. Most of the bike ride was pretty uneventful. Just a bunch of people in a group desperately clinging onto a metal rod that steers two wheels that are the only things separating them from certain demise. Same old, same old, I know.
Finally approaching Frisco, there is a dirt bike trail off to the side of the road that I have ridden on since I was like 5. There are a bunch of little jumps that are pretty small but still big enough to get your bike off the ground for like a third of a second. But last year they built these jumps up. Now they are about 2 or 3 feet high. A joke if this was skiing, but biking... that's about all I'm willing to take on. So all is well and Jay and I are jumping and having a good time. Then my family starts to leave and I realize Cheltsea hasn't hit any jumps! Somehow I'm able to convince her to stay and do some more jumps with me. This is about when I have my great idea.
The biggest jump we're willing to go on is a decent size that you bike on the path, then down a short hill and off it. I wanted to hold the record for the most air so I decide to come at it like a police dog after Michael Vick and get tons of speed before the hill. And I mean tons of speed, like more than I've ever had even at the bottom of this hill before. So when I go down the hill it suddenly dawns on me, 'Holy Crap, I'm going really fast.' So this is where I made my mistake, I should've just gone for it but instead I focus way too much on the speed and try desperately to slow down and begin to lean too far forward. I went off the jump and my handlebars took a nose dive and flipped.
From here I'm going to have to go off of what Cheltsea said happened because I only remember about 2 minutes after the fall and then it goes totally blank. So here goes:
My head hit first followed by my left shoulder (which took the majority of the impact) and then the rest of my body. I remember laying there but not being able to open my eyes. I then hear Cheltsea run up and ask me if I'm ok, to which, being a man, I say "Yeah I'm fine" even though I know I'm not. I ask her to help me get up so we can walk back to Frisco when I suddenly realize I have no clue how to get there. I can't even move my own bike so she has to for me. Then the next thing I'm aware of is sitting on what appears to be a bus stop bench with Cheltsea next to me. So I'm still a little out of it and can't remember much and she tells me she's moving in two weeks. I had no idea! I looked at her like she was sniffing paint or something but for some reason the thought of her moving felt true. So I let it slide and my parents pulled up.
I was a parents nightmare right then. I was covered in dirt, clueless to most of what was going on around me, extremely pale, and could hardly move my arm because it hurt like crazy. So we drive to the Frisco ER, which I'm actually still not sure how we even found and I'm waiting for a doctor to tell me how bad I was messed up and my manager calls me. He lost his contract with the Old Spaghetti Factory, so in essence, I lost my job too. Perfect, this day is awesome so far. That's just the kind of call you hope to receive in the emergency room. I couldn't believe how bad a good day could become in just an hour or two!
After reviewing the X-rays and such, the final diagnosis was a level two separated shoulder and a mild concussion. That meant that I have to wear this stupid sling for 4-6 weeks but just barely avoided separating it bad enough to call for surgery. This is a picture of my shoulder and back from above, that'll just kinda give you an idea of the color that I was that night.
