Rick Kent accident 10/16/10

[Rick Kent]

Thanks everyone! Tommorow will be 3 weeks from the date of my accident. Pain in the last few days is finally becoming more manageable. First 2.5 weeks were real hell (worst days of my life). I'm still having a problem with sleeping but each day seems to get a little better. I'm trying to remain optimistic. Only time will tell as to what level I can return to. I lost some pieces of cartilege during the surgery and was told I would probably have to deal with arthritis. All I can do is let things heal and then work at physical therapy to learn how to walk again. The staples come out next week at which time I'll probably also get a plaster cast. Slow process unfortunately. Thankfully it was my left foot so I can still drive. I can hobble around on crutches. I tripped earlier this week and fell on the broken ankle. Ouch! Hopefully I didn't screw anything up. I'm starting to go out of my mind from boredom. I really miss not being able to get out and do things. There's only so much TV I can handle. It's getting a little easier to get on the computer now. Having to hold the foot up high all day makes it hard to do anything. It seems to tolerate being down longer now. I keep thinking about the accident over and over wondering why it had to happen. No mistakes were made. The rock that rolled and crushed my ankle appeared stable and backed by dirt. I hardly touched it and yet it rolled at precisely the second I crossed in front of it. It was about 3 feet wide and kept on rolling a couple hundred feet down into the canyon below. I never ever wanted to be pulled out of anywhere by a helicopter. I always told myself that if I still had one good leg I could hop back out and save everyone the trouble. In reality that's a bit more difficult. I'm certainly lucky it happened where it did though (only 10 minutes away from the West Rim trail). If we were down in the canyon we might have been there 2 or 3 days before a rescue was initiated. We were just getting ready to do the first rappel afterwhich we would have been committed.

One day at a time. That's my life right now. I hope the doc will let me get back to some work soon. I need to do stuff. I simply can't stand being a couch potato. I rarely missed a weekend to get out for many years.

Anyway, accidents sure do suck. I think I'm rather lucky compared with what some have to deal with. It's amazing what the human body is able to recover from.

-Rick

[Sally]

Hi Rick,

I can only imagine what a bummer you're going through. The pain of not being able to go out and do stuff must be right up there with the pain of the injury itself.

You've got the right attitude - taking one day at a time is all we can do sometimes.

Wishing you a speedy recovery,
Sally

[Hikin_Jim]

Hi, Rick,

Thanks for checking in with us. Totally sucks being injured. I read a lot when I was laid up when I fx'd my rt. femur in '01. Adventure stories, exploration, and survival were cool. And I dabbled in poetry and went to readings. Yep, I branched out a bit. Tough to get used to especially when I had been doing so much hiking at the time.

At least as a computer programmer (I'm one too), you can still work with one leg out of commission.

The YMCA swimming pool was my saving grace since I couldn't cycle, hike, ski, etc. Dunno if that's an option for you yet. Turns out i wasn't supposed to go in the pool as soon as I did due to risk of infection, but no one told me I wasn't supposed to. Worked out OK.

Good time to catch up on old friends, do some journaling, read, etc. Sucks, no doubt about it, but may as well enjoy all the free time while it's sucking.

Hope they're giving you something more than freakin' Tylenol II. That stuff didn't work worth a darn for me. Leg would throb and ache all night. Tough to get restful sleep. It got better as time went on.

Anyway, a few of my thoughts and experiences.

HEAL WELL AND QUICKLY MY FRIEND,

HJ

[hwstock]

Rick--

I've had arthritis in my right foot/ankle for about 5 years now. I can't say it's great, but with some ibuprofen, it's tolerable. That's my partly-paralyzed side, and after about 5-12 hours, I get foot-drop -- consequently my cartilage takes the beating, instead of me absorbing the shock with my muscles and tendons. And doctors seem to tell every patient that s/he is at risk for arthritis after breaking a bone; yet I'm known many people who didn't get it after healing

This might be a good time to take up scuba and kayaking -- more tools for your outdoor repertoire.

It's useful to do an accident postmortem, but don't dwell on "what might have been" too long. The only fatality in our hiking club occurred when a fellow stopped to put on his poncho; just then the cliff above broke free, and a boulder killed him. I still hear people, 11 years later, debating about what they might have done differently, and it doesn't really help.

[Rick Kent]

I started back to work this week. Though it gets a little tough to concentrate in the afternoon (foot gets a little uncomfortable) it feels good to get back to a regular routine. I suppose it's good I'm a computer programmer and not a construction worker. Pain is way down now and the last 2 nights were the first nights in over a month that I got some decent sleep.

I got a bit depressed yesterday when I got around to Googling my injury. I have a trimalleolar fracture of the left ankle which was also displaced. I believe I had 4 fractures (2 in the fibula and 2 on the tiba). It would appear I'll have a real tough road ahead:

http://www.webanswers.com/health/surger ... ate-6cd592

I'm in a bit more optimistic mood today. I just have to try and harness the willpower and stubborness that got me to where I was and then apply that to this challenge. Still, it's hard to swallow the fact that I'm probably not likely to be able to do things like Mt Baldy 5 times in a day anymore. That's the one thing I lived for -- pushing myself to the limit. Now that limit is much much lower.

I should get a walking cast in a little less than 2 weeks. Can't wait. Any little sign of progress is a pyschological boost.

[hwstock]

No Rick, the limit won't be lower, it just might be in other activities, at least for a while. You don't have to use your legs much to swim or paddle. And your "low" performance will be way better than average.

I dearly hope that you get a good PT; it makes all the difference in the world. I had PTs that were just doing a job, going through the motions; but one truly inspired me, and she made a world of difference -- not just in the exercise, but in the attitude.

Also remember this about the web: contentment tends to be silent, so you mainly read the cases where people are pretty desperate.

[Sally]

Rick, as hwstock said, don't get too wrapped up in those websites. I once got sucked into using the web for medical advice over a small malady and ended up practically making funeral arrangements!

Although I have never met you, I sense that you are not going to let this get the best of you. Do get a good PT.

[Cy Kaicener]

I was happy to learn that Rick is climbing again but this time with friends.
http://rickkent.net