The doctor’s appointment

Day: 71 – 72
Date: 12/06 – 13/06
City: Modesto, California
Miles ridden: 0
Cumulative miles: 61070,

Our doctor’s appointment was at 14:00 so we drove to the shop that will look after my bike. The owners were very nice and we chatted about their and our bike trips and we had a look at new bike gear.
It took longer than we expected so we had to hurry to get to the doctor. After we arrived, the nurse took the splint off (ouch, every movement really hurt!).
The doctor had a look at it, asked questions about the accident and the emergency treatment, had a look my hand – the fingers looked like spongy sausages at this time. She looked at the x ray from the emergency department, and decided that I need an operation as quickly as possible and submitted me for surgery at 19:00 the same day. I mentioned that we don’t have approval from the insurance for that and that the insurance was thinking to send me home. The doc said no time for that, by the time I get home and get surgery organized nerves might be damaged. So she called the insurance and asked for approval. We went to the hospital and were sitting in the waiting room until 18:00, waiting for the insurance approval.

The doctor submitted me then via the emergency department, which should be covered by the insurance. I was quickly prepared for operation and got knocked out at 19:30. Sigrid had at least two hours’ time eat something before she had to come back to pick me up. All went well (At least I think so, I mean, I’m writing the blog J), and I woke up around 22:30. The pain killer stopped working and I was suddenly in excruciating pain at the elbow and fingers, but not at the wrist. The nurse explained that this is be normal. Anyway, I got some happy pills and after 30 minutes the pain was sort of under control.

Day: 72
Woke up a bit later, most of the fingers felt fine, still had a numb thumb, but I could move all of my digits slightly. I felt it was time to have closer look at my protective gear. We spread it out in front of our room. The helmet looked pretty scratched, I’m particular happy that I had a full face helmet, otherwise my chin would be a bit shorter. The only bit that I could remember from the accident was how the right side of the visor got scratched – it really felt like slow motion.


Looking at the jacket, it showed a couple of abrasion and even holes. After looking at the jacket I was really happy that only the wrist was broken. Below are pictures of the right shoulder, right front pocket,

Left shoulder, front pocket and the left arm.

 



 

And a couple of torn bit on the back, the dragon jeans save my bum! J
I have only some minor abrasions where there was no kevlar, the back was completely covered in Kevlar. The white spots are the places where the Kevlar protected the skin.

The boots are the only gear that survied, they only sustained a couple of scratches.

In the evening we called Simon and wished him a happy birthday. It’s the first time that we are not with him on his birthday, which felt really strange…

4 comments

  1. Hi guys
    I am so sorry that has happened to you during your wonderful adventure. i have been keeping track of your journey and trust that you can keep going. Can you get a side care for Bjorn? Take care
    love jules

  2. Bjoern my friend you were so lucky.
    You selected all the right gear to wear even if it was tempting to go ‘Local’.
    Free advertising to DriRider by the looks of things!
    Hope you’re mending quickly, but at least Sigrid gets to try out that cheeky nurse’s outfit for you 😉
    Did you ever get the answer to the casue of the crash?

  3. Hallo Björn, Hallo Sigrid,
    erstmal gute Besserung und nochmal viel Glück gehabt. Eine gute Schutzkleidung ist viel wert. Ich vermute mal auf Grund Eurer Schilderungen dass folgendes eingetreten ist: (passierte mir mal bei 140km/h auf der Autobahn),neue Reifen mit falschem Luftdruck, sehr hecklastig und beim überholvorgang durch seitenwinde das Motorrad zum schwingen angeregt. Kaum Chancen durch beschleunigen. Ein harte Griff in die Bremse verhindert ein weiteres Aufschaukeln. Die Gewichtsverlagerung nach Hinten entlastet das Vorderrad zu stark. Die dämpfende Wirkung des Rades fehlt dann. Abhilfe schafft langfristig nur ein Lenkungsdämpfer.
    Liebe Grüße und gute Besserung aus Berlin.Peter

  4. Lieber Björn, liebe Sigrid,

    auch ich sehe mir gern euren Reisebericht an und lasse mir einige Passagen von meiner Tochter übersetzen. Ich hoffe, die Genesungsphase dauert nicht so lang und ihr könnt euer Abenteuer bald fortsetzen. Fahrt nie schneller als eure Schutzengel fliegen können!

    Liebe Grüße aus Berlin,
    deine alte Grundschulkameradin Pia

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