Well, there I was . . . screaming around a steeply descending sharp right hand curve on my cool Bacchetta Giro-20 recumbent bicycle, hugging the vertical retaining wall on inside of the curve, thinking of my next outing with Oscar the Smiley Dog.
And that's when it happened . . . I scraped the inner wall, crashed and burned, and heard both bones break in my lower right leg. DRAT!
Fortunately, the nice ER doc and his able assistant stabilized the injury with a cool splint! Woohoo!!!
That was November 23rd, 2012. The final diagnosis was spiral and compression breaks of the right tibia and fibula accompanied by a fractured ankle. YIKES!
After a month in the hospital and critical rehab followed by another 10 days at some dear friends' house I was able to go home. The hardest part of that time was missing Oscar, who lived the life of "Pampered King Foo Foo Dog of the World" at some other friends' home. I had to allow the bones to mend for four months before trying to walk initially with minimal weight bearing. That was about five weeks ago. Things are coming along right on schedule according to the doctor.
That's been the cause of minimal activity on our blog. Oscar doesn't think there's much of a story line about me sitting around in the Lazy Boy with my foot elevated while I play the dulcimer, ukulele, irish whislte, bansuri, autoharp, harmonica, etc. "Travels with Oscar the Smiley Dog" won't be having entries during the remaining recovery / therapy time. Since I'm a solo human traveler with a pampered, worthless dog when it comes to campground duties, I need a solid recovery before hitting the road again.
Don't worry though, Oscar and I are safe at home as he is capable of protecting us both from the dreaded hedgehog!
He is also vigilant about everything that goes on around the house. He claims nothing would ever escape his keen sense of awareness . . .
Sure, Oscar, whatever you say. LOL!
See you all down the road,
Pete & Oscar
13 comments:
Great up date ! Thanks. We are camped at lake Ouachita fishing. We miss you guys !
Good to hear from you and Pete, again. Glad things are going according to plan. Hope to see you on the road again, soon.
I wondered where you had gone....understand the pull of cycling. We have had some bad accidents but nothing like yours.
Were your ears burning last weekend when we were telling the Oliver family how we watched you set up the Wonder Egg in Kansas? They were at the Townsend rally with 4 Oliver trailers.
Hope you are back out there soon!
Fantastic update and good to see you are on the mend. My best and know you will be a one man band!
Glad to know you are mending well, but please don't over do it! You sounded great on the phone! Keep that Kindle handy... that will keep you busy! Kinda sad though that the bike got away with nary a scratch whilst you got damaged pretty badly! Take care and we will see you soon! Geri & Chuck
Dear Oscar,
You have my sympathies being cooped up with Pete bleeping and blatting on every "musical" instrument he can get his hands on. Those of us with sensitive ears need a break every now and then. In the meantime, I'm glad you are taking good care of Pete and protecting him from the hedgehog and any other intruders. I have missed reading about your adventures. I'm sure you are more than ready to hit the road again.
(Just a minute, my pack wants to leave a message for Pete: Hi Pete, we were sorry to hear about your bike accident and getting laid up for such a long time. We thought maybe you were busy with the grandkids over the winter. Hope you continue to heal rapidly and completely so that you and Oscar can return to your travels. Best, Pamela and Bill)
OK, Oscar, back to us, the important ones. You need to be sure to keep an eye on Pete. Don't let him overdo it. As leader of your pack you need to watch out for him. I know it's a fulltime job, but I'm confident that you can handle it! Our people packs can be really slow sometimes; that's why they need us.
I'll write more later.
Barks, sniffs, and woofs from your friend,
Isabella the Italian Greyhound
Wow! I wondered what was happening but I NEVER thought anything like this. Sorry to hear of it but it sounds like it is a good as can be under the circumstances.
Robin and I are headed back to Yellowstone for another summer. If you two get up there, give us a holler and we'll get together.
Good Luck and keep us all posted.
Kevin
My DEAR Isabella,
Thanks for the kind words and thoughts. It's a full time job keeping our humans in line. Sometimes I just want to take Pete down to the pound and drop him off!
Bark, sniff, wag,
Oscar
Hi Pete,
Heard about your accident on FB, but it is very good to see you back here again and reading about your recovery. Hope it will stay prosperous (is that the correct word?)! So in the future we can read about your travel adventures again!
And for Oscar: please keep an eye on Pete, so he will not overdo it. As I have met you before, I'm sure you are capable for this task!
Pete, we will probably be coming to the US this summer, but not in Texas I'm afraid, but out West, starting in California, for some of the National Parks over there, the blingbling city and some nice and easy moments back at the coast. If you have some good insiders advice, we would love to hear that!
Stay safe, have a good recovery and keep us posted!
Anke,
You will really enjoy the National Parks in California. Oscar and I have been to the Redwood and Sequoia National parks. They were awesome. I've heard great thins about Yosemite as well. Here's a link to check out:
http://www.tripit.com/destinations/5-must-see-national-parks-in-california/
And of course you will surely enjoy blingbling city! Sounds like a good vacation.
Give my warmest regards to Huub.
Dear Oscar, When you decide to drop Pete off at the pound, make sure you take the BugEye car so your paws will reach the pedals!
Advice from Radar and Doogie Bowser
Hi Pete -
Your blog is new to me but I wanted to check in & see how you're doing. Hope your recovery is going well and you are planning some trips in the Wonder Egg.
Hi Lee,
Thanks for asking. The leg is coming along as expected. My next trip out will be sometime in August to see family in Florida. Depending on how that goes, Oscar and I may make some short trips in the fall/winter timeframe. No really big adventures planned until 2014 at this point.
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