face plant

[sundial]

Sunday was not a good day.

A friend of ours decided to go for a long ride and met with 2 other cyclists. As they left out for the ride, they were riding through winding curves and his front wheel went out from under him. He did a face plant on the street.

Luckily one of the cyclists was a hospital administrator and called the ambulance. They took him to the local hospital and determined he had some cerebral hemorrhaging and shipped him to a trauma center. The neuro there ordered another CT and it was determined that the bleeding had stopped but he had fractured his jaw and cheek. :( So tomorrow he's scheduled for surgery and they will put a steel plate in his cheek. Luckily his eye is ok. The right side of the face is bruised and swollen but had little road rash.

We're hoping he will be home tomorrow barring no complications post-op. His bike is fine. :) I took it by the shop to have new tape put on and new tires. Hopefully this will give him a little boost while he's on the mend.

I really admire people who want to continue riding despite having bad crashes.

[Tuckervill]

OW! I'm glad he's going to be okay.

Did the wheel come OFF? Or just slip out on the curve?

He's lucky to have a friend like you.

Karen

[tulip]

Ouch! Sounds similar to my crash. My bike went out from under me when I touched the tire of the guy in front of me. I knew better than to get that close. I hope your friend is okay soon!

[Wahine]

Ouch. I'm glad he's going to be OK. That's gonna hurt for a while.

[lph]

Ouch. Taking care of his bike was very thoughtful of you!

[OakLeaf]

Ouch.

Sincerely hope he gets good follow-up care for the TBI and that he makes a full recovery.

[missymaya]

Ouchy! I'm glad it wasn't worse and that his bike is ok. Wishing a quick recovery.

[bmccasland]

What does his helmet look like? Hope he gets to feeling better soon! Owie owie owie

[Brandi]

Ouchy ouchy ouchy! I am glad to hear there was nothing that could not be fixed.

[sundial]

What does his helmet look like? Hope he gets to feeling better soon! Owie owie owie

His helmet, like his bike, has nary a scratch. His new Oakley sunglasses with the Rx lens is toast and that's what caused the cut above his eyebrow. :eek:

Apparently when he was rounding the curve, his tire hit some sand and grit and that's what caused him to go down. His buddies said he was lying with his hands to his side, face down and unconscious. Thank goodness that he only suffered a fractured cheek bone and jaw. It could have been so much worse.

The upside to all this is he gets to go shopping again for a new jersey and helmet. :)

[RoadRaven]

Ah... So his wheel decided to slide and take him somewhere he didn't want to go... I thought his wheel had come off the frame and rolled away all by itself!

Its scarey when your wheel slides or slips on something - I have only had it happen with my back one... I reckon the front would be worse... at least with the back you canfeel it and prepare for the crash, or sometimes recover before you go down. I imagine this is not so when the front end slides...

So lucky to have only minor concussion and fractures... landing like that could have easily damaged his spine...

Swift healing to your friend...

[tulip]

He should replace his helmet, as it was likely impacted against the pavement (even if it doesn't show cracks or dents). I hope he's feeling better soon.

[carolp]

Six months ago, I had a similar crash. I was riding alone and stupidly, had no i.d. on me. I was just taking a spin in the neighborhood. I have no idea what happened; I woke up in a hospital bed. My best guess is I swerved to avoid a car and tumbled. I had a gash on my forehead and I was seeing double. I damaged the fourth cranial nerve and had to wear prism glasses until just a couple of weeks ago. Fortunately, my eyesight straightened out without surgery.
My bike is fine; the police took it back to the station.
I have been back on the tandem, but I have to admit, I have not been back on my single yet. I will get up the nerve, and I hope soon, but I assure you, I will not ride alone again.

[Geonz]

Good on ya! Glad you're getting back out there again.