No worries, you didn't.............I think psy69's point was (a) some warning of graphic photos and (b) the posts were WAY off topic and the thread in question wasn't really the place to continue the 'off topic' discussion - all taken on board hence this thread No question of censorship........and imho no request for there to be either. When I get time later I'll post some more 'gory' pics :biggrin:
Whilst I understand some people may not wish to see photo's of an injury type nature I have to say for me these images "keep it real" what I mean is motorcyclists/bikers whatever we call ourselves are vulnerable and accidents will happen! Whilst I do love the adrenaline rush riding gives me I would like to think I have an in-built survivability sort of sixth sense and I choose my moment carefully to "hoon it". It's just my opinion guys.
Your dead right Rotax, we need to take a look in to the consequences of what can a does happen to our vulnerable bodies when you add some speed and unmovable objects. I couldn't believe the forces involved when I came off, I was doing 50 -60mph and lost the bike on oil coming off the M6 J33 it shook me to the core. until that point I'd never had a bad off and I suppose I thought it always happens to the other guy. Well it doesn't, you don't know when or if it will ever happen, but if it does pray you make it out in one piece.
Debated whether to post this up but though what the hell. If nothing else it is amazing what surgeons can do these days. 85 mph (legally) bike on bike impact with a fence post finally bringing me to a stop in the Isle of Man. Face/Head, Arm, Wrists and Chest took a bit of a hammering. Lots of other X-rays/photos (not much to do but poke through your medical folder and take 'happy' snaps when you're laid up for 7 months ) but this is the one that the Avatar relates to. The operation that eventually fixed it took place a full 18 months after the accident and was the last attempt (which worked thankfully). They removed 4 cms of the bone and put this bit of meccano on along with a bone graft: Oh, and here's a bit of gore : Belly's now gone thank feck (too much lying around and feeling sorry for myself)! :wink:
^ glad that you all made it through. I hope McTool (Hamish) finds this thread - it's a miracle that the bloke is still with us.
:frown: Guys I have to say that as much as I might prefer NOT to see these shots of what goes wrong when we get it wrong, as with another response, let's keep it real!! This is actually what happens when people like US have an accident and we are only a short distance away from this when our biking 'enthusiasm' gets the better of us or more to the point, when the SWIDSY crowd f++k it up and wipe us out!! As awful as it first appears to us who have to date, managed to avoid this situation, let's remind ourselves this is the nature of what we strive to enjoy, when others don't quite understand Thanks guys for the 'frank' photos, keep it real and remind ourselves we are this close.......
If looking at injuries to the unlucky helps to keep me 'lucky' by slowing me down a little, then keep them coming I say!
Ok here's a bit more on my story....[edit....ok quite a lot as it turns out!] Nice dry bright day in June 2006, filtering past traffic bunching up at roadworks traffic lights ahead, speed absolute max barely more than 20mph, might have been a bit less (proven by 'science'....by a prof scene of accident investigator engaged by my solicitor some time later), I'm in the middle of the opposite lane with no oncoming traffic, indicator flashing away, headlight on and then..............I can't remember anything more, not a jot!!!! Apparently I was t-boned by a lorry turning right.......at this point I should say, bloody obvious potential risk so why didn't I perceive the danger?? (years of experience, not a youngster [no disrespect but 'young, dumb and....' does apply often;-], 'Ride to Arrive', IAM advanced etc). That's a question that bugged me big time for ages after, obviously my decision to proceed was made on some mis-judgement somewhere along the line but I'll never know (all 'witness' statements were laughable "came out of no-where...." "came past me at speed...."). Anyway long story short 3.5 years later, day before court case, me vs lorry driver, his solicitors come up with a final offer of 60% of my claim for loss of earnings/out of pocket expenses/medical costs/compensation in my favour - by coincidence some time there-a-bouts Ducati had