[Closed] Life changing events... long term.

Thankfully all my chickens are still roaming free and none have yet come back home...

All great.

Fortunately, while there's a swear filter, there's not a lie filter.

Twisted my lower back in 92 now it hurts from time to time.

Broke my hip, oh, 10 years ago now. 6 months on crutches, 4 months off work, year of heavy rehab and pain, and kind of knocked me out of the world completely- I lost track of a lot of friends, it finished off a relationship I might have fixed and knocked what little career I had right into the bushes. I absolutely lived and breathed motorbiking and even though it wasn't bike related, the leg was pretty iffy and I got diagnosed with osteoperosis- I just never loved it again. Lost track of some good people that way and left me with a bit of a hole, that was my blow-off valve and I don't function without one...

But perversely, it's the reason I ride bikes- I was struggling to regain mobility and someone said "how about cycling". So I dragged out my ancient carrera, fixed it up, and rode round the block- it killed me 😆 Did it again, killed me again. Eventually managed to ride up the hill, then the next hill, then went offroad one day onto a path I used to ride 20 years before. Honestly cried like a baby the first time I got to the top of Maiden's Cleuch, it'd beaten me so many times it felt like bloomin Everest. Decided to get a new bike, lashed out £200 which seemed like madness :lol:. Picked up What Mountain Bike and by crazy luck ChrisL of this forum, who I'd known since uni but lost contact with, had written in about trailfairying at Glentress. So that was it, called him up, went to GT, started trailbuilding, starting riding more and more.

My orthopaedic consultant just about shat himself though, he was amazed at the improvement in my walk, I think I'd been slightly written off as a functional cripple tbh...I said "Yeah, I'm cycling a lot, it's really helped". He says "Yes, gentle cycling is very good for someone in your position", I said "I'm just back from a downhill race at Fort William" 😆

Lost, in all honesty, the best part of 5 years in what's supposed to be the best part of your life but gained a lot too and man it could have been worse. Still hurts every day, still affects me a lot physically, I'll never run properly or ski again, stuff like that. And it'll always hold back my riding to some extent, right leg is just not as strong as it should be. Can't complain too much, I can walk and jump and ride a bike and I didn't need a replacement so it should last the rest of my life... So how do you weigh that up?

I had a party trick (it's such a stupid sounding thing now) that I could arm wrestle with reasonable competence using my little finger.

That was until a woman came along that just quickly and mercilessly grabbed it and bent it back until it was at 90 degrees from upright. The sound was something quite unbelievable.

I'd like to think she was a daft sod, but realistically, I deserved that accolade more.

Anyhow, I now have a vaguely uncontrollable flappy finger when I undertake my favourite pastime of swimming, and will probably get arthritis in it.

Nob.

Slipped on a loft ladder, bumped/slid down it and teetered at the top of the stairs for what felt like an age before falling backwards. In my head I felt I had the agility to go over onto my hands like a cartwheel type move and, with panache and skill, land at the bottom. In reality I did the cartwheel bit but landed heavily about three or four stairs from the bottom and dislocated my ankle.

Never been the same since and still bugs me when the weather turns cold and damp.

Edit : and long term I still roll for no reason and it turns black and swells like a balloon. Not really life-changing, I guess. Not in comparison to that shit below...

Broke spine in a number of places in a car crash back in 91 at the age of 19, not my fault as another driver was showing off to his passengers by driving fast along a single lane road at night with no lights and i swerved to avoid him and slid down a bank, through a dyke and hit the biggest tree in sw-scotland 😕 - the postie found me 8 hrs later.

Paralysed from the chest down, shattered two vertebrae - fractured quite a few others, punctured lungs, 7 broken ribs, both collarbones and one shoulder along with damage to kidneys/perforated stomach (thanks ribs) , kept in an induced coma for a few weeks till they managed to stabilise me and sort the niggling problems out then the hours n' hours of surgical work started on trying to repair my spine, they eventually removed T6 + T9 - removed shards of bone from my cord, built a titanium frame around the spine and fused most of it, removed ribs etc. Eventually feeling came back in my toes then i managed to wiggle them, over the next 4 months it all came back and i managed to walk out on crutches - i recovered really well over the next 6 months and from the end of 92 to bout 2008 i didn't really have any issues at all apart from having no bladder/bowel control but that is a small price to pay to be walking again - I rode bikes/raced bikes/ran up hills/ran down hills/raced cars/crashed cars - just lived every single day and did whatever i wanted to at every opportunity.

