Here goes another unlucky event.
I've had a pretty unstable shoulder for years, i hurt it, it gets better, i hurt it some more, it gets better again. Well over the summer on a surf sesssion on the south coast of devon i managed to hurt it again, only this time, it didnt get better.
I was dropping in to an average sized wave about to drop left, however as i popped up my left arm slipped off the rail of my board and took my shoulder with it. I assume it was the sudden force to nothing, it felt like my shoulder had been ripped out of its socket. I paddled in immediately knowing that this was pretty serious and there was no way i could carry on surfing that day.
After weeks of rehabbing the shoulder since that incident, it finally started feeling normal. During this period in which i couldn't ride bikes, i had built up a new bike for the bmx track. My local bmx track is sick and i was keen to ride it on a new bike. With a flowy first straight, huge double on the second, a super tech third and finally a real fun fourth straight, it was a bmx track that provided serious fun, and something to really challenge everyone. Well, its seriously challenged me for all the wrong reasons. I had most of the track dialled on my old bike, though in my eagerness to get back to riding i forgot i was on a new bike and got a jump wrong, very wrong.
The last jump on the track, i was coming in too slow but i still tried to gap it. I ended up landing front wheel on top of the landing pitching me over the bars about 3ft to flat tarmac. My left arm went down and took an absolute hiding, almost immediatly it felt like it wasnt in the socket, but there wasnt the assosiated pain with it. a few seconds later and it was caining, a good deal of pain, how i drove home i dont know. It turned out i had a 'bankart lesion' of the 'anterior labum' in the left shoulder, something that was to be followed up with an anthrogram andMRI to determine the scale of the lesion. After this i spent a good month or more doing nothing but relaxing the shoulder and taking it easy until my follow up appointment to review my shoulder. however in between this was the first ride of the year with the new group of riders at Plymouth uni. I was feeling good so i went along with all the lads.
and so History repeats itself. I rode my new bike at the bmx track for the first time, and broke myself, now i find myself up the woods on my downhill bike for the first time in over 2 months and im about to break myself again, only this time a hell of a lot worse. For the first hour everything is fine, not a flinch from my shoulder, it seems fine. So feeling ok i try and go for some of the jumps up there, they are really good fun and Ive hit them plenty of times so all is good. I hit the jump too fast, i cock up the landing and go shoulder first into a tree. Can you guess which shoulder? yup, the left, the same one ive screwed over in the past.
A quick roll of the shoulder confirms it feels very stiff, but nothing more than that, so ichecked my shoulder visually...
'oh shit'
'guys i need to go to hospital now'
' no seriously, im going to hospital right now' *already walking
one look at my shoulder was all it took, i could see my bone under the skin, under the skin by a fraction of a millimeter. The pain kicks in, now this is pain, this is pain like ive never felt before. My vision starts to close in and i have to control moy breathing, i feel like im about to pass out, "just get to an ambulance" i think to myself. Matt has called one to meet me at the carpark, over a mile away down some rough track. The walk was pretty bad, every step i take jars my shoulder and i have visions of my shoulder bone popping through my skin. After what seems like forever i reach the ambulance
"Can i have some drugs please"
"well lets have a look at you first" *peels my top back and looks at shoulder
"Right lets get you those drugs"
the ambulance is horrific, every corner slides my arm around causing agony
"on a scale of..."
"NINE"
he gets the picture.
I was pretty relieved to get to A&E. When i arrived they fannied about for a bit but soon realized i was pretty pissed off with a bone in my shoulder about to say hello to the world so they got me some Morphine. OH Morphine how i love you so! one syringe of morphine, my legs turned to jelly and i immediately felt six pints of beer down, but without the negative effects. For the next hour i drifted in and out of consciousness whilst i was poked, prodded and x rayed. Before i knew it my friends has turned up and i was being kicked out of hospital with a sling on.
Now i dont know about you, whoever you are, but judging by this picture i should never have been allowed home.
Almost ten days i spend like that untill i finally get surgery. Over those ten days i spent, hmm 9 of them drugged up to my eye balls, and of my weeks lectures i stayed awake for 1 of them. Surgery was welcome news. 3hours under the knife, one titanium plate and 6 bolts later im awake and sporting a normal looking shoulder. Result.
It turned out that i broke my left clavicle into into three pieces via two breaks. I had also shortened the length of my shoulder. As you can see form the picture i managed to put two 90degree angles in a straight piece of bone. Luckily none of this had any effect on the original issue with my shoulder which was the anterior lesion of the Labum.
Im writing this today having just got back from my follow up review of my original shoulder problem, the review goes a little like this...
...Predominant abnormality on the scan is seen in the region of the Posterior Labrum. Medially displaced due to labral tear. Also Chondral loss and a small loose body seen adjacent to the posteroinferior labrum measuring approc 9mm in max dimension. Everything else is intact.
Im having more surgery in feb/march to correct the damage done, this will be key hole surgery with two incisions; posterior and anterior. Post of rehab is another 4 weeks in a sling followed by a few more months rehab. No sport untill July.
So there you have it. That has been pretty much the talking point of my life for the last month or more, and will be for a few more months to come! I never thought my unlucky streak would get this bad!
