The next race was the Men's Catagory 4/5 and Women's Category 4 race. These categories are for those new or relatively new to cyclocross with fewer races or seasons under their belt. This would be the categories that my husband and I fit into. We had only raced 2 or 3 races the previous year, and this was our first race of this year.
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| A few seconds into the race. I'm on the yellow bike. |
The men started about 1 minute before the women, but we were all racing on the course together. They started the ladies and I was off the line pretty fast on Ol' Yeller. I was a little too geared up. The first section was a paved up hill and I was first into the chute. I took a quick glance behind me and thought I had a decent lead, but I don't think I saw the whole field of gals. Unfortunately my bike has skinny tires on it, and when I hit the soft pine needles off the pavement I sunk and slowed. This allowed 2 speedy gals to pass me and I was stuck behind them through the turns. Curse these skinny tires was all I could think of. I wanted to over take them again once I hit the harder sections (assuming I could). I pushed it around the last group of turns before hitting the grassy area. I hoped to sling shot around them. Keep in mind I had not pre-ridden the course and didn't know what the ground or course was like or had in store for me. On the last tree I rounded (going up hill into the setting sun) I cut in close to the tree (pedaling) and my right foot must have hit a tree root. My tires lifted and I was down on the ground laying on my right side. It was fast. My right foot didn't unclip from the pedal. No worries, really soft landing, I was fine. I did a quick twist to unclip my foot so I could jump back on my bike, but when I twisted my ankle it did not twist right. You know that feeling of grabbing Scrabble tiles out of the bag, or perhaps just mixing dominoes around? That's was the sensation in my ankle when I twisted my foot out of my pedal. I knew immediately something was wrong and it wasn't good.
I was told I made an attempt to get up (I don't remember this) and just laid back down. It wasn't good. I knew it wasn't. Damn! Thoughts of all the upcoming races I had already signed up for (ka-ching) flashed through my head. Maybe it was just a bad sprain. In 2 weeks it might be good enough to race USARA Nationals in Maryland. I was so looking forward to that race with my team Nut-n-Honey. Then I had the 72 mile Market to Market team relay race the weekend after nationals where I would be running 3 different legs. Both races are team races; if I wasn't ok to race I'd be letting my team down. Then in 6 weeks I had the inaugural Good Life Halfsy half marathon, and I was really looking forward to that race too. These races all flashed through my head in a split second. And my heart sunk.
I didn't get up. I knew it was bad enough I didn't even want to move it for fear of searing pain. Seconds later a racer behind me stopped to check on me. She stopped her race and stayed with me. How sweet is that? She informed me she was a nurse. A few spectators formed around me to protect me from fellow racers on the course - as I was still laying on the course. An orthopedic surgeon who came to watch the races rushed over to assist. He might have walked, I don't know, but I like to think he rushed over in a dead sprint. Seriously, what are the odds a nurse practitioner would be racing behind me, and an Orthopedic Surgeon (OS) would be spectating?
It dawns on me that me laying on the course was a bit of a hazard with all the cyclists shooting around the tree. I had the bright idea for the tape to be moved to alter the course around me. Amazing I still had my wits about me because I was freaking out on the inside. Ok, I was freaking out on the outside too. So they moved the tape, making a wider turn for the racers and protecting me.
The OS took one look at it and told me it was either dislocated or broken. My hopes sunk. He realigned it for me. It may have felt better after he did that, I'm really not sure. I do know it felt like there were pieces of tile in my ankle every time I moved, and it hurt. I wouldn't look at it. Looking at it just makes it real. Not looking at it let me believe it wasn't serious. He could be wrong. It was such an easy fall. A soft landing. I was sure I wouldn't even have a bruise anywhere on my body, I couldn't understand how my ankle could be so bad.