announced the forthcoming launch of the MTS1200 which on paper looked like it had been designed for me The injuries..........from police photos and the details taken by the officers attending, I know that I impacted the side of the lorry under the drivers door at a fairly acute angle, INSTANT 20'ish mph to zero, my left leg between the bike and the lorry. My foot was literally crushed between the lower cab step (3 hefty stainless steel steps up to the lorry cab...designed with 25 stone lorry drivers in mind!) and the bike's footpeg (queue open compound fracture of the foot) - to give you an idea of the energy in this impact, the stainless steel step folded upwards (as in the metal bent!)....hence the next step up hit me just above the top of my boot and just below my knee armour (yes I was full ATGAT...quality stuff as well) - open complex compound fracture of the Tibial shaft and compound fractures across the Tibial plateau. Quite a bash to the head too (some concern over that in hospital that evening) but looks like Shoei saved the day on that front. One month in hospital, several major multi hour surgical procedures, mechano, screws, bone grafts etc culminating the application of a 4 ring Taylor Spatial Frame (variation on Ilizarov external fixators) - lots of 0.8mm wires right through my leg and 6mm posts screwed into bone. Two weeks stuck like this waiting for swelling to go down before final fix - two fixed points ankle and lower thigh....with every slight move I made I could feel bone grinding on bone and the pain................ Final surgery in week 4........see the adjustable struts, 6 of them to be adjusted daily to realign the fractured bones, not nice! 'Pads' removed from time to time for wound cleaning Wound down the centre of my foot is the original open fracture site.....and the side opened up originally for bones to be 'knitted' together with stainless steel wire and screws later. It was hot that summer....I was in too much pain and couldn't weight bare on that leg despite the frame for several months Up to the BRI at least once a week for several months - specialist physio sessions and regular checks on progress with updated adjustment routines for the frame from time to time........all calculated on computer from xray images ....a later image after my foot had healed Just because the Nieces said so! lol
After 6 months all fractures in my foot and Tibial plateau were well and truly healed but the mid-tib impact site was just not responding - not uncommon with 'high energy' fractures apparently Last chance to save my lower leg, a treatment not yet (at the time) available on the NHS....infusion of Bone Morphogenetic Protein..........but my PCT have to sign off the costs and their budget is £16m in deficit at the time so despite "sign this off or he'll loose his leg" from my consultant (Prof Atkins - two bits of luck for me [1] the BRI is the Orthpeadic centre for the SW and Prof Atkins is the top man in the country for Taylor Spatial Frames and ortho trauma treatment). I have to kick up a fuss to get things moving Had the surgery for the BMP and a revised Frame Dec2006........which did the trick eventually. 15 months in the TSF (Frame)......followed by 3 months in special plaster casts as my Tib was still 'fragile' Over the following 4.5 years I had further surgery at least once a year, sometimes twice....sometimes fairly major e.g. Strayer Procedure - Achilles Tendon cut from the calf muscle and reattached with less 'tension'.....and the totally ironic one, they rebroke by Tib (oh and Fib for the third time.....survived the actual crash!) and put me back in a TSF for 3 months. This was done as my knee joint was failing so they rebroke my Tib, after all the time and effort to get it fixed and straight, to introduce an intentional 'kink' to offset the effect of the failing knee joint (too young for a replacement knee! :-O ) The last surgery I had was the week before Xmas 2012 on my foot to fuse a severely arthritic joint (some joints already fused in the healing process after the original injuries)........more irony, having fixed that joint the next one down is going the same way with the additional stress on it :-( ...but I'll put up with that as long as I can as I've had enough surgery for now! I can get around fine and most importantly can ride of course but have limited movement of the knee and ankle joints and constant joint, muscular and other pain to varying degrees.........not complaining, just saying So...........one split second of poor judgement/mistaken decision..........resulted in around 15 surgical procedures over 7 years, with more to come on my foot and a replacement knee at some point........and chronic pain. Take care out there! Couple more random pics.... Arthroscopy and internal cleanup of the knee joint Before the rebrake and further TSF Bloody Frame....literally Fixed but not pretty And you can't have enough blatant pussy shots
