My friend crashed today...

I was getting ready to leave for class, when DH walked in the door, and asked me if I had,"Heard about Brant?" I got a cold shiver. Apparently our good friend was commuting to work this morning and skidded out on black ice. He broke his hip. DH feels terrible because during the weekend, he had mentioned that *he* was going to commute on Wednesday, because of the predicted high temperatures. However, it was really cold out here in the burbs this morning (27) and there is terrible road flooding/closures all over the place. DH, being a very experienced commuter did not want to take the risk. He knew that one of the major intersections on his ride was under water and the alternate routes are shut down, as well as the fact that there would be ice. Brant is a much more cautious rider, but he has only been commuting for a year. I think this was his first attempt of the year.
These are our closest friends. They are supposed to be coming on the tour of Andalusia with us. Since it's May 17th, I guess that is out for them.
And I was mad that I couldn't ride because I have a cold!

Ugh, black ice is scary. Do you guys ride with studded tires at all during the Winter? Eventually I would like a cross bike so that I could ride year-round...I would definitely need studs from Dec. through...March? We've had an easy early Spring, but most years we have patchy ice right about now, especially in the AM, like you are experiencing.

So sorry for your friend. How long will this have him down? Does this mean wheelchair for a while?

Well, he doesn't really ride in the winter. I think his first ride was 2 weeks ago. I occasionally take my steel hybrid out on a warmish day (35+) during the winter, but not when the roads are bad. No studded tires, as we concentrate on other sports in the winter.
He hasn't had the surgery yet, because the ortho is running so late, because all of his patients were late because of the closed roads here. It's particularly bad right around the local hospital and doctor's offices. The surgery is going to be tonight or tomorrow and then he will know more. Right now he is drugged and waiting. No idea about the recovery.
A funny thing is that the head nurse on his floor is one of the most intense spin instructors we know. He told her to be nice...

Ohhhh....I'm so sorry to hear this!
Please give Brant my sincere wishes for a healthy and fast healing time. :(

How awful for him!

Ugh. I'm so sorry that happened. Healing thoughts to your friend!

sorry to hear about your friend breaking his hip. I think you're right, May 17th is out - but our friend who did exactly the same fall on black ice got up and walked again and started riding within 6 months. He's great now. And he was close to 60 when he fell.

Ouch. So sorry to hear about your friend.
Like Mimi, we had a friend who also broke his hip riding (around this time of year, too....on sand, not ice...and he's perhaps in his 50s). He was able to get out again by summer, if I recall. It's a long process but with therapy and desire, he can come back. Ouch. Best wishes to him.

I hope your friend is not in too much pain. Black ice scares me and keeps me off the roads for a few months.

Thanks, everyone. Yes, I have a feeling he will be riding again by the end of the summer. He has age going for him (he's like 10 years younger than me) and he is one of the most diligent and "rule bound" people I know. So, while the rehab is painful, I know he will follow every instruction to the letter.
We haven't heard anything yet, this morning, so more to follow.

Crankin, sorry to hear about your friend. I hope Brant has a quick recovery.

Surgery was done at 7 AM and took 4 hours. He's heading back to his room in about 45 minutes. Everything went well; the doc said one of the reasons it took so long is that his bones were so strong and he was so fit, that it was hard to manipulate/move stuff around. Lots of plates and pins. No real idea of recovery time, other than he will be going into rehab unit at the same hospital in about 2 days and will be there for at least a week, maybe two.

Thanks for keeping us posted. Glad to hear that surgery went well. Sending more well wishes his way that he'll be able to get through rehab and the healing process quickly.

I went to see Brant last night. He has been moved to the rehab unit at the hospital. He has been up and walking with a walker a few times Friday and yesterday.
He looked remarkably good. Just a tiny scrape on his chin. His leg is not swollen and he's taking all kinds of drugs to stop dvt, etc. The real PT starts tomorrow.
For someone who has not really had any medical things, it's taken awhile for him to digest it all. He is going to wait a few days before canceling the tour reservation. He knows it's a long shot, but still... he read a few reports of people running, riding, etc. after 8 weeks. They will probably re-book for the fall or next year. We talked about the possibility of him coming and not riding or doing less, but he said that wouldn't work for him.
What actually happened was that he was making a slow right hand turn on a busy street. He rode through a small puddle and probably the tire tracks from the cars caused the black ice to form after the puddle. It had been down to a low of 28 the night before and humid (perfect for black ice). He also was carrying his laptop in his backpack and he felt that threw off his balance a bit when it started. He hit his hip at a slow speed, which was probably worse than a higher speed crash and skid.

Speedy recovery to your friend. My husband fractured his hip in a low speed crash last summer...5 weeks before our honeymoon bike tour. Fortunately, we had purchased trip insurance (a first for me) and were able to get a refund for nearly the entire cost of the trip. He was riding again within about 6 weeks, but it was on flats and essentially soft pedaling. We have re-booked for this year, and made sure we got the insurance again. If your friend does have trip insurance, he may want to look into getting a claim going soon in case there is a sliding scale that pays less as the trip date nears.

The good news is that DHs recovery has been good, and he isn't too far behind where he was last year at this time. He was dedicated to doing his PT and yoga which really helped.

So sorry to hear about your friend, he sounds like a feisty guy am sure he will be up and about quicker than most.

<<<<<hugs>>>>>

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