Not just any off (multiple broken ribs)

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Cowsham
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Not just any off (multiple broken ribs)

Post by Cowsham »

Think I broke as much of my body as Mikel Landa all down the left hand side due to a bad off two weeks ago. My own fault entirely.

7 broken ribs some of which are broke in 3 places. Collar bone near the shoulder ( not pinned ). Broken shoulder blade although doc says it's only a chip off the top of it so should not need surgery.

Thankfully like Mikel I didn't need a chest drain to drain blood away from chest cavity cos the xrays and ct scans showed I'd only got about a cm of blood in there.

Also thankfully my left lung which collapsed when I was 18 stayed up. I'm now 58 so that was 40 years ago but I haven't forgotten about it.

Making good progress so far and actually got back on the bike a couple of days ago -- considering I did feel like road kill about this exact time two weeks ago. Spent first week in hospital and last week at home.
Last edited by Cowsham on 6 Jul 2021, 7:38am, edited 1 time in total.
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Audax67
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Re: Giro D'italia

Post by Audax67 »

Jesus wept, that was an off and a half. Hope you can get comfy enough to sleep - that was my main problem when I just broke a collar-bone.

Heal well!
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Colin63
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Re: Giro D'italia

Post by Colin63 »

Lawks Lordy! That sounds like you're probably feeling a lot worse that your jolly tones suggest. My sympathy and best wishes for the speediest of recoveries.
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Cowsham
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Re: Not just any off (split from Giro D'italia topic)

Post by Cowsham »

Thanks chaps - think I'm over the worst of it now

-- first week was horrendous pain -- the only actual surgery I had to get was an "Erector Spinea Plane Block " to anesthetise a section of nerves that transmit pain and hence induce the most awful back spasms that seemed to go on forever. This was to get some relief from the intense pain and help me to get more air into the lungs.

One of the main concerns the doctors had was keeping the lungs well filled because if your breathing is shallow due to pain you run the risk of a chest infection and the complications that would bring.

Got morphine pump to begin with but it didn't seem to kill the pain much -- the spinea block was very welcome and allowed me to lay back without getting a back spasm.

By Tuesday I was finding the morphine making me very nauseous and eventually was sick bringing up everything I'd had since Sunday.

By Wednesday I was able to cope without the anesthesia top up to the spinea block.

by Thursday I was off the morphine pump and on morphine tablets along with an anti sickness tablet.

Friday night I got the spine block tube out which by this time was giving a bit of irritation and my own fear of infection.

Iv paracetamol was also there from the beginning and by Saturday night I survived on only that.

Other drugs were anti clot injection once a day, laxatives and not a drug but had to get a saline nebulizer 3 times a day with which I had to do deep breathing exercises. They wanted me to have Ventolin neb but I refused that -- when I had asthma I always found it had a snowball dependency effect which always ended badly.

They wanted me to be off morphine tablet by today but I hadn't needed it on the last day in hospital ( second Monday ) so I didn't take any at all after that.

Only been on paracetamol all week at home -- helped by an electric recliner to be able to get some sleep semi upright.

Today the last time I had paracetamol was about 6am so feeling jubilant.

Activity wise from the beginning was woeful -- couldn't do anything for myself except spoon some soup in and relied on hospital staff for most things.

I managed to get up on my feet by day 3 and pee in a bottle which was a major achievement. Next day I walked to the Ward toilet . I kept on getting up to walk around as often as able till on Monday morning ( the day I got home ) I was able to walk outside to the hospital garden.

Sunday was no.2 day -- less said the better.

Just documenting this for anyone else who may have such a torrid experience.
Last edited by Cowsham on 16 Jun 2021, 9:31am, edited 1 time in total.
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Mike Sales
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Re: Giro D'italia

Post by Mike Sales »

That sounds a bit hard, Cowsham.
Did your pump have a button for you to press?

I once boasted to a doctor that I was managing to do without painkillers.
"There are no medals for that", he told me!
It's the same the whole world over
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Cowsham
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Re: Giro D'italia

Post by Cowsham »

Mike Sales wrote: 13 Jun 2021, 5:09pm That sounds a bit hard, Cowsham.
Did your pump have a button for you to press?

I once boasted to a doctor that I was managing to do without painkillers.
"There are no medals for that", he told me!
Yes you'd get one go every 5 min if you wanted/needed it -- at the start I needed it but I found on day 2 I was as sick as a dog on it even with anti sickness injection so I tried to limit the presses on the button. It was a balance between managing the horrendous pain and the horrendous nausea. I got it sorted eventually and was able to eat again.
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LollyKat
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Re: Giro D'italia

Post by LollyKat »

What were you doing to cause that amount of damage :shock:? (I appreciate that you may not want to tell us.) Glad you’re still with us and on the mend - GWS.
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NATURAL ANKLING
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Re: Giro D'italia

Post by NATURAL ANKLING »

Hi,
What and no hallucinations with curtains turning into flowing psychedelic paint :mrgreen:
Over forty years ago I have no idea what meds I was on in ICU.

