Air dates for the Surgery on the Discovery Health Channel are KNOWN!

[Karl w/ a K]

Ellen,
Sorry I took so long getting back to you. I had forgotten I had posted on this thread. I posted from my computer at work, hence the guest header. To answer your questions, I have a ltbpi, but fortunately I am right handed. C5 and maybe C6 are avulsed, not sure. I'm scheduled for Jan 6th with Dr. Kline @ LSU. Just got my date Friday, and don't have a clue what they are planning to do. I am sending all my records Thursday. I've been emailing back and forth with Christopher. He suggested checking out the Mayo Clinic also. I think I'll take him up on his advice, after seeing what he's been through. Just wish I could have found you guys sooner.
My accident happened when I was training for my first full century. I hit a car head on a 40 mph going down hill on a right hand curve. I don't remember a thing about hitting the car. I think that's for the better.
Every time I talk about wanting to ride again, everyone looks at me like I'm crazy.
I don't want to put my wife and boys through any more "stuff". So for now I ride the exercycle at the gym. One more thing before I forget, can you send info on John's sling. My therapist cleared me to start running, but I need to protect the shoulder as much as possible.
Tell John we are pulling for him. I'll be watching for him in the future Giro d'Italia.

[hdcrash]

hey john thanks i would have never thought about the brake levers that way your mom sent me the pics of you and the other guy on bikes i noticed the othe guy had a rest that came from the bar to his elbow do you use that or have you thought about it i wrecked on a street bike but used to race motocross and mountain biked all the time for the excercise and balance but i think ill stick to pavement for a while before i try any trails unless there really flat how many miles do you bike a week

[belllap]

hey Chris,

that guy is using what's called an aerobar (improves aerodynamics drastically). I've used one since my accident as well. its not nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. I probably ride about 140+ miles a week, though school and the time change will cut into that a little. I know better that I train about 16-20 hours a week. sticking to pavement is a good idea.

john

[hdcrash]

140 thats awesome man i usalyy rode anyware from 25 to 50 on a good week usually about 5 miles a day and i was done can you get that aerobar at a bike shop or will it mount to a mbike

[belllap]

hey Chris,

~140 would be a good week. that would be ~25 miles for 4 days during the work week, and then 40-50 on the weekend. problem is the hassle of the work week so sometimes I only end up riding 5 days in the week equaling 115 or so.

25-50/week is plenty if you are riding for fitness. an aerobar just clamps onto any bar. you just tighten the screw and its on. for one-armers, the problem is getting to the brakes quick enough and staying in control. with practice it works but it does take practice. oh, another thing is that unless you want to go into a full time trial setup, you would have to get out of the aerobars every time you want to shift gears. also, aerobars for anybody can be a bit sketchy because your elbows are doing a lot of the steering (at least the leaning), just your hands are assisting them. you can get them at a bike shop. unfortunately they only come in pairs!



john

[belllap]

hey Karl,

the guys up at Mayo are incredible, they wait with you until you are SURE that you know exactly what they are going to do. Christopher had his surgery right as I was finishing up my recovery of my second round. we had almost identical surgeries except he had them all in one!

are you in the states or somewhere where they drive on the right side of the road (no pun intended). was that car on the complete wrong side of the road? thats screwed up driving!!

you can definately still do a century. I love going for rides because so many drivers give you a double-take. if you start training again let me know how you are doing, also if you are in the Georgia area let me know and maybe we can go for a ride.

john

[hdcrash]

yea i could see the brakes being a problem but if you want to do it bad enough youll figure out away id say youve already proved that to yourself though so how is your recovery coming along can you tell any results in your shoulder or bicep yet

[belllap]

hey,

I have seen good results. I have seen lots of sensory recovery on the shoulder and it is crawling down my arm. my shoulder got a lot stronger post surgery. nothing from bicep per se. I can bend my arm in water and slide it across a table. we are unsure about the gracilis/ bicep thing but thanksgiving week we will be back up there and will ask them, to to the best of my knowledge, however, that is the way it is.

john

[Lorrie]

Hi, noticed a lot of discussion on biking. I started biking again 5 mths post accident. I use a recumbent bike-e. It's great because you don't have to put weight on the arms. Also if there is a loss of balance due to a fast stop or something else your feet hit the ground first. I haven't modified it yet so I basicall use 7 speeds instead of 21 and one brake instead of two. Its really comfortable to ride but until I can use more gears, no big hills. Its a road bike but there are off-road bikes as well. I don't know all the manufacturers but there are a lot of recumbents out there. The link below shows what mine is like. I don't know the person who has the site I just did a search for bike-e. I bike to all my pt and dr appointments. It's nice

http://www.tachyonlabs.com/mybike.html

[EllenB]

Hey Lorrie,

I tried to email you directly but it kicked back. Do you have a different email address now?

Thanks,

Ellen