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| My daughter's legs, paramedic, me, and fellow racer. |
The OS ran to his office, or biked, he told me later he biked to the event, which happened to be 1 block away and brought back a splint. In the mean time the paramedics arrived and started to assess me. Jen (the nurse) offered to put the IV in for them, but they said she wasn't allowed. The OS returned. My bike shoe was ever so gently removed - I asked them not to cut it. They splinted me up, the paramedics put an I.V. in, which i am amazed, it was the best IV line/needle stuck in my arm I've ever had. Usually they feel really uncomfortable the whole time the needle is in my arm, but I couldn't feel this one at all. Perhaps the ankle pain overwhelmed it? They gave me some pain killer. I'm not sure what it was, but it helped me relax. I was loaded up and off the the hospital, which was probably 6 blocks away. Short trip. The paramedics and everyone who helped were fantastic. Can't say enough good things. (if you want to know how much this ride cost you can find out by clicking here)
I was wheeled straight into a room in the ER. A nurse and ER Dr came in and I explained everything to them. Soon my husband and daughters arrived. I was then quickly whisked away for x-rays. This was when the real pain began. The gals removed the splint and lifted my leg out by my calf. I felt those pieces of tile in my ankle shift around, my foot dropped and the pain was excruciating. Tears started rolling. They told me I need to lay my leg down flat, but the pain was so bad I couldn't force myself to do it. It took all I had not to scream. I gathered my composure as best I could and told the nurse I would put my leg flat but when I did she needed to run behind the wall as fast as she could and snap the x-ray. And that's what we did. A few different times. I'm tense just thinking about those x-rays again.
I was wheeled back to the ER room holding my leg by my knee so my foot could hang. This alleviated some of the pain. As we passed the desk I informed the ER Dr. I was ready for more pain meds! He was already viewing the x-rays. I had no idea that everything was instant like that. Technology is wonderful. He came in the room about a minute or two after me and informed me my ankle was broke in 3 places. Not 1. Not 2, but 3 (plus a few shards). I couldn't even remember what the ankle consisted of. I was thinking little bones that moved around made up the ankle and it might not be so bad. Little bones = fast healing, right? So I asked which bones they were. It was the tibia and fibula. What? Those are leg bones! Aren't they? Apparently they also make up the outsides and top of your ankle. Unless they are both broken, in which case your ankle is completely dislocated and floating around in your lower leg with pieces of tile banging around. At least that's what it felt like and looked like.
At this point he notices my splint is no longer on my leg and asks why. I inform him the gals in x-ray removed it. He apologized and told me they should not have removed it and he would get me some more pain meds.
Now, I'm on pain meds, so some of this story may not be fully accurate, but it's the best I can remember. The OS arrives at the hospital and volunteers to perform my surgery that evening and install the hardware required to put my ankle back together. A nurse starts me on antibiotics. I'm informed of my options to be either knocked out completely with a breathing tube or be given a spinal block. I opt for the spinal block. I get wheeled into the operating room maybe 2 hours after I break my ankle to completely fix it. This is a rare opportunity I find out later. At the time I assumed this was standard practice.
I should also state said OS is a fellow biker. Perhaps he took pity on me as a fellow biker?
Needless to say I had two spinals. The first one didn't take. It wasn't bad. I'm not even sure I felt either one. After the 2nd one took affect, they put what I assumed was an oxygen mask over my nose and mouth and told me they would give me something to relax me. That was the last thing I remember. I woke up 2 1/2 hours later in what looked like a completely empty hospital. It was dark and creepy. There was only 1 nurse and I was sort of in a hallway hooked up to a blood pressure machine and my IV. I was still numb from the chest down. A bonus of the spinal was that I wouldn't have any pain for several hours after surgery. About a half hour after I woke up she took me to my room where my husband and daughters were waiting. They stayed for a short while and went home as it was just after midnight and they had work and school in the morning.
I went to sleep but was woken every 5-10 minutes by either the blood pressure monitor, the air bed adding or releasing air, or some other machine making noise. It wasn't very restful sleep. Roughly 3 AM my nurse takes my vitals and asks if I need any pain meds yet. I was just starting to feel my ankle at that point and could finally move my legs some. I told her no thinking I had another hour, maybe 2 before I would need pain meds. It wasn't but 15 minutes later I was in real pain. I called the nurse back in and she gave me oral meds. Oral. Double crap. It would take an hour to fully work! So I waited. Wide awake for an hour waiting for the meds to work. An hour later she checks on me, I inform her I didn't feel any better, but I also didn't feel any worse. I didn't need the pain knocked out, just knocked down so I could sleep. I rated it a 7 - 8 on the pain scale and just wanted it dropped to a 4 or 5 so I could sleep. She gave me something else. This repeated hour after hour after hour. Until around noon. During this wide awake time I made phone calls notifying work that I wouldn't be in for the rest of the week for sure, maybe longer I didn't know.
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| How my leg looks post surgery |
I had no idea what was put in my leg or what the bones looked like. I was left wondering until my 2 week appointment. And this is what my leg looked like just before leaving the hospital.
Everyone at the hospital was great. They were all super friendly and seemed genuinely concerned with my needs and well being.
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