When it All Turns Pear Shaped...
The reality of making adventure a big part of your life is that sometimes even the little ones can go wrong. Taking the long way home on my MTB commute the other day I had a crash which resulted in a big hit to my head and a dislocated shoulder. My helmet was split down the middle but I reckon it probably saved me from being knocked out or worse. I remember thinking at the time of impact "This is a biggie..." As I came to a rest, the pain in my shoulder and arm was so significant that it had me looking for bone exit wounds and it was a relief when I could find none. With quick wiggle of everything telling me I had use of all my limbs, the relief was immense, with the only lack of feeling being in the thumb and forefinger of my left hand, the side impacted by the crash. Unable to move without shooting pain I contemplated the next action. I was amazed that in the gully, on Wellingtons rugged south coast, I had one bar of phone coverage. A very patchy call (on speaker phone, I couldn't get the phone to my ear without intense pain) to emergency services established my position, that they didn't want me to move and that a helicopter was being despatched. It seemed like no time before I could hear the thrumming of an engine and the Life Flight helicopter was circling above me, a wonderful sight. The rotor wash was impressive throwing my prone bike from side to side in the brush and buffeting my body. My paramedic, the amazing Hannah, was winched down and after assessing my injuries, quickly had me into a harness and briefed me on the procedure while the helicopter when out to the coast to burn off some fuel to make the extraction easier. By the time we were ready the heli was back and in no time we were hauled up an into the waiting bay. Such a slick, professional operation.
Looking back now, a couple of days later has me so appreciative. After a long time of lying on my back staring at different ceilings in corridors and x-ray rooms, I was cleared at the hospital of any fractures or neck injuries other than significant soft tissue trauma. My shoulder managed to relocate itself somewhere along the way, possibly from the pressure of the harness, and the pain in my arm was probably down to a trapped nerve in the dislocation. I still have no feeling in my thumb and forefinger and my left arm is largely useless due to soft tissue damage in my shoulder. I'm told by my wife I'm entertaining when I have to cross the road, having to turn my whole body to check both ways due to being unable to turn my neck properly. But in time this will all heal.
I'm very conscious that not everyone gets as lucky as I was and as I sit here recovering my thoughts and love go to friends and family and also those in the wider community who are dealing with bigger problems, where luck didn't go their way. Arohanui to you all, stay strong ❤️
Despite their proximity to the city, the wild south coast hills of Wellington, Te Kopahou, are in places very isolated. I've often taken my PLB (personal locator beacon) in there if I'm running by myself at night or in bad weather, but this time I was only carrying my phone. I was very lucky to have any coverage where I came unstuck and this was a timely reminder that just because you're close to home it doesn't mean our wild places are any less of a risk. In future I'll remember this lesson well...
(Massive thanks to Nic Parkin for walking in to rescue my bike from the hills while I was busy in hospital, you're a legend my bro!)
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