Get well soon.
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Mike Sales
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Re: Giro D'italia

Post by Mike Sales »

NATURAL ANKLING wrote: 15 Jun 2021, 11:43am Hi,
What and no hallucinations with curtains turning into flowing psychedelic paint :mrgreen:
Over forty years ago I have no idea what meds I was on in ICU.

Get well soon.
I have never had any such effects from morphine.
Cowsham's button would have been limited in quantity as well as frequency.
I think that forty years ago morphine prescription was less common than nowadays.
It's the same the whole world over
It's the poor what gets the blame
It's the rich what gets the pleasure
Isn't it a blooming shame?
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NATURAL ANKLING
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Re: Giro D'italia

Post by NATURAL ANKLING »

Hi,
Mike Sales wrote: 15 Jun 2021, 12:53pm
NATURAL ANKLING wrote: 15 Jun 2021, 11:43am Hi,
What and no hallucinations with curtains turning into flowing psychedelic paint :mrgreen:
Over forty years ago I have no idea what meds I was on in ICU.

Get well soon.
I have never had any such effects from morphine.
Cowsham's button would have been limited in quantity as well as frequency.
I think that forty years ago morphine prescription was less common than nowadays.
Hence I said I have no idea what I was on?
Been on the button too.....................you just keep pressing it till there no effect :mrgreen:
My mate spent one night in hospital, he said I cant stick another day....I will lie in the back of you pickup....take me home!...in a ward next to someone who was probably suffering more than him and making noise all through the night.
At least he probably wasn't moaning "Jesus...Jesus..Jesus".I only got to sleep when he died in the night and was woken with the clanging of the metal coffin :(
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Cowsham
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Re: Giro D'italia

Post by Cowsham »

LollyKat wrote: 15 Jun 2021, 11:29am What were you doing to cause that amount of damage :shock:? (I appreciate that you may not want to tell us.) Glad you’re still with us and on the mend - GWS.
I wasn't far from home only 1/2 a mile and had just started out on a ride into town to see my brother doing about 20MPH down a hill carefree and enjoying the warm Sunday afternoon.

Too close to the grass verge - too close to the my son in front so didn't see the divit in the tarmac which funneled my front wheel into the verge. Bike hi sided me onto a rocky ( under the thin grass ) surface but landed awkwardly and hard on my left shoulder. Like a face plant only more of a shoulder plant as I whipped around.

I heard a snap as I hit. Couldn't get a breath for a few moments as I looked up at the sky. It was like my lungs were jammed.

Then as I pulled hard thinking "you need to take a breath here or that's you done ! " it felt like there was a sudden release almost like a pop ( very hard to describe ) and the air gushed back in but accompanied by much pain.

From there it was -- take short breaths to get enough air but trying to avoid the worst of the pain.

A man from the house opposite heard the crash and got me up on my feet and I hobbled across the road where I steadied myself on his fence. I felt faint.

He drove us up home, I got out of his car and lay on the grass panting like a woman in final throws of labour. Wife rang for the ambulance which seemed to take hours to arrive but I'm sure it was under an hr.

Felt like road kill. Just shows how a really bad accident can occur from such a small lapse of concentration and how vulnerable we are.

Lesson learned from this one is
"STAY OUT OF THE GUTTER "
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Re: Giro D'italia

Post by LollyKat »

Ouch ouch ouch - that sounds horrible!☹️☹️ A lesson to us all on the consequences of a momentary lapse of concentration. All the best with your recovery.
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Cowsham
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Re: Giro D'italia

Post by Cowsham »

LollyKat wrote: 15 Jun 2021, 8:24pm Ouch ouch ouch - that sounds horrible!☹️☹️ A lesson to us all on the consequences of a momentary lapse of concentration. All the best with your recovery.

Thanks Lolly went for a follow up xray today and doc says it looks good -- getting air into the bottom of the lungs -- very important to prevent infection but hard to achieve when there's so many ribs broken.
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Re: Giro D'italia

Post by Debs »

Cowsham wrote: 15 Jun 2021, 8:46pm ...when there's so many ribs broken.
That was a very bad luck off you had, lucky the injuries weren't even more serious, could have been.
Hope the healing process continues to mend well for you!
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Re: Not just any off (split from Giro D'italia topic)

Post by Vorpal »

Cowsham wrote: 15 Jun 2021, 5:53pm
I wasn't far from home only 1/2 a mile and had just started out on a ride into town to see my brother doing about 20MPH down a hill carefree and enjoying the warm Sunday afternoon.

....

Felt like road kill. Just shows how a really bad accident can occur from such a small lapse of concentration and how vulnerable we are.

Lesson learned from this one is
"STAY OUT OF THE GUTTER "
Cowsham, sorry to hear about your injury. It sounds really awful, I don't know how you've gotten back on a bike, already. I either broke a rib, or tore connecting tissue between my ribs (wasn't x-rayed), and it was 4 weeks before I could get back on and at least 6 before I could ride on the road. I guess, if I'd pushed myself, I probably could have done more sooner, but the GP told me not to!

Anyway, is it ok if I split off the discussion of your injuries to another thread? And leave this one for the Giro?
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