Injury Report

DavidFL · Apr 5, 2007

Well my left arm came out of plaster yesterday & after 6 weeks she naturally feels a bit stiff & tender. Ive lost 10 kgs, been off the booze, plus been walking a lot between tuk-tuks & songthaews. Im hoping maybe I'll be back on the road at the end of the month, safely after the Songkran mayhem. It all feels bloody uncomfortable, but after reading what happened to poor old Roberto Locatelli in practice for the Spanish GP a couple weeks ago I feel bloody brilliant. Read the below & then spare a thought or two for Roberto….

24th March 2007
250: LOCATELLI 'IN A VERY SERIOUS CONDITION'.
Former 125cc world champion Roberto Locatelli has been left with 'numerous, severe facial fractures' after an horrific accident in Saturday morning's final free practice for the 250cc Spanish Grand Prix.
The popular Italian veteran veered violently off the circuit and into a tyre barrier at the end of the hour-long session, prompting an immediate red flag. According to the Clinica Mobile, the Gilera rider is currently "in a very serious condition, in a pharmacologically-induced coma at the Intensive Care unit of Cadiz hospital".
Fortunately, tests are said to have already ruled out brain damage, but 'Loca' has suffered "terrible facial injuries, breaking all his face bones (nose, mandible, jaw, orbit and cheekbone)" as well as a left collarbone re-fracture and a serious open fracture-dislocation of the left ankle "which may not heal completely".

4th April 2007
250: SUCCESSFUL FACIAL SURGERY FOR LOCATELLI.
Injured Italian Roberto Locatelli has undergone successful surgery to help heal his multiple facial fractures, sustained during practice for last month's 250cc Spanish Grand Prix.
According to the Clinica Mobile, Tuesday's operation involved two plates being inserted into Locatelli's broken jaw, with further metal inserts used to 'improve dental closure and stabilise the remaining [facial] fractures that did not require surgery'.
Locatelli, who regained consciousness at the end of last week, is currently being treated in the Intensive Care unit at Bellaria Hospital in Bologna. The Gilera rider will be on a liquid diet for the next 10 days after which his mouth will be 'freed'.
Once progress is confirmed regarding the facial fractures, Doctors will turn their attention to treatment of Locatelli's left ankle and right knee fractures.
The cause of the former 125cc world champion's accident is still unknown.

Anyone know what brand of helmet he was wearing - breaking all his face bones.

pee · Apr 5, 2007

Congratulations David... In the end patience will pay...
Luckily, I am not injured so far... However I am not looking forward being on Thaï roads during Songkran.
All the best

tropicaljohno · Apr 5, 2007

Good to see you well on the mend David, perhaps you may feel like a slow ride with us, if you are up to it, (as long as you don't mind being seen with a guy with a pink/purple Phantom)

I feel like I am doing the Womens Weekly Tour Of Thailand. After leaving Phuket, we stopped off in Hua Hin, and had afternoon tea with Jorgen. He runs the Isan Vikings web site, its a bit quite now, but the buy and sold section is still very active. Then in Udon had morning coffee with Ray23. Whilst chatting about bikes etc, the guy on the next table leaned over and asked if we knew David Unkovitch. You know him as the Proffessor from Nong Khai, and he said to say hi. Looking forward to some riding around Isan before heading over to Cnx

mja34 · Apr 7, 2007

Originally posted by Davidfl

Well my left arm came out of plaster yesterday & after 6 weeks she naturally feels a bit stiff & tender. Ive lost 10 kgs, been off the booze, plus been walking a lot between tuk-tuks & songthaews. Im hoping maybe I'll be back on the road at the end of the month, safely after the Songkran mayhem. It all feels bloody uncomfortable, but after reading what happened to poor old Roberto Locatelli in practice for the Spanish GP a couple weeks ago I feel bloody brilliant. Read the below & then spare a thought or two for Roberto….

