Smileyman's House of Pain!
 

So as many of you know I had a lowside with broken clavicle Oct 25th. There were lots of complications, most of the bone was shattered and I have been working hard to get better. Here are the highlights

http://www.arkriders.com/gallery/d/1...+x+ray+pt2.jpg

http://www.arkriders.com/gallery/d/1...1062010258.jpg

http://www.arkriders.com/gallery/d/1...1062010257.jpg

http://www.arkriders.com/gallery/d/1...1102010265.jpg

http://www.arkriders.com/gallery/d/1...1102010264.jpg

http://www.arkriders.com/gallery/d/12154-2/screwed2.jpg

http://www.arkriders.com/gallery/d/12151-2/screwed.jpg

http://www.arkriders.com/gallery/d/12163-2/bump.jpg

DR said yesterday we would wiat 4 more weeks to see if my Exogen Bone stimulator would regenerate some bone and then plan for removing the plate and rehabing the shoulder...I should be good as new by May 1.

Damn your clavicle bone is sticking way the fuck out. :tremble:

Jeez dude, how did I miss this??!! Good gawd, hope it feels better than it looks!

It happened Oct 25, i lived with it until they decided to work on it Jan 8. There has been considerable discomfort...The plate helped stabilize it but is irritaing on its own account. Ice packs and Ibuprofen help, sometimes i break down and get drunk, which i like to do anyways...

Wow! Crazy dude.

I sincerely hope for some pity handbra action...

Anyway if this works on schedule I will have almost 6 months tied up in recovery and probably more in rehab. I was in pretty good shape when I crashed but now i feel flabby.

My bike is still getting put back together as well might be whole by next week some time.

So what exactly is the quick version of what happened other than lowside?

What are the screws on the far end screwed into? X-ray almost makes it look like there isnt' bone there.

quick version? from me?
I was hauling ass, reeling in an R1 and Gsxr750 in some tight stuff. I wasnt on the gas or brake, just changing directions and the front folded, quick like. I landed on my left shoulder, bounced, flew 30 yds and landed on my back in a ditch.

Ow. I was hoping to hear some crazy track wreck story, sorry man, glad it wasnt worse! Did you catch them midair at least?

The end nugget was disintegrated, he did find 3 slivers for the screws. When he goes in to remove the plate he will check them for bone growth and union. If nothing has done he will remove the end peices. No worries as there are no ligaments or muscles for that part...

The guy on the 750 had been ragging the Buell so i was leading them thru the twisties. Had em pushing hard. We got to a couple flowing corners with straight aways and they passed me.
I reeled them in in the next tighter section, looking to repass. I have relived it from every angle, it had the old year and a half OEM tire but proper pressure, no steering damper, and i had changed my damping and preload for an experiment. It was just too fast for the setup.

The corner i fell in was actually a double chicane, tight, and i was running close to 65.

Bike status after crash?

Fucked.



Smiles...at least your beard is in tact. Thats important.

Full face for the win!!

Bike damage was limited to:
Forks, head bearing, subframe, swing arm was scratched, left side and tail bodywork, upper fairing, left lever and bar end, left side pegs, lever, and engine case.

Hell it was all good. I got it out of the ditch and rode it 25 miles to the next town...

Beard on, my friend. Beard on.

Ouch - I can relate, having shattered both of mine before. I was lucky & didn't require surgery for either, but one side does still 'crunch' a little when I move my arm a certain way - nice lumps on both sides too.
Good luck for a speedy & full healing process! :)


That took stones, considering how badly broken it obviously was! :?:

Thanks man. I was pretty numb and didnt get outta 3rd gear but i made it to civilization!

Fuckin ouch! Hope all heals well and doesn't give you too many problems.

That looks... incredibly painful. Also hoping for a speedy recovery.

2 more months of pain
 

The Ortho tells me today that I am healing but if I dont wait another month to heal and then have the plate removed I might need a small perm plate inserted. I go back in April for one last look and toe schedule the operation...Wheee. After looking at my deductible and my co pays I will be broke till at least September...

Gee, I can't imagine why :eek:

Some of us mortals call that PAIN!

Damn brother.

So have you learned not to fvck with an R1 and a GSXR 750 ? :rofl:

100% kidding and hope you make a full recovery man. I was laid up for a long time several years back and it is NO fun trying to get back to "normal".

Well they called me boring and uncompetitive, so I gave it the old college try...

Shit like this happens when you ride. I accept it and go on. Not getting to ride is torture tho...

:lol: :cheers:

You waited 2 months before doing anything about it??? You're crazy :lol

My ex shattered his left collarbone, quite similar to yours, surgery within 2wks of his crash gave him a 5.5" plate and 8 screws that he kept for a few months, then had surgery to remove them. He drank what I would call a "normal" amount of milk during his recovery, after each surgery, and is convinced that he saw a difference in his xrays when he slacked off on the calcium-intake.

Looks like you're doing good so far, I don't doubt that the doc wants to keep the plate in longer since there was a lag between the crash and the surgery - leave it for now, see about some calcium in some form if you're not a milk person (I'm not at all), and when it does come out, do your physical therapy.

Good luck!!

I am and have been taking a zinc/calcium/magnesium supplement, my regular multivitamin and drinking a glass of milk per night. I get milk in my cereal and an occaisonal Coke float which isnt doing much for my inactive weight gain...

Thanks for the well wishes tho!!

A case of beer (for me) some lidocaine a good screwdriver, a pair pliers and some 4-0 prolene to close er up and were done :rockwoot:

Hey I'm down Tommy, just wait until April when I fo' sho' have a union and we'll do it!