2008 to current day the injuries i did to myself back then have came back to haunt me as my leg strength is deteriorating/getting weaker due to the spinal cord damage and i can't stand for long, walking is pretty much out of the question these days and riding a normal bike is a very slow and hard process so i've recently bought myself a scott e-genius - absu****inglutly best thing i've done since 2007 😀 .

But life could be so much worse, i managed to recover from a life changing spinal injury yet so many folk end up in a wheelchair and paralysed for life - i had a second chance so i have a lot to be thankful for - there's not a day goes by where i don't find myself wiggling my toes and remembering the joy that i got from such a simple pleasure back in 91 when laid up in the spinal unit.

There's always someone much worse than you (or so i tell myself when i think about having a moan and bitch to myself) - such as the 16yr old who was brought into the spinal unit when i was there - he forgot to tie his shoelaces and ran out the front door to catch the school bus, he tripped and fell awkwardly severing his spinal cord at the neck which left him a quadraplegic 🙁

Fine, you just make my flappy finger look trivial.

A flappy finger is a cool party trick though 😀 , I've got a licence to piss n' shit in the street due to no bladder/bowel control - not quite as cool and unlikely to impress any girls. 😉

I need a knee replacement apparently 10 years too early. Too much rugby and football. Have quite a lot pain daily as I keep putting it off.

Was going to honk about the scar on my forehead where I smashed a glass into it but... seems a bit trivial now?

I was about to cr*p on about my left index finger which went through a table saw and now causes numbness and loss of sensation - but it seems a bit trivial now.

Somafunk - good for you, old chap - I am very impressed with your outlook and attitude. It makes all our so-called problems seem very insignificant.

I occasionally lose quite a lot of feeling in the lower half of my body. Sort of like pins and needles from the bottom of the ribs down.
Hence not riding the bike much for the last 12-18 months.
As far as we can tell the most likely culprit is a rather massive crash in about 95. Diagnosis and treatment is ongoing.

bearnecessities - Member
Fine, you just make my flappy finger look trivial

Not at all, Rich. We all thought it was trivial before somafunk posted. 😀

I'm currently waiting to see whether I'm going to need a knee replacement after the most stupid bike related fall ever.

Drunken piggyback fight in 1987. Snapped a tendon in my ankle. If I turn my ankle awkwardly I just fall over.

Broke my foot slipping on wet floor in restaurant.

Year later cannot run without pain. Might need an op to break bone and pin it.

Gutted as I loved running but you just have to do something else.

Like cycling/gym with weights, playing PS4 or guitar/challenge.

It happens so enjoy your health.

That was until a woman came along that just quickly and mercilessly grabbed it and bent it back until it was at 90 degrees from upright. The sound was something quite unbelievable.

I think I know her - this wasn't in a pub in the Lake District was it?

Obviously quite humbled by somafunk's tale. Particularly as I'm currently living under the shadow of a black dog.
Respect to you.
Not a physical thing but the early death of my dad changed our family forever. Still miss him terribly & wish he was around to see my boy...:-(

A tosser fouled me playing football. Nasty tackle.
Knackered my anterior cruciate ligament . Spent several years randomly collapsing in shops,gigs& down stairs etc.
Eventually had the ligament replaced using my hamstring . It doesn't like the cold.

Diagnosed with paroxsysmal atrial fibrilation at 25 and was told that I woudl be dead, likely by a stroke at 50. That ruined me for a very long time and contributed a lot to the depression that I only kicked about five years later.

At the time, there was nothing they could do about it and it really limited what I did sport/activity wise and certainly contributed to the break-up of my first marriage.

The techniques improved over the years and I got bits of my heart burned about 8 years ago, fixing the problem. A year to the day later I ran my first 10k in 47 minutes and had joined the TA. I now run half marathons and am the fittest and strongest I have ever been in my life.