hi david, good to hear you are on the mend!!, the uk is full on sun at the momment, so this easter will be seeing how the gsf1200 handles around the country roads of somerset , take it easy with all those water splashers over the next few days!! and enjoy.marcus

cdrw · Apr 7, 2007

David wrote:....
"Well my left arm came out of plaster yesterday & after 6 weeks she naturally feels a bit stiff & tender. Im hoping maybe I'll be back on the road at the end of the month... It all feels bloody uncomfortable"

Don't be too hasty...you also need spend time to rehab the shoulder and arm....both to regain strength...and full range of motion (flexibility).
I've rehab'ed a number of people...it takes time and some persistence and failing to do so may result in never regaining full range of motion.

back door alien · Apr 8, 2007

Good to hear you're recovering Mate. Take it easy over the next couple of weeks eh? Meanwhile I'll get Snail to post a pic of the perfect rehab vehicle, that we came across last weekend!

Snail · Apr 8, 2007

On a recent trip to the UK to assist Alien in finding where all the cute woman hang out a thought occured to us. Using the same "sponsor me" logic as what a large percentage of the local woman use here, we headed for the Chelsea Pensioners hangout in London. Right on target! The place was crawling with lovely young ladies all desperate to be the "wife" of the most likely candidate heading rapidly for the next life.
Anyway, we spotted this odd looking green thing parked out front

What’s this machine doing parked here.? This is no German mia noi luxury transport but wait………
wouldn’t it would be just the perfect machine for a convalescing motorcyclist!

Shown below is Alien here testing out the impressive list of built in features.
1) Electric start
2) One hand throttle operation
3) 5 Wheels for stability on rocky ground
4) 4 wheel drive for steep inclines
5) Seat of the pants rear wheel steering; you only need to twist your butt to turn
6) Professional GPS headgear for sat nav

The test was a success and delivery date is directly after Songkran due to lack of weather protection

mikerust · Apr 10, 2007

quote:

Originally posted by Davidfl

Anyone know what brand of helmet he was wearing - breaking all his face bones.

Oh dear..[:0] A Shoei. At least thats what the patch on his leathers would indicate. I think I'll keep mine though.

DavidFL · Apr 10, 2007

quote:

Originally posted by Snail

On a recent trip to the UK to assist Alien in finding where all the cute woman hang out a thought occured to us. Using the same "sponsor me" logic as what a large percentage of the local woman use here, we headed for the Chelsea Pensioners hangout in London. Right on target! The place was crawling with lovely young ladies all desperate to be the "wife" of the most likely candidate heading rapidly for the next life.
Anyway, we spotted this odd looking green thing parked out front

What’s this machine doing parked here.? This is no German mia noi luxury transport but wait………
wouldn’t it would be just the perfect machine for a convalescing motorcyclist!

Shown below is Alien here testing out the impressive list of built in features.
1) Electric start
2) One hand throttle operation
3) 5 Wheels for stability on rocky ground
4) 4 wheel drive for steep inclines
5) Seat of the pants rear wheel steering; you only need to twist your butt to turn
6) Professional GPS headgear for sat nav

The test was a success and delivery date is directly after Songkran due to lack of weather protection

Snail
Congratulations on a good Photoshop effort with attention to detail - I can see that the Alien rider has his left arm in a supposed sling, the AT in the distance is going down on its left side; but I dont see the power supply for the GPS headgear.

DavidFL · Apr 10, 2007

quote:

Originally posted by mikerust

quote:

Originally posted by Davidfl

Anyone know what brand of helmet he was wearing - breaking all his face bones.

Click to expand...

Oh dear..[:0] A Shoei. At least thats what the patch on his leathers would indicate. I think I'll keep mine though.

a Shoei eh? I wonder if he bought it at Paddock in Bkk & the lining was local?

Snail · Apr 11, 2007

As with most electronic things in this day and age the power pack is small enough to be mounted in a backpack which is out of sight. Unfortunately the same can't be said for the satellite dish support pole.

E3L0 · Apr 15, 2007

quote:

Originally posted by Davidfl
Ive lost 10 kgs, been off the booze,

I had no idea it was so serious!
Glad the cast is off. Your press-ups will be a bit lop-sided for a while.
Get well soon,
Dave Kelly

SuziQ · Apr 16, 2007

"Well my left arm came out of plaster yesterday & after 6 weeks she naturally feels a bit stiff & tender. Ive lost 10 kgs, been off the booze, plus been walking a lot..."

