oopsie. Ebike + Nephews are dangerous to uncles

Ricky_nz

Ricky_nz

10 kW
Joined
Aug 15, 2010
Messages
844
Location
New Zealand
Hi All,
Haven't been around here for a while. way too busy at work but now I have time on my hands for a while.

Over easter my brother brought my young nephews down to visit and they had brought their bikes.
After saturday morning helping to teach the youngest to ride his bike we went to to a park and on the way i popped a few small wheelies on the road, nothing much and got giggles and laughter and excitement from the boys so at the park I sort of ramped it up until I demonstrated how not to ride a bike LOL

lets just say that coming off the back of an ebike with front wheel directly above back wheel at around 25kph landing left leg first aint good. At least it was on grass so no road rash.

My battery brackets I made to hold the hobbyking hardcase bricks worked well. only lost one cable tie and one spoke. I even road the bike home after my brother helped me on it thinking I had just sprained my knee... getting to his car for the trip to the medical center wasnt particularly comfortable as my body did not want to hop.

I'm still trying to figure out how I stood up walked over and picked the bike up with my trashed leg before nearly blacking out a couple of times LOL

fracture1.jpg
screws.jpg

Well here I sit in my lazy boy chair with a broken leg (Tibia plateau fracture) killing time after a week in hospital and a weak of decent pain killers after that. At least the swelling had gone down now.

It was the most effective method to get off the critical path of a project at work although not one I would like to repeat.

8 weeks non weight bearing is going to suck

Contributing factors :=
1) nephews present (showoff factor)
2) no cutoff switch on brake leavers
3) nonlinear throttle response

Ricky
 
Ouch, that left a mark. Pulling for your fast and complete recovery/healing.

Adrenalin shock is a helluva thing - I once dumped a big touring moto and somehow managed to lift it right-up with my damaged body parts. Blackouts are a bitch...
 
I hope your recovery goes well and thank you for posting. I like to use other people's experiences as reality checks for myself by contemplating how much I'd be willing to pay to avoid such misadventure. Wheelies are fun, injuries and recovery aren't. :wink:
 
Thanks for the good wishes everyone.

Yep the healthcare seems pretty good.
Just New Zealand public Hospital backed by our Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) that is Government controlled.
The good bit is ACC pays me 80% of my wages while Im off work and my sick leave is converted to cover the remaining 20% so I basically get to sit at home and heal on full pay :).
ACC also covers all my transport needs to / from hospital etc.
Also got a couple of hours of home help per week organized by ACC since my leg is braced pretty straight and Im getting around on a walking frame. The surgeon is really concerned that I don't have a fall.
The bad part is you have to deal with a government department to get it.

Still I want to get back to work as soon as possible but the doctors don't want me doing unnecessary travel at the moment to protect the leg and been rather tired plus I have found that Tramadol and programming/debugging don't mix on some of my home projects.

Apparently because the joint is involved it needs to heal really well otherwise its an arthritis risk or worse.

I found being in hospital and not being able to basic things yourself really frustrating. Still annoying how much energy is required to do basic things at home too.

For the first few days I was confined to bed with leg in a brace while they found my old notes (I haven't been near a hospital for 20 years) and they wanted some tests before they would operate and they couldn't happen on a public holiday. Crazy thing is for the first couple or days I didn't even accept paracetamol for pain. it didn't bother me.
For most of my time in hospital even after op i was only allowed out of bed with nurses help for shower etc. Before op not even for shower due to pain caused by movement.

At least at home i have got lone equipment from the hospital to let me get in and out of my shower (its an old shower over bath) that makes that pretty easy for me to get in and out.

getting around with the walking frame dragging a useless leg around really improves your upper body muscles.

