Rider down & Lucky to be here --> My road to recovery

[Cloggy]

So.....I was involved in a motorbike accident 8 weeks ago on 13th june. It occurred on Jambaroo Mountain Road at about 8.30 am. As I approached a vehicle from behind, it began to slow down and come to a stop on the left side of the road, without any warning or indication, the car made a sharp right turn across the road. I collided with the drivers side rear door and my body impacted the roof of the car before rolling across the roof and onto the ground on the other side. I was wearing all my gear, a-stars leathers, boots, gloves, back protector. The crash investigation officer estimated my speed to be 65km/hr which i agree with.

The impact smashed my left leg above and inside the knee joint, broken left wrist 2 places, hand in 2 places, knuckle joint on one finger, left shoulder also broken in a few places and 4 broken ribs on my left side. Unfortunately the broken ribs punctured my left lung and caused it to collapse.
The paramedics took 3 hours to stabilize me on the side of the road. They put me in an induced coma and air lifted me to Liverpool hospital in a serious condition. They put me straight in the ICU and on the saturday they took me off the breathing machine and eventually took the breathing tubes out.

I tell you what, waking up in hospital with breathing tubes down your throat, in immense pain and unable to open your eyes or talk and wearing a neck brace was the scariest most horrible experience. It was like a bad dream that I couldn't wake up from. I communicated at first by writing on a piece of paper with my good hand. Once the tubes came out, which was an experience on its own it was soooo much better.

I had to wait until Monday to have surgury. The surgury went better than expected. They pinned and plated the f*^k out of my smashed up leg and put wires in my left wrist. Unfortunately there was nothing they could do with my broken shoulder, hand and ribs. Just had to grim and bare the pain.

On the Wednesday they moved me out of ICU to the orthepedic ward. And on Thursday they removed my chest drain and most of the other wires and tubes. The following Monday they found that my right wrist was also broken so I went in for further surgery on Tuesday to have a screw put in it. So that was now 3 limbs out of action.

I was moved to a rehabilitation hospital closer to home a few weeks ago. This is where i lay as i'm writing this. Getting a lot of physio time here. I'm doing around 4 hours per day of physio during the week. Everything has been progressing along nicely apart from my left knee. Up until last wednesday I had only been able to bend my knee to 55 deg from horizontal. It just locks up, the joint is very stiff, still swollen and very painful.

So while i was having surgery last wednesday to remove the wires from my left wrist, the surgeon forcefully manipulated my knee joint to try and get some range of movement back. Its pretty brutal what they do...i woke up in excruciating pain in recovery . It did how ever work, i'm bending to 102 deg. The key now is to keep it bending, push more and more in physio before the torn scar tissue heals again. Very painful stuff but i really have no choice. I'm so motivated to get better and be able to ride a bike again.

Any way that's where i'm at. I have to wait another 2 weeks untill i can take weight through my wrists. Ive only just started putting partial weight through my left leg this week. So crutches in 2 weeks and hopefully they will send me home soon after that.

Every doctor and nurse i've spoken to has told me i'm very, very lucky to be here. People who sustain as many broken bones as i did generally have some sort of spinal and or head injuries. I'm lucky to have not had either. Its been hard....really had emotionally and of course physically. Even after 8 weeks i still cant really do much. I can stand on one foot and hop. But considering for the first 2 weeks i couldn't even move i guess i have come a long way. But still a long way to go.

So the FZ6 cup bike will be sitting in the shed gathering dust for a while. I will take the opportunity while im not able to ride to strip it down, do the valve adjustment, install the cams and other supporting mods. Hopefully my next thread will be an R6 Cammed FZ6 on the dyno.

Really sorry to hear about your accident, pleased to hear you are getting better even though it's slow and painful take it easy and heal up, looking forward to seeing the work on your track bike (a bit later):thumbup:.

 

[Pagey]

Get well soon bro

Glad you had all the gear all the time !!

 

[kenh]

Warmest wishes for a speedy recovery from the Midwest, USA. You have sustained some very severe injuries, but are still fortunate all the same. Thanks for sharing your story. Ken

 

[MG-242]

Sorry to hear about your crash and I wish you a very speedy and full recovery, mate!:thumbup:

 

[I JET]

Thank you everyone for your kind words and well wishes. It really does mean a lot to me. The driver of the car, a 75 year old male was in alot of shock after the accident. Apparently he sat still in his car for 5 minutes not saying a word right after it happened. I was lucky I was riding with 3 mates who were able to call emergency services immediately after it happened. My bike was a write off unfortunately but it was fully insured. I actually had it over insured for the maximum allowable agreed value. I also had 2g worth of riding gear cover. My work has been pretty cool about the whole thing. Thay basically said just take your time and heal up, your job will be here when your ready to return. I also have income protection & accident insurance so money isn't an issue while I'm off work. Really I'm just doing time at the moment.

 

[I JET]

Couple thoughts !

Thanks mate. Alot of useful info there. Alot of it I am already doing. Always nice to talk to people who have been through similar things.

 

[nthdegreeburns]

Godspeed, sir. Very lucky.

 

[greg]

Wow, just seen this. Best regards and I hope you have a speedy recovery.

You might not appreciate it now, but sometimes it's better to break a bone, they can heal quicker than soft tissue injuries. That said, it sounds like you've been through the wringer.

It just shows how every crash can be different, 65km/h isn't all that fast, I was going much faster but somehow only broke my finger (but lots of soft tissue damage). At least you can remember what happened.

 

[I JET]

It just shows how every crash can be different, 65km/h isn't all that fast, I was going much faster but somehow only broke my finger (but lots of soft tissue damage). At least you can remember what happened.