Aren't you pleased about de 10 lb gone? Your stamina ought to have improved with the walking ; lighter footed?

You keeping the keep fiter regime? Grin.

happy to hear the cast is off.

DavidFL · Aug 12, 2007

Well been back on the bike for a couple of months now. Also been indulging in the odd GT Rider social drink so the weights gone back on, unfortunately.

The arm's holding up ok, but still I can't lift it above shoulder height - been a bit slack with therapy & as soon as I was able ride I backed right off.

Riding at speed 140+ plus has been ok, but the pain barrier comes in after 1 1/2 - 2 hrs on the road. Furtherest distance ridden so far has been Chiang Rai via Phayao, with an over night-er en route in Phan "mega-tropolis." (It was an interesting night in a one hotel & 3 x 7-11s town!)

Strength is sort of ok, but the problem as to be expected, is the odd shaped ball (humerus head), bits & pieces hanging off it (the doc’s words) working its way back into the socket. After 45 mins GPS-ing bumpy rural back roads it really aches, such that eventually the smallest ripple in the road seems to jar; and when you get to that stage you know it's time to quit for the day. That was the first & last trip away, but I will be trying the same one again next week, with the aim of reaching Mae Sai or even Chiang Khong on the 2nd night.

Now incredibly total cost so far has been just a few hundred dollars, paid for by insurance by minimal insurance, but regardless I aint complaining as I know where I fell in remote Northern Laos & it could easily have been a lot worse.

The doc says 12 months to be pain free, & 18 months for the head to wear off the bits ‘n pieces sticking out, plus for it to build up to the right shape. Push too hard before then & you will damage the cartiledge & have even more problems. So “just a few” more months to go before perfection.

What frustrates me most is typing 1 finger (Ive already got a radial nerve palsy in the left arm from a bike accident 34 yrs ago), plus not being able to take photos with two hands. But if I can ride, life aint bad at all & its only 180,000 kms to the next little spill.

Don't you all forget to check your insurance policies now.

PICO-PICO · Aug 12, 2007

David, in German one would say something which would translate into =

Gee, you had incredible swine.
( Schwein haben = being very very lucky ) Pig is a symbol of luck.

To be almost painless ( if you dont push it too hard ) is what many shoulder patients dream about for years.

Perhaps you should change your slogan KEEP THE POWER UP

into

KEEP THAT ARM UP

cdrw · Aug 13, 2007

quote:

Originally posted by Davidfl

.....The arm's holding up ok, but still I can't lift it above shoulder height - been a bit slack with therapy & as soon as I was able ride I backed right off.

Suggestion...FWIW
There are a number of rehab exercises that can be performed for shoulder injuries. In addition to strengthening the deltoid, pecs and 4 rotator cuff muscles...here's one stretching exercise (that's easy for me to describe online; there are a number of other exercises) that will help work through being able to raise your arm and slowly obtain normal range of movement.

Wall Walking - best to do in the shower with warm water directed on your shoulder. Stand perpendicular to the shower wall..arm extended and (initially) slightly bent at the elbow...and let your fingers 'walk' up the shower wall. Stop 'walking' up the wall when discomfort occurs, walk down to start position and repeat. Do exercise 10x or more times, whenever in the shower, trying to very _slightly_ exceed the height reached in prior exercise periods.

This exercise can (and should) be periodically done when facing the wall and your arm is out-stretched in front of you.

PICO-PICO · Aug 13, 2007

wall walking..........shit , I remember that one only too well.
My humerus head ( shoulder ball ) was so smashed up that it did not grow together anymore, pseud-arthrosis (?), I believe this is called. It looks now like a fragmented pool bar, my arm hanging on 2 pieces.

But WALL WALKING DID IT, to some degree.

monsterman · Aug 14, 2007

Glad to hear u are mobile again , '' Earnest Thrasher rides again ''