I have this snapshot image in my brain of the bike in front of me with the front wheel directly above the rear LOL, then i remember tumbling. I had a badly bruised left shoulder and a bruise on my sternum(chest) I believe the sternum bruise came from my left hand as i tucked my arms in. Kind of glad I did that although I don't think it was a conscious decision due to the time involved but if my arm was sticking out I imagine it wouldn't have been too happy due to the forces involved. my ankle is also pretty tender now the swelling has gone down but they said nothing serious in the xrays and it will be fine since no weight on it for quite a while. only other injury was a small gash on my arm but that was less than I have done in my work shop so kinda irrelevant.

The shoulder has not been happy lugging me around but no choice.

I believe next week they are going to unlock the brace to allow a small amount of movement in my knee.

Looking at my bicycle helmet there was nothing over the smooth part but a couple of decent indentations in the hard foam at the back possibly from stones.

The reality check is a good one wheelies are fun until you get it wrong LOL.
The wasn't enough time to say oh shit before i was on the ground. I recognised too much angle then it was over...
 
Yah. G'Luck NZ Guy. "Blackout"? Try one week in a "coma". (Multiple broken ribs, broken right shoulder, multiple brain contusions.) Before I escaped local "Heath Care SYSTEM"/multiple - watt signs still say "hospitals" - they tried putting me in a wheelchair. But I complained and stood up "HEY! This ain't ELECTRIC?" Seems I fell down some stairs. (Not EVen a "bike-related" accident. Nice pins in yer leg bones. Current ride three-wheeled recumbent trike as my "wheelchair". Think "big, comfy seat".
 
Yeah LockH I got off pretty lightly.
Glad my head was unaffected. Standing there looking down at the front wheel thinking i should realign it with the handle bars and trying to move and just having everything fade to black a couple of times wasn't a good feeling till my brother grabbed my bike.
I haven't stood on the leg since... when i tried a few minutes after I couldn't put any weight on it... wont be standing on it for probably another 7 weeks.


A few more pics:
Please excuse the silly postage stamp thing. was playing with my phone but was still half out of it. had only been back on ward a short time. I think long enough for them to remove the damp cloth from my forehead. The pink substute for iodine looks horrible on my foot.
post_op.jpg

Should get a good scar from this one...
leg after op at home.jpg

The bike survived
bike_after_crash.jpg
 
:shock: Man that sucks.

Thanks for sharing. I hope you have a full and speedy recovery.

So the helmet saved your noggin you think?
 
cal3thousand said:
:shock: Man that sucks.

Thanks for sharing. I hope you have a full and speedy recovery.
Click to expand...
Thanks
cal3thousand said:
So the helmet saved your noggin you think?
Click to expand...
I would say highly likely it did. The only marks were a couple of significant indentations at the back in the hard foam below the blue bit. Its the helmet in the photo. No scratches on top but then I fell backwards top/back of left shoulder severely bruised so yes my head was in very close proximity to hard ground and its likely the helmet hit although I don't remember all i remember is tumbling.
I don't believe the dent in the foam was there before. Its about 6mm deep dent about 8mm round so possible a stone or something. was a grassy area which might account for minimal visible damage to the helmet but Im sure the helmet would have hit based on the bruising on my shoulder.

Would have seriously not wanted to do that without a helmet anyway.

My brother said I was down for only 10 - 15 seconds before getting up so don't believe i suffered any effects.
 
Wow ! Man that swollen leg looks painfully ?
I know how frustrating not being able to do all the " normal" little things (like walking ?) can be.
In Feb I slipped down a flight of wet tiled steps and got bruised up a little.
No big deal, nothing broken, minor skin rash, dressed and bandaged, and carried on normally for a few days.
But eventually ankle swelling and pain had me in ER and admitted for 2 weeks whilst medico's figured out what to do.
All fixed eventually but it did need 2 weeks on my back, and another 4-5 weeks before I could walk normally.
And that was just a minor bruise initially !!
Until it happens, you just don't realise how useful fully functioning legs and feet really are ! :lol:
Get well soon Ricky.
On the bright side, those kids will have a great story to tease you with .....for the rest of your life :lol:
 