Thanks for posting, I would never imagined a 20 mph accident would have created such pain and suffering, never mind the huge rehabilitation. just goes to show the risks of filtering. May I copy your text for Wiltshire RoSPA forum ? Steve
"Nice dry bright day in June 2006, filtering past traffic bunching up at roadworks traffic lights ahead, speed absolute max barely more than 20mph, might have been a bit less (proven by 'science'....by a prof scene of accident investigator engaged by my solicitor some time later), I'm in the middle of the opposite lane with no oncoming traffic, indicator flashing away, headlight on and then..............I can't remember anything more, not a jot!!!! Apparently I was t-boned by a lorry turning right.......at this point I should say, bloody obvious potential risk so why didn't I perceive the danger?? (years of experience, not a youngster [no disrespect but 'young, dumb and....' does apply often;-], 'Ride to Arrive', IAM advanced etc). That's a question that bugged me big time for ages after, obviously my decision to proceed was made on some mis-judgement somewhere along the line but I'll never know (all 'witness' statements were laughable "came out of no-where...." "came past me at speed...."). Anyway long story short 3.5 years later, day before court case, me vs lorry driver, his solicitors come up with a final offer of 60% of my claim for loss of earnings/out of pocket expenses/medical costs/compensation in my favour - by coincidence some time there-a-bouts Ducati had announced the forthcoming launch of the MTS1200 which on paper looked like it had been designed for me The injuries..........from police photos and the details taken by the officers attending, I know that I impacted the side of the lorry under the drivers door at a fairly acute angle, INSTANT 20'ish mph to zero, my left leg between the bike and the lorry. My foot was literally crushed between the lower cab step (3 hefty stainless steel steps up to the lorry cab...designed with 25 stone lorry drivers in mind!) and the bike's footpeg (queue open compound fracture of the foot) - to give you an idea of the energy in this impact, the stainless steel step folded upwards (as in the metal bent!)....hence the next step up hit me just above the top of my boot and just below my knee armour (yes I was full ATGAT...quality stuff as well) - open complex compound fracture of the Tibial shaft and compound fractures across the Tibial plateau. Quite a bash to the head too (some concern over that in hospital that evening) but looks like Shoei saved the day on that front." Andy i guess its good to see you finally getting through this and this is certainly not intended as a poke, i would like to use some of your pictures/info and add it to the bikesafe presentation stuff we use.. Can i clarify please, because this is relative to a question i get asked on a regular basis about the generic coverall term "filtering"….you overtook the lorry turning right, rather than it crossed across the front of you travelling in the opposite direction….and can i have a location as I'm interested in the road layout? please pm me the info if thats easier...
Andy, I think we may have met previously on one of Kirky's ride outs from Benson during last year and I have to say I had absolutely no idea you had gone through all of this! Incredible that you survived as you have and more to the point that you still ride. I am amazed at what you have gone through and all credit to you being able to articulate it as you have and to deal with such a huge amount of physical and undoubted emotional pain likewise. For something to happen like this at what appears to be a relatively low speed is quite simply frightening and an object lesson to us all of the clear perils of slow speed filtering, let alone the quite ridiculous type of filtering that I see virtually every time I use the M4 heading into London, which never ceases to amaze me! All credit to you for dealing with this and my appreciation for giving us the insight. Keep taking care.