The bike healed before I did! brought her home today! boy did it feel good to ride again!

Not so much a fan of the red bodywork on the blue frame. I thought you had an 09, clearly I was mistaken! :lol:

I love it. I'm pretty unique in my taste tho.
Looks different in different light as well.

Here is a diff angle...

Great to hear you got your toy back. How's your shoulder doing, though? Still healing all right?

Nice, brother.

You kidding me... there is no color that will make the 1125 anything but YUM YUM YUM

I go back to the ortho to see if it is healed enough to get the clavicle plate removed, if so probably 2nd or 3rd week in April I will have surgery fo the last time. I have gotten alot of strength back in it, the plate just pulls against my muscles and limits range of motion...

I was wondering this too, but read your reply already.

Damn. This sounds similar to Erik's crash when he broke his collar bone back in 07... though he was doing 100+ racing. He didn't require surgery and have a very small lump. Very lucky IMO.

Seems like if the bike is ridable then the rider is not. And if the rider is good, the bike isn't.

So is that the factory red plastics? Or is it repainted, cause there is looks almost orange.

I think he said he was getting factory red... may just be the angle and camera... cause the last pic looks much more red than the first two.


congrats smilie! I may be up your way mid May... but sadly it'll be on a week day as I'm heading up to my brothers wedding... figure I'll head back the way I headed down... wasn't a bad trip actually... should be better now I got my jetting issue cleared... and might give you a chance to ride the DRZ if you're healed enough. (wicked power .... :lol:)

Factory molded in red. Sun was bright, camera not so much...

Come on down Ebbs. The bike is 100 pct and my arm about 80 pct...I'll take that test ride now!

Even if I own one :lol:

ordering the barkers exhaust monday or tuesday, just waiting on a check to clear.

Man, you been saying that forever now.

Plate came out yesterday! 101 days of hell is over! Pretty blue anodized titanium, probaby make a great keychain. Arm is still not working yet but I figure 3 to 5 days on the incision and then i can start 2 wheeled Rehab!

cool metal, definitely do something nifty with it!

Ouch...brings back memories !! :lol:

F'n a!! Glad it's going well, good luck with the two wheeled therapy!!!

Holy shit...that came out of you? Shit.

welll it was put into him :lol:

you should see the internal fixators they use or some femur fractures things are fookin huge :tremble:

Creeps me out.

Thanks for the well wishes all!

I knew it wasn't like most plates after the surgery to put it in or maybe it was just how it was/ had to be fixated. The Dr and his staff were real low key about it.

It wasn't till we were removing it and the reactions from the other hospital that I realized it must be bad abnormal.

You should watch whats done for a total hip replacement, all the drilling and hammering you would think theyre building a house :lol:

I think I'll pass on that.

Yep fractured femur (compound) is what I had. I was laying on the side of the road in a ditch and tried to wipe/knock the piece of wood off of my leg that actually was my femur. I was more worried about the bike until I saw that and then it was FVCK the bike...somebody call 911 !! :lol: My ankle/foot was actually worse. :no:

Smileyman...glad to see you recovering nicely man...sure seems like it takes forever huh ?

Geez !! :whatwhat: :lol:

Wonder about Aaron Yates Tib/Fib fractures. Bet that was interesting.

And I imagine Nori Haga has more hardware than clavicle!

I can't believe how many times/how often Lorenzo has taken a dump and back to racing in no time.

oooo perty!

keep it as a weapon... :lol:

when your riding people give you grief just hit them in the collar bone with that thing... the irony would be awesome...

Great idea Ebbs.

But here is the million dollar for the win question...
When he removed the plate the Dr also removed about 1/2 inch of the outside of my clavicle. A piece held only by the last 3 screws and not rejoined to the clavicle. Dr says it won't matter as it was not attached to any muscles, tendons, or ligaments. i have yet to discuss it with him post op.

What I want to know is the extra crush space helpful in preventing another break? Or since the muscles and tendons now attach at the very end tip, am I more likely to have a disabling break in the event of another fall????

:doh: :skep: :scratch: :idk: :willy: :?: :whatwhat:

Ok all of the above was my initial thoughts/reaction to what you posted HOWEVER the serious answer...it kinda makes sense what he was saying so you should be fine with no greater risk of a break/detatchment imho.

Humm...easy for him to say and was he just covering his azz ? Yep that's why I had the initial reactions ?

I'm with Marko on this... no freakin way... totally creeped out!!

I think he's been covering his ass. But the obvious answer is don't crash again! I have reservations about going back to the track and risking permanent disability, but then again this was a racing on the highway kinda crash. I just don't know how to discipline myself i guess. Sure not going to quit riding...

Glad you are another step closer to being back on 2 wheels.

Orthopedists and er guys always rag on motorcyclists because of the inherent dangers of our sport, and say dont ride. But the ortho guys prolly want us to keep riding since we give them business ;)

You definitely could be right about him. Yeah I totally understand about "how to discipline myself"...I've got the same problem...I do try..."most" of the time. :lol:


No kidding !! :lol:

So I got my plate out the 20th. And today the 26th i went back for hopefully the last time. Dr says it looks good, is a strong union and I can go play. No heavy lifting for 6 weeks, but I do feel like I am healed. He tells me the collar bone is perfectly positioned and although a chunk is missing I will have full use of it.

Hmmm maybe shoulda resized those. Anyways I will use the bone stimulator and take my calcium and vitamin D supplements until all the screw holes and seems are solid, then in 6 weeks start really working on the muscle groups. 15 weeks 3 days of sitting on my ass has eroded alot of my strength.