More importantly, I learned to live with the risks of going into AF. I think I'm a lot more relaxed about things now, but I did miss a lot of my earlier being, quite frankly, scared of dying and angry.

Not far behind Somafunk only I did mine 2 yrs before he did.
Some days I consider accepting that blue badge - others I'll kick Satan in the nuts before breakfast.
Ghost - I managed to realised I'd pissed myself whilst sitting at the OH's kitchen table in sept last year.
Well I found out after the realisation I couldn't move or feel anything from the waist down.
Only rode the Capra that I ordered in June for the first time a few weekends back.

A little similar to Willard. I had a pulmonary embolism in 2014 which put me out of action for a few months - but I laughed at it a few months later when I climbed Mont Ventoux. In 2015 I also got AF and had various treatments - the worst one being when I had a negative reaction to two drugs and needed to be resuscitated in June. I got an ablation in August and, other than having a resting heart rate 20 beats higher, I'm doing more cycling than ever before. Target is 8000km this year and I've just come back from an 86k ride to Box Hill in light snow this morning. Given tragic events in our club earlier this week life is precious and we all need to make the most of it.

Ghost - I managed to realised I'd pissed myself whilst sitting at the OH's kitchen table in sept last year.

Cos to be frank, having my spine operated on scares the shit out of me.

They won't go into mine - despite saying "there's more deterioration than we would expect to see even with the previous damage."
I have permanent loss of feeling in areas of feet and one hand after september's "incident" which the drugs are maintaining.
At least its not getting worse and I can walk unaided now and drive/ride so not all bad.
Exercises to help with mobility counteracting damaged nerves which then set off other ones gets tiring.
Biggest daily annoyance though is a stomach that can't decide what its doing.
That really does get on my nerves more than the pain.
Having to proof read EVERYTHING twice too because what you tell your hands to do and what they actually do being completely different things isn't funny either - well everyone who gets texts thinks it is sometimes 😯

...just come back from an 86k ride to Box Hill in light snow this morning. Given tragic events in our club earlier this week life is precious and we all need to make the most of it.

So true.

Deepest sympathy to all at TCC, RIP Ralph Brazier.

Caher - Member
I need a knee replacement apparently 10 years too early. Too much rugby and football. Have quite a lot pain daily as I keep putting it off.

There's a specialist in Birmingham call Derek McMinn (McMinn centre).
He specialises in knee and hip replacements in younger more active patients. Worth having a look into.

Good luck to everyone else.

Trivial compared to some of that lot ^

I was a reasonable footy player as a lad

Stuck my head in daft places once too often and got a dislocated jaw that now clicks and sticks fairly often (hasn't actually locked up fully yet)
Also kept playing for too long after badly spraining both ankles - I sprained both so often despite taping them right up that I've very little sense of when they're going to go again

... and my knees are a bit ****ed too

I was in a road accident and the other vehicle involved was a tractor which should have been escorted My right forearm has a huge scar but no lasting damage, after a legal fight drawn out by NFU mutual I received a pay out which allowed me to go to university so that was in the end a good thing.

In November I fractured my patella into 9 pieces and did some cartilage damage too, I am not yet fully recovered and have been thinking about the long term consequences, running is certainly out. It's given me more empathy for one of my riding mates who has knee trouble and at times lags behind.

My mistake was worse than all those.

I found the singletrack forum many years ago. It's cost me several jobs and many tens of thousands of pounds since.

Trivial really but the combo of a fractured acetabulum (hip joint) after an off in Friston, leading to some arthritis already showing, and a knee cartilage injury in the same side, mean I can cycle and ski, but long walks in the hills which were what I thought would replace MTBing in a few years, are probably out.

It's a small thing really but I'm thinking about what I'll be doing when I retire.

Cartilage replacement is getting better and fingers crossed it will be available on the NHS in the future.

The femur I broke when I was 17 is starting to cause me some grief, not nearly as bad as some of the stories above so I shall count my blessings.

Broke my back in a motorbike accident when I was 19. Now 50 and when I get out of bed in the mornings I'm bent over like an old man for 10 minutes til it loosens up.