No 'poke' assumed .........here's a Google map of the scene - red marker the actual crash site, green approximately where the overtake maneuver commenced (I used the term filtering earlier, of course filtering is a 'type' of overtaking - in this case there was only oncoming traffic (a few cars) at the outset hence 'filtering' [nice wide straight road by the way] but once they were clear I moved to the centre of the opposite lane with no oncoming traffic....overtaking), orange the approx position of the traffic lights, head of the traffic queue. NB whilst looking at the satellite view and/or street view may be useful the actual layout of the junction and the road markings and signage have changed sometime since 2006;-) Yes, the cardinal sin lol, overtaking with a turning on the right.....in my defense (malud): I was aware of this - my speed was adjusted for quick 'change of plan' - the view was excellent - I was there to be seen for quite some time - and the unknown factors that led me to believe it was safe to proceed?? (with hindsight / after the fact....the mis-judgements, the factors/decisions I cannot recall). So what went wrong???!!! For my part, I will never know.......for the lorry driver's part, whilst he denied it to the last, he clearly did not check his mirrors and CERTAINLY did not do a shoulder check - the case went in my favour as clearly I was there to be seen with ease and whilst my position / maneuver was perhaps less than ideal I was proceeding with caution (my speed and road position). Apparently typically 'filtering' accident claims are settled 50/50 or worse hence I was happy to settle for 60/40 in my favour. Yes you can share my story wherever you feel it may do some good I think the crucial factor was the weight/momentum of the bike coming from 20'ish mph to zero against an immovable object........with my leg between the two Still a salutary lesson there! RoSPA forum - of course, as I said to AndyB It was almost 2 years to the day that I rode again for the first time, so 5.5 years ago already......too early tbh with the pain but I was so keen to get back on the horse so to speak!! Physically and mentally it was challenging but I'm glad I pushed myself as the enjoyment of riding soon returned. I 'wangled' the dates each time I had to have more surgery for Winter so in general I was back on the bike each time in late Spring or early Summer :biggrin: Couple more photos (oh there were some above not loading for some reason....now fixed)
Hi Andy, Although it feels a wee bit perverse to give you a 'like' for your recovery diary above I hope you get the reason why. Having been faced with the possibility of losing both my right hand ("beyond redemption" to quote one consultant) and my left arm (infection) I can absolutely relate to what you went through. Thankfully I didn't need to go to the papers for intervention as the Trust were unerring in their support towards my recovery (big thanks owed ) but I would make this point to anyone who unfortunately finds themselves in a similar situation: I am not a clinician or professional medic so had to accept the medical advice presented on face value at all times. Thankfully the vast majority of my care was provided by quite simply 'the best'. However one consultant, when presented with this X-ray, declared my right hand was beyond redemption and that amputation was the best course of action: I asked for a second opinion (which went down like a fart in a spacesuit) only because I couldn't believe it was happening and my career was effectively finished. In fairness after about 30 minutes of explaining why he thought losing it was the only option he finally relented and decided to refer me to another consultant at another hospital who was normally "up for a challenge" as he put it. The result was this: And, despite a bit of permanent numbness and a real dislike for the cold, I now have a fully functioning right hand which, most importantly, can operate the throttle and front brake perfectly on my Mutley! :biggrin: The point I would make though is don't be over awed by the medical jargon and advice being given to you. Medical staff are human too and don't always get it spot on in terms of advice (despite best intentions) so, if you're not happy with a particular course of action, then ask for a second opinion! You're not undermining them (although they might think you are) but making sure you don't spend the rest of your life wondering 'what if?'. It worked for me........ All the best, Mark
I totally get where your coming from with the 'like' Mark. These things are all relative i.e. we deal with what we have to deal with, you don't have the choice at the time but I can only imagine how scary the news of the possible loss of your hand must have been and such a relief once the threat was passed. Pleased to hear all worked out well for you....and me...there are some horror stories out there but for the very greater part the NHS (and more to the point the people at the sharpo end, surgeons, docs, nurses etc) is bloody marvelous! Thanks Tony.....sorry missed your post earlier, I popped off for a coffee mid post and so you must have posted meantime. Yes I'm sure we met on one of the Benson runs....catch you on the next one also I hope ;-) - it's when I get home that I suffer most but worth it Emotional pain..............lets not forget our 'other halves' and family here.....my wife was bloody amazing through all she had to put up with Yup!.....as a cat lover (not in any kinky way you understand! lol) I enjoyed the attention Silver lining..........YES.......MTS1200S Sport was my treat to myself from part of the compensation monies :biggrin:
ironically I'm sitting here listening to a few bikes that are out today as its the first bit of sun and I'm wondering will they all make it home …….first ride out in ages, weathers bright but low sun, the road surfaces are shoite, powerful bikes…….you just hope so...
This is exactly what I meant when I said threads like this one "keeps it real". Maximum respect to all of you that have faced adversity and come through the other side! People like yourselves are an inspiration to anybody who is facing a similar situation. Of course I also give a lot of respect to the people that have operated/tended/looked after you all too. Well done for being brave enough to share what must have a very scary and awful time in your lives!
