Surgery and other Happenings

Here's a few pictures to update you on my clavicle. The first is a pre-op pic and the rest are post-op.

Despite having surgery on Thursday, I went with Leslie and family back to California. Leslie took the girls to see Mike's last performance. I tried to recover as much as I could but I could tell traveling took a bit out of me. The girls spent Saturday with Paul and Dena swimming in the morning and then at the Snowline Engineering company BBQ. Mya watched the 4th of July fireworks at Cameron Park lake with Dena while Paul and Brianna slept.

Adam has become quite the climber. He really enjoys the blue rocking chair. He especially loves the shower. He actually climbed/fell head first into the shower while Leslie was washing. He was proud of himself.

Summer Fun Starts Now!

The girls and Adam had some fun in the sun and sprinklers. Dena spent a few hours while Paul was working here in Reno.

Here's an update on my clavicle. I went and saw an orthopaedic surgeon and it is still broken. I am going to have surgery next Thursday. I will have some more hardware added on. They will make an incision along the clavicle and and screw a plate on the bone. Sounds like fun huh?

Here's a chronological photo spread of my shoulder. Notice the increasing bruising. It traveled down and increased in color.

Day 2: Still swollen, some bruising to the armpit.

Day 3: Bruising starting to appear as well as the fractured clavicle.

Day 4: Bruise now yellowing and still spreading down. Left side of my chest is swollen compared to the right.

Happy Father's Day

So everyone knows my little accident didn't put a damper on our father's day. Sure I had to take it easy but we had a good time. We had Paul and Dena come out with Terie and Morgan. They brought Cal and Debora's old couch out to us and had dinner. Morgan and Paul gave me a blessing that has brought down the blessings of heaven. Thank you Paul and Morgan. We enjoyed their company and the girls enjoyed seeing grandma and grandpa and showing everyone the park. Here's a few pics.

It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt!

We had Ryan and Rachel come out with AJ and Sarah and went dirt bike and quad riding. we found a great spot where the kids got to ride and learn on their own. As well as let Leslie get used to her new quad. Yes, Leslie has her own quad now. It is becoming a family affair. They all had fun. All the bikes ran well and we were having a blast.


Ryan took AJ with him on his dirt bike and I rode with them. We were checking the place out and followed the trail all the way around. Then I decided I would jump my bike from rock to rock and hit as many as I possibly could. Basically I bounced around through a rocky section of the trail and instead of just locking up my brakes and possibly laying the bike down I tried to save it and ride through. It didn't work out so well. I ended up hitting a rock head on with my front tire causing the bike to "endo" or flip over the front and tossing me 8-10 feet. I was upside down about 5 feet in the air when I landed, on a rock, on my left shoulder. If you have ever seen a slow motion video of a boxer being punched in the face and seeing it distort, that's what my shoulder did. It imploded and didn't come back out.
It's odd when you crash how everything seems to slow down. I can perfectly visualize the wreck. As I flip head first, I can see my bike endoing back tire up in the air. Then I tuck and take the rock on my left shoulder. My head is next and smashes into another rock. I roll out of it with my left arm tucked into my body. I know immediately what I did and but still tried to move my arm even just a little bit. No way, not happening. I walk back up on the trail, pacing back and forth trying to subdue the now emerging pain and to make sure Ryan was able to spot me. I am trying to strip off my gear as Ryan notices and spins his bike back around. He approaches, shuts his bike off, and asks if it is my shoulder. "Yeah, it's my collar bone."
He parked his bike and came over. I pulled my shirt down so he could take a look and a surprised look come over his face, eyes wide and lips tight. "Yeah it's done" was the response. By now I was getting light headed and nausious. I sat down as Ryan got his bike and told me he be back as fast as he could if I was ok by myself. I said I would be as long as I was sitting or lying down. Sitting got uncomfortable very quickly so I lied down. That's the last Ryan saw before he left.
I said two prayers after he left. The first was that the pain may be bearable and that I could have the strength needed. Also that Ryan and who else may return could do so in safety as so many times in stressful cases people also injure themselves or put themselves at risk. Probably 20 minutes later, I asked that Leslie would know I was ok and that she would be comforted in that. Probably 40 minutes later, Ryan was back with his truck and Leslie. Let me tell you the ride back was not a pleasant one, in a 4x4 pickup on a rocky dirt road. several times I had to have Leslie stop so I could gather myself and bring the pain back within reason. Ryan and Rachel graciously stayed and watched the kids, loaded up and brought them home while Leslie took me the emergency room.

As you can see from the next couple of pictures I have an amazing disappearing clavicle. In place of my left clavicle is a large bump, the tell-tale of a fractured clavicle.
This one shows the difference between both sides. Ryan said immediately after he could see the jagged pieces pressing against the skin. Since it is now swollen, you have to rely on the x-rays.

And now for the x-rays! These are beautiful shots, al though they are not for the weak. Can anyone tell me what's wrong?

You can probably notice that my shoulder is pressed in by an inch or so and depressed by about two inches. Notice how many pieces and their orientation?
Close up. I am pretty sure the vertical piece is fractured down the middle.

Don't try this at home!