Still it's never actually stopped me doing anything and frankly is insignificant compared to some of the stories above.

Parent died in a car accident when I was six. Emotional scarring never healed. All back with a vengeance this year.

Crushed vertebra at 19 which probably saved me from anything worse as it was a right wake up call to the fact I wasn't invincible and I drove like a prick.

And busting my accetablum. The 7 years of chronic pain through my mid n late 20s into my 30s really took it out of me. No biking no being outdoorsy.

Proper tough. Not a good period.

My new hip equals New life n I'm loving it.

There's more too regarding a the death of my dad as a kid but I still find it hard to quantify what that's done too my life. N not in an all bad way. It's probably a bit much to think about for a Saturday night.

Oh n the descion to say no in my Renault Clio to someone's offer still haunts me now.......

Christ…reading back through these it appears that age 19 is akin to the 27 club for rock stars.

Still….it's better to have that "one" big accident/crash whilst we're young as the body can heal itself better.

And to look forward too the crippling arthritis in later years 😛

Ahh but that's in the future - we don't worry about such things as that is an emotional drain on resources and anything could happen to us beforehand.

Live in the present and live for the day you have control over 😉

I had a complete breakdown in 2012. Driven by stress at work. It made me realise that actually I had had smaller but still recognisably the same but undiagnosed events back in 1987 and 1993. It was a big realisation. Since then, I've not felt as confident or resilient despite significant amounts of counselling and some consistent and considered use of medication. Although I don't have repeated or constant thoughts of ending my life, I no longer value it or think of it as being as precious as I did. I am also very vigilant and watchful for reoccurrences and this doesn't help me to relax. This to me is a great loss and it does affect my levels of happiness.

Before any of you great folk get concerned - I'm not suicidal and this isn't some kind of cry for help. In fact it is a little cathartic and lifts a bit of weight to share.

Before I sound too negative, it has had some great impacts too. I would like to think I was always thoughtful and concerned for others - but I think I am now more so. I also try to reach out to people more who may be in the situation I was and am more open in talking about mental health.

Deepest sympathy to all at TCC, RIP Ralph Brazier.

Thank you kilo. Whilst I have refrained from public comment, suffice to say that this week was the most traumatic of my cycling career.

Somafunk wow, just wow. You sound like both a survivor and a fighter 🙂

Well folks given all the above Somafunks advice seems the best course of action. Easy to say tough to do, but the right way forward.

Have had my own serious very serious injury but what knocked the stuffing out of me was the injury to my partner. You can fight for yourself but its impossible to mend who you love.

My own minor aches and pains are really put into perspective after reading through this!
Take care of yourselves, everyone.

Have had my own serious very serious injury but what knocked the stuffing out of me was the injury to my partner. You can fight for yourself but its impossible to mend who you love.

Countzero +1. My 8month+ shoulder injury is put well into perspective. Ironically as a teen a car I was in hit a roundabout at 70+, somersaulted numerous times up the road until it landed on its roof. People from the local pub had to pull me out. All three of us got out with not even a scratch. I had loads of cubes of glass in my (sockless) slip-on shoes but no cuts.

My story is pretty much the same as Jamj1974. Complete breakdown in 2005 aged 41 followed by another in 2009, due to I suspect work stress, but there had been milder episodes going back to my late teens, and mid to late 20's.

I probably lost 6 years of my life to depression and anxiety.

I have been good for the last 5 years or so, but I still worry more than most people. Oddly I have been under considerably more stress at work for the last 3 years, than ever in my life, but I seem to be coping well enough.

All that said the GP suggested last week I needed some time out, her view was my recurrent viruses and general physical unwellness is down to chronic stress, I haven't heeded her advice and now have another damn virus.

Either way stress screws you up one way or another.

MTB crash at 19 did for my knees, screaming down Bamford Clough in the Peak my pedal clipped a rock and unclipped so i went off a drop on one foot and went OTB hard, took a lot of skin off my legs and mh kneecaps took a battering. Not been right since, i seem to get fitter then all of a sudden it flares up and thats another year over.

22 I walked off a 6ft drop in a car park and landed on my face, my lower back bent round as i crumpled up, never been the same since and gets 'tired' really quickly if doing any heavy lifting.

