By MATTHEW HOLT
This can be a private story about this weblog’s writer (me!) however it has simply sufficient well being care stuff to maintain it related!
This 12 months I lastly obtained invited on the annual mountain bike trip run by my pal JB and his ex Taiwan/Hong Kong buddies. I’ve truly been working towards and coaching a lot of the summer time and arrived fairly assured although I knew it might be powerful. This version is in Provence in France.
After which…..2 hours in on the primary day it seems I used to be too assured…
Again in 2002 I smashed my knee snowboarding right into a tree. After I advised him my dad mentioned ” You foolish twit”
I truly was a foolish twit this time too. I used to be on a brand new bike (a rental) that was truly far more superior than my regular one and had a function I had barely practiced with (a drop seat) that requires a brand new method. It had rained closely the day earlier than so it was moist (& residing in California I’ve very restricted expertise mountain biking within the rain), and I used to be behind the pack as my chain had come off. (There was a information sweeping the rear who fastened it for me). So after I obtained to the primary difficult down hill slope I didn’t do the smart factor of stopping & strolling to the underside to test it or do what 75% of the group did and walked their bike down it, I simply thought, “I can do this’ and plunged down it. Not fairly certain precisely why I fell however I went over the bars barely to the fitting (fortunately missed a tree) & hit the bottom on the downslope exhausting on my proper aspect. In any sport any certainly one of new gear, new surroundings, new method means you must err on the aspect of warning and I had all 3, but simply went for it! Very dangerous choice!
After I obtained up I assumed I had simply badly winded myself. The information helped me again on the bike & I rode on. For the following 5 miles or so he helped push me up the steeper bits of a climb (he had an eBike). I truly did a barely much less difficult however nonetheless powerful downslope part & a pal gave me an enormous dose of Tylenol on the subsequent cease level. I truly crashed once more after that (slipped on a moist rock) however landed okay on my elbow which was padded (as have been my knees however not my torso) and solely had some slight scratches however I made it to lunch feeling sore however OK.
After lunch I obtained misplaced and ended in the back of the pack once more however the subsequent 10 miles have been a gentle climb on a fireplace highway/jeep path & a pleasant path by way of a forest however nothing too powerful. I then obtained misplaced (once more!) and ended up going by way of a village lacking the steep downhill I used to be trying ahead to. The day was 30 miles and about 3,000ft of climbing–so not nothing!
After an evening of beer, painkillers & nice French meals, I truly slept OK & assumed it was a bruise. I obtained up & cycled off with the pack the following morning, missed one other flip (try to be sensing a sample right here!) & was near the sweep information in the back of the pack when about 5 miles in we obtained on some good single observe that went up and down. At this level each time I needed to pedal intensely to go up a brief slope or each time I hit a root or a rock, it actually damage.
That single observe ended with a vicious rocky downhill that I walked (and I discovered so did most everybody). After I obtained to the drinks break (about 8 miles in) I advised the guides I used to be in an excessive amount of ache to go on. Because it occurred one other rider within the group (73 years previous!) had crashed and hit a wall and had a deep wound in his arm. So he was being taken to hospital. I mentioned I’d go alongside to take a look at the French well being system and I’d strive once more tomorrow.
We began at a pharmacy the place the top pharmacist advised the information that my fellow rider’s wound def wanted hospital therapy & we went to an area Clinique (mini personal hospital) which had a small pressing care division. The med asst (who was additionally the receptionist) advised us the wait was 2 hours & the information requested him if I may get an x-ray whereas we waited. Sure we may.
We went over to radiology depth the place my wait was about 45 minutes. We have been advised the price could be lower than 100 euros. I went in to the Xray room, adopted the charming rad tech’s directions to jam myself this manner and that towards the machine & was out in 5 minutes. 20 minutes later we obtained the invoice (52 Euros) and the x-ray on movie.
The image is the results of my go to to the French hospital system. Whereas I’m eager on finding out different well being methods, I wasn’t desiring to take such a private look…
Then we went again to pressing care. The med asst had cleaned up my fellow rider’s wound. The physician mentioned no want for stitches for him. Then he cleaned up my minor elbow wound from that second fall. Then the physician got here in. He squeezed my ribs and talked in quick French with the information. Then mentioned to me that he would discover the place it damage & he did.
Then we left the examination room to his workplace the place he had the x-ray on his laptop & confirmed me the rib that was damaged (c9).
He printed out a paper prescription (no eRX so far as I can inform) for tramadol, acetaminophen & naproxen. By the best way solely Tramadol of that lot is prescription within the US. He then allotted nice French medical recommendation. “Don’t bike for 4-6 weeks, as a result of when you fall once more you’ll puncture your lung. As an alternative benefit from the wine of Provence!” He then obtained out a bank card machine & charged me one other €52.
So for you well being care nerds that’s €104 for x-rays, prognosis and session. We went again to the pharmacy to select up the medication. They solely had 2 of the three so I used to be truly in a position to make use of the identical paper Rx to get extra of the identical medication plus the lacking one the following day at a unique pharmacy–although I advised the second pharmacy I had stuffed the remainder the day prior to this. Whole price was €15 which I suppose is much like US as they have been generic although they weren’t OTC. There didn’t appear to be any digital hyperlink between pharmacies (Surprise what would have occurred if I’d been prescribed opiates?)
Anyway again to the poor affected person….
Regardless of the wine & the medication I assume the bruises had began to come back by way of as that evening was very very grim (a lot of ache, barely any sleep, getting everybody else to hold my luggage, get stuff off the ground as i couldn’t bend over, and so forth). So no biking and after that I rode within the assist van, working towards my appalling French with one other information and going to supermarkets every day as we purchased the meals for lunch and the wine & beer for the night (25 previous males drink a lot!). As an alternative of burning fats driving 30 miles a day I undoubtedly placed on weight this week!
Per week later I’m nonetheless noticing the ache however I can sleep. I can carry my very own baggage and the muscle spasms that got here out of nowhere appear to have calmed down. It nonetheless hurts a bit of after I cough or snicker too exhausting. So I’m attempting to keep away from COVID-19 (obtained my bivalent booster 2 weeks in the past) and anybody too humorous!
After I get again to the US I shall be investigating these instantaneous inflating jackets that horse riders put on and see if anybody has a mountain biking equal!
