piski:
Two & a half months later, some new hardware and I'm walking almost normally again. One mistake can make a big impact.
Here's the story: it's the end of January, I'm at a local beach. Nice day, small surf, pulled some crab, even saw a small whale cruising off the beach.
So it's end of the day and I'm pulling the kayak out of the water. Now I don't remember exactly but I think I stopped to rinse some sand off or some dumb thing. Whatever it was, I wasn't fully paying attention and didn't have a good grip on the boat. I was standing right at water's edge and in an instant, a nice little set rolls in, grabs the kayak, swings it around, whack, mows me down like a Jeep over a sapling.
So that thing about never getting in front of your boat in the surf? I did that. Usually circumstances would be a yard sale wipeout on landing (or launch) - of course you want to avoid potentially deadly projectiles after rolling in the surf. But evidently, I prefer much simpler methods of inflicting pain and just stand there and wait for my own ride to hit me. :smt012
OK, not exactly, but one moment of inattentiveness can have severe consequences. Never turn your back on the ocean; she is unforgiving. We know the power of moving water and this was a not-so-subtle reminder for me. A piece of plastic propelled by just a small wave had the force to snap my leg like a twig.
The consequence? "Severely comminuted tibia plateau fracture" aka really f*cked up knee. Actually, it's not the knee itself but the top of the tibia (plateau) which was completely shattered - the main bone below and connecting to the knee. Also a vertical fracture down the tibia. It's a typical injury when getting hit by a car or a long fall.
So it's been 2 surgeries, a metal plate, and lots of pins to piece it back together, almost 2 months off my feet, and now physical therapy. And I consider myself lucky. I had virtually no damage to ligaments, tendons, meniscus, etc. Also, it could've been real ugly if I had been in a little deeper water and unable to pull myself up the beach. Oh, and I have insurance...
Now that that's done, let's go fishing.
Mr.Matt:
Holy crap! That's a hard lesson to learn.
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Tote:
Oh duuude. I had no idea. Thank you for posting this as a reminder to us all. I'm glad to hear you are at lease back on your feet and you'll be fishing soon. Tote
Cabeza de Martillo:
Thanks for the great advice and am glad you are doing better now.
After reading this post I think I need to ice my knee.
AlsHobieOutback:
Oh man, that must have HURT!!!! I once slipped on a path down to Bonny Dunes while carrying too much stuff and went down right on my knee with all my weight into a rock :smt012 Glad your all healed up!!! And thanks for that reminder :smt002