Crashed into an autobike on Kan One while riding out with Ludwig on Sunday. Result: two fingers of the left hand broken, perhaps surgery and at least six weeks out of action. Will be back mid June if rehab goes well.In the meantime I will read all your posts and hear you talking about riding and racing. I will become very envious which in turn will hopefully speed-up my recovery.
Commiserations Michael.
ReplyDeleteGet well soon!
Speedy recovery Michael! Fortunately the collision was minor...how did the Cervelo emerge?
ReplyDeleteIt is an accident..I am wishing your recovery.I think you must train with the hometrainer!
ReplyDeleteFrom my recovery to yours, get well soon!!
ReplyDeleteOuch! Get well soon...
ReplyDeleteGet well soon, Michael.
ReplyDeleteAnd everyone else, please be careful out there!
Very bad accident. Michael collided with a large scooter that unexpectedly crossed his path right in front of me. He must have crushed his left hand into the mirror of the scooter and broke two of the bones inside the hand (no fingers). Some bruises elsewhere from going head over the bicycle. Michael's hand started swelling immediately and became very painful. Far less importantly, for those interested, the Cervelo survived fine.
ReplyDeleteAfter overcoming his own initial shock, the biker became very helpful and caring. None of the cars that witnessed the crash bothered to stop/help.
After Michael was rested legs up on a park bench, I ventured to find a hospital that would take him for examination. As many of you will know, this is a major undertaking in this country, because hospitals routinely reject emergency patients when they don't feel adequately prepared to deal with them. This is even true for relatively simple cases like ours. So no surprise then that the first hospital nearby I cycled to rejected Michael on the basis of having no orthopaedist on duty. A nurse was kind enough to hand me the phone numbers of two other hospitals to call. With her by my side, I called the first one, which after asking all sorts of meaningless details about Michael also rejected him on the same basis. Finally, the third place accepted (again after endless questioning). Now we had to find the place! Nobody knew where it was. Finally I located it in a map held at the porter's of the hospital and had the location and approach confirmed by an ambulance crew that had just delivered a patient to the hospital.
An hour after I had left Michael I was finally back at his side, and we cycled slowly to the hospital, Michael navigating his bicycle with his right hand only.
Finally at the hospital, things went relatively smoothly, although one never fails to marvel at all the administrative forms that need to be filled in - and Michael wondered whether he would have been seen had he crushed his right hand and hence had been unable to write...
Apart from the bad news that two bones were broken and thus Michael would be out of action for a while, the other shock was a big bill (double the normal size because this was a traffic accident!), and the revelation that he would have to fork out the same amount again as the hospital closer to his home that he would see the next day would want to do everything all over again (which it did).
Plenty of things to fix in the Japanese health care system! Everybody we encountered was nice and helpful, but the system really sucks! As some of you will know, I'm trying my best in my professional life to fix it. Michael and others deserve better.
Thanks for all the good wishes. With left hand in cast and no way to ride fast, the pace is of life is becoming very, very slow.
ReplyDeleteNeed to check with the hospital on Wednesday whether surgery will be required or not.
Have a good time out there and please keep making my envious.
Learned today that no surgery will be required. Another two weeks in cast, than rehabilitation as my hand will get stiff. Hope I can be back on the bike mid June.
ReplyDeleteGood News. You can therefore join Transalp race of june, can't you
ReplyDeleteTake care
Froggy
I will ask my doctor.
ReplyDelete