Yep that is so true. I stacked my race bike about 1 year ago - I had a nasty high side going twice that speed, around 130km/hr and I walked away with only a couple of bruises. Bike however was not so lucky as it landed upside down.

 

[Kazza]

Glad you are on the road to recovery and that it wasn't more serious!

Titianium plates make you stronger - I reckon my right arm has "Bionic" strength now - all due to the plate . I'll have one in my left arm within 6 months then I'll be invincible ......

Everything takes a long time to heal but I hope it goes well for you.

As for the bike, insured - doesn't matter. Your health is what's important. This accident goes to show that you can have all the riding skill and best riding gear money can buy - still doesn't protect you from idiots but it might just have saved your life!

 

[I JET]

Thanks Karen. So true about skill and good riding gear. It will only help you so much.

I should have mentioned I was also wearing my a stars bionic back protector. I don't leave home without it.

 

[chimneydoc]

Thank You for sharing that with us. I'll put you on the prayer list.

Doc

 

[FinalImpact]

[MENTION=25322]I JET[/MENTION] How goes your recovery??

I was looking for something else and saw this! Hope all is well!

 

[I JET]

[MENTION=25322]I JET[/MENTION] How goes your recovery??

I was looking for something else and say this! Hope all is well!

Hey mate. Thanks for checking in. I've been pretty distant to this forum for a while now. I've basically put my FZ6 to the side for a little while and taken on a few other projects.

Recovery is going well. The past 6 - 8 weeks I have really come good and resumed a bit of normal living. Ive been riding back on the street for the past 3 weeks.

While I couldn't ride I decided to rebuild my car, was something I always wanted to do but never got around to. Replaced the big front brakes, new upgraded suspension all round, added rear sway bar and changed all the bushes, new intercooler & piping, full turbo back exhaust, wastegate, actuator, injectors, secondary fuel pump & external surge tank, new intake & airbox, new HID headlights. I did all the work myself at home and got it professionally dyno tuned. It made 455 rwhp & 961 Nm at the treads on a pretty harsh reading dyno. These factory made turbo L6 engines have so much potential.

I just completed a 2200km journey over the Australian alps on my new street bike.

I'm staying off work for 2 more months as my insurance is still paying me. My next project will be to move onto the FZ6. I've got a list of things to do on it to get it ready for racing next year.

• Drill & tap swing arm for pick up spools
• Fabricate & install aluminium coolant overflow bottle
• Take to Sydney for a baseline power run on the Dyno
• Install R6 cams & check valve adjustment
• install adjustable cam chain tensioner
• Replace battery with smaller unit & relocate to under seat post
• Relocate ignition coils to front/lower airbox
• Fabricate Ram Air Intake & Plumb up - Have a pretty good design in mind for this, already modeled up some concepts in cad
• Install R6 Headers & fab link pipe to existing GYTRR under tail link pipe
• Install PCV & PC quick shifter
• Take back to Sydney for dyno tuning. I hope the gains will be worth the effort, but seriously, i really enjoy modding bikes and cars. If I can gain a little top end power i'll be happy.

 

[MG-242]

Awesome to hear you're back out and playing again!!!! :thumbup:

 

[darius]

Amazing recovery. Thanks for sharing your story & I'm digging your sweet new bike. Consider entering a pic for BOTM.

 

[Motogiro]

Good to hear you're busy back at it! Those 2 last pics are deffo BOTM material!

 

[I JET]

Long time no post....... Thought I better stick my head in and say g'day.....

Well for those interested to know.... I made a full recovery from my road accident in 2014, no aches or pains (well none worth mentioning) , just a few scars here and there. All my limbs are fully functioning but it has taken a lot of hard work and physiotherapy. The physio went on for 10 months after the accident. Once the physio finished up I began weight lifting & regular cardio exercise (road cycling) which i have continued to do since. I'm fitted and stronger now then I ever was.

I hopped back on a road bike around 4 months after the accident. (you cant keep me off them) ....... but as for track days and racing, honestly I lost interest after my accident (that & the fear of coming off and badly injuring myself was still fresh in my mind). Looking back i'm really glad that I've stayed away from the track, it has given my body (and mind) a proper chance to heel. It's amazing how quickly the body can repair itself back to 85-90% but that remaining 10% takes a long time. Subsequently the FZ6 has sat stationary since 2014. Its been started up and kept in good order but hasn't been ridden.

I'm starting to get the urge again. I've decided that once the worst of winter is over (September) ..... i'm heading back to the track and I cannot wait.

I've been thinking about the FZ6 for the past week & I feel the best option for me is to go back to a set of upright bars (FZ8 style flat bar) instead of clip on's. This is much more my style these days & it should make the bike a lot easier to steer & much more fun & enjoyable to ride. Key word being FUN! The last few times on the track were starting to get way too serious, it was all about suspension settings and lap times, it started to loose a bit of the fun & excitement that track days use to be.

As for my road bikes, you already know that I bought a superduke R after my accident. That was a mental bike, soooo much torque, (wheelies, power & more wheelies) I really loved it. It was really hard to ride sensibly though, it turned you into a maniac every time you jumped on, great fun but i decided to move it on after 10,000kms while it was still worth a good amount of money. After the superduke I bought an older KTM 990 Supermoto which i'm still riding at the moment, no where near the power of the SDR but it has tonnes of character & actually, its a lot more fun to ride because it has usable power (125 whp) and it was half the price of the superduke

I'll keep you guys updated. If all goes well in september and me and the bike are feeling good, I will proceed with the cam swap. Still have everything I need accept a power commander.