Broke my arm 3x in quick succession, as a result of that the alignmet of the wrist is out, no doubt that's going to cause some painfull problems.

You sound like both a survivor and a fighter

Cheers Hora but i'm no different than anyone else, I do have the mental tools such as transcendental meditation which i was taught/coached when in the spinal unit by one of the therapists, this has enabled me to immediately recognise any negative thoughts or suchlike and accept them in the moment then move on - 10-15 mins twice a day and it feels like i've taken a steam cleaner and a scrubbing brush to my brain, my thought process is clearer and i can physically feel the difference throughout my body. It has been shown to change brain chemistry when practised daily/over a period of time and if i get pain i often take a minute during the day to just remove myself from the experience and dive into my brain for a root around and flick a few switches to stop the discomfort - saying that i sometimes resort to tramadol or gabapentin when i get immobilising pain/muscle spasms so i'm definitely not saying it's a panacea for all lifes ills n' troubles 😀

Sounds a bit hippy-drippy but i believe it to be true so that's good enough for me, I guess any sort of deep relaxation techniques would have a similar effect.

[url= https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcendental_Meditation_technique ]Wiki on TM[/url]

Obviously absolutely minor compared to the previous comments but..

Got hit HARD in the face with a football last year, knocked me sparko. Woke up with blurred vision in my left eye now I have a dead spot in the middle of my vision. It's incredibly difficult to get work done as I can't see 'round it' if that makes sense. Considering wearing an eye patch to work. 🙄

Hippytrippy? If it works its a viable and powerful recovery tool. 🙂

Okay, this isn't going to be easy to write but here goes...

I badly broke my thumb on a dry-ski slope about 10 years ago - this meant that I had to have it pinned back into position. After I woke up from the operation, I found my left hand and wrist covered in a massive theatre cast - which was suspended above my head in a sling to reduce the swelling, and I'd also had a nerve block in my left armpit so I had no feeling in my left arm at all.
I woke up in the night, feeling a bit uncomfortable, moved in the bed, and my arm fell out of the sling and started to fall towards me - because of the nerve block I couldn't control the muscles to stop it falling, and so I moved out of the way - this didn't work, as my arm was still attached at the shoulder and so it came with me and kept falling -and promptly broke my nose!

This meant that after my nose healed it leaned to one side a bit - and so, for the rest of my natural life, I will always have to live with *takes deep breath*...

Slightly wonky sunglasses - the horror!

I hear you brother.

*high-fives with flappy finger*

This is so cathartic isn't it? I'm saving a fortune on therapy here...

My forum name doesn't quite cut the mustard with Somafunk and similar but I still earned the name. Loads of trivial shit with broken arms, fractured skulls, snapped fingers and toes but the one that got me was snapping my foot off. They bolted it back on but still in pain 3 1/2 years later and the ankle was fused last September . Hopefully the last operation.

Like Somafunk I bought an e bike. In fact the same model but that was coincidence. 4 day in and loving it.

The biggest effect can be on those around you. MrsWCA felt physically sick with worry when I rode out on the new bike. She cried with joy when I returned smiling. I owe that woman so much for supporting me emotionally over this time. She has been amazing and I wouldn't have blamed her at any time for leaving me as I went through pain, depression and anger.

But hey ho, the sun will still rise tomorrow so smile and get on with it I guess.

Gabapentin is a life saver - without it I can't walk.
Well I can but apparently it's hilarious to watch - it's not hilarious to do though as by **** does it hurt!

@ pictonroad - I was hit in the eye with a hockey ball around ten years ago. After the initial blindness wore off I was left with a blank spot in the vision of my left eye: it's caused by a scar to the macular, which is the list of the retina responsible for sharp focusing.

Sounds like you have the same. After a while my brain had retrained itself and now I only "see" the gap in my vision during an eye test (I already wore glasses).

The repairs to my face took longer to heal but TBH I've pretty much forgotten about it.

Currently I, along with various specialists, are keeping an eye on me to see if I will develop a pretty serious condition. Sadly this has meant giving up nearly all exercise for the last four years. I think I grieved for the loss of cycling for about three of them. More tests recently - let's see what they bring. I live in hope and without diagnosis.

Perhaps we should start a [i]STW Cripple Club[/i] 😀

WCA : I can understand where Mrs WCA is coming from as my mother was/is similar, i can only imagine what i put them through all those years ago and even to this day she freaks out if i don't give her a quick call/txt every night or pop into see her, some folk would prob think that's too much but if it keeps her happy and sane i'll go along with it

Like hammyuk watching me attempt to walk is also quite entertaining, i can hold it together for about 10 steps then it all goes to **** in a basket of oiled up frogs, i trip over my own feet, stumble then do a splendid impression of a drunk losing his balance whilst attempting to juggle a carry out as i throw my arms out to stabilise me which has led to quite a few heated confrontations when i've been pulled over for suspected drunk driving (after i've staggered to the car whilst latching onto inanimate objects for support) - attempting to hold a sensible and intelligent conversation with certain personality types of police officers who approach you with a preconceived scenario in their mind is nigh on impossible (some are perfectly civil and very accommodating btw) but i guess it's par for the course.

P erhaps we should all get together and enter as a team into mountain-mayhem (or similar 24hr event) - it'd certainly be a giggle for everyone else as we drag our limp n' crippled carcasses round a muddy field in the manner of zombies on acid 😀

I've been following this thread closely, always trying to find an apposite statement but never being able. My hip hurts a bit some days and I can't do what I used to be able to do. I grin and bear it and take the meds.

But you lot- you are pretty inspirational to be blunt. There has been some serious sh1t thrown at all of us from a whole load of places, some of it self-inflicted. The strength of human spirit has kept you people going.

Reading your tales has given me a bit of a boost, I thank you all.

PS- how can I get an honorary flappy finger?

Is it bad that I laughed at Tarka?

My dad copped it when I was 2. That and it's aftermath scarred me a fair bit I know see, but I'm trying (meditation among others).

[i]Perhaps we should all get together and enter as a team into mountain-mayhem (or similar 24hr event)[/i]

I would suggest the Big Bike Bash (predictably) as it has a variety of different length races depending on your preferences and battery charge. Good charging facilities and a number of modified or specialist bikes so if you want to try something different or even if you want someone to pedal you around on a bicycle made for two.

[img] [/img]
Somafunk - if you do want to come but don't fancy lugging your big heavy bike with you I will lend you mine so you can still compete (or just arse about in Turbo mode)

[img] [/img]

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Humbling thread.

An ill-judged five hour ride through snowy Japanese mountains in 2006 left me with frostnip in both hands*, and I have arthritis in most of my finger joints now.

*When I finally got home I had to pee on them to get enough feeling/dexterity back to unlock my front door 😳 .

I just had a look at the big bike bash website and i was sold on the idea then i had the foresight to see where it is - 415 miles away and a 7hr drive according to google 🙁 - spending that long sitting in my van would cripple me and i imagine the journey would take much longer than 7 hours - damn & bugger.

I'll see if i can get a mate or two to agree to it then it's do-able as we could share the driving.

Fly down to Southampton and I will drive you from there. That is why I suggested borrowing my bike.

If you make it there will definitely be the "Raspberry Ripple Race" only open to those who have had life changing injuries 🙂

Wow lots of brave tales!

i hit a car last year and broke all my ribs in right side, most in 2 pieces, good old NHS plated them back together, 2 months off work, riding is finally getting back to normal, think i will always have some feedback from them, small lung capacity decrease

has taught me to follow my dreams, racing can wait, leaving work in 2 months to become a roadie guide in the french alps, then off to southern hemisphere to decide about the next step

Nah, I think a mtb road trip wi a couple of mates would be far more fun 😀 , I wouldn't like to borrow a bike as i have a propensity to fall off at the stupidest moments and the thought of damaging anothers pride n' joy is mortifying. My bike is a medium and i guess yours is a large.

Off to work on the bike now, taking the scenic route along the riverbank and then through the woods - a glorious day in Galloway so i'm making the most of it.

[quote="cynic-al"]
Is it bad that I laughed at Tarka?Nope. I did too.