Hillhater said:
Wow ! Man that swollen leg looks painfully ?
Click to expand...
Yeah it hurt quite a bit especially when I was vertical on the walking frame with all the blood flowing into it. stayed in chair for a few days with leg propped upon cushions and swelling is much better now but Tramadol got me through the worst. The swelling actually hurt more than the bone break. Its much better now.
Hillhater said:
Until it happens, you just don't realise how useful fully functioning legs and feet really are ! :lol:
Click to expand...
Thats for sure legs are bloody useful!
Hillhater said:
Get well soon Ricky.
On the bright side, those kids will have a great story to tease you with .....for the rest of your life :lol:
Click to expand...
Thanks, Yep they sure will. The eldest already came up with I should build a ramp off my roof and try and break the other leg LOL.
 
That's a rough break for a low speed 12 O'clock my friend. Doctors love any reason to use the drill and screws these days, I'm sure you will heal up well though.

Good work on making a bike that takes a crash well!

ATB,
-Luke
 
Yowza,best of luck in recovery,keep an eye on your batteries...cant move fast on one leg.
 
Ricky_nz said:
Hillhater said:
Wow ! Man that swollen leg looks painfully ?
Click to expand...
Yeah it hurt quite a bit especially when I was vertical on the walking frame with all the blood flowing into it. stayed in chair for a few days with leg propped upon cushions and swelling is much better now but Tramadol got me through the worst. The swelling actually hurt more than the bone break. .
Click to expand...
It's strange how that swelling pain works.
Keep the leg up above your heart, and it's fine, but as soon as it goes down low..jeez zzz ! Even before it touches the ground.
I had to be really creative to get out of the hospital bed and to the toilet quickly enough to tolerate the pain
( try taking a dump with your foot propped up above your heart ! :shock: )
A wheeled walking frame served well as a sort of kick scooter !
 
Owww! I never heard of a break like that on a leg, but it looks like the same thing that often happens to a wrist. Caught you so much by surprise that you landed on a straight leg? No bend in your knee when you hit?

That seems to me to be one of the downsides of such fun, flyweight motorcycles with pedals. So light, so responsive, and when it happens, it's so fast you are like "what happened?". Though your crash is for a different reason, I noticed right away how much less warning you have that you are flirting with a laydown than you do on a motorcycle. I always knew this to be true, having rode racing bikes so many years. But with some power on a bike motor, you ride faster, for longer time periods than you ever would without the motor. This to some degree increases the risk of a crash. Great riding skills and caution help a lot, but to some degree crashing happens. But me, I just seem to have this need to push the riding to that edge of crashing, when riding off the pavement.

Hope you heal well, and enjoy reading old threads on ES. That's how I got going here, laying up for a summer with both shoulders wrecked after an over the bars crash.
 
dogman dan said:
Owww! I never heard of a break like that on a leg, but it looks like the same thing that often happens to a wrist. Caught you so much by surprise that you landed on a straight leg? No bend in your knee when you hit?
[/qoute]
My Brother who is trained to take xrays etc says that the particular break is caused by having a bent leg at the point of impact which makes sense because of the geometry of that frame of that bike. apparently ir creates a shearing force. no side loading cause the bone didn't brake in middle.

My heal must have dug in leaving it and my bent leg to decelerate my entire weight (dont know it but my brother thinks im about 90kg ) based on his weight from 25kph. after the leg broke I still had some energy left to roll at least 360degrees but I think it may have been more than once...
my leg took the impact followed shortly after by the back of my left shoulder.

The speed is an estimate. definitely no slower but the bike goes to 42Kph but that last 5kph is a bit weak so my guess is around 25Kph.

Yep I've never ridden a full motorbike because my eyesight wont let me get a drivers license but yes the power to weight we are getting on these bikes is getting pretty decent.
I probably weigh more than 3 times the weight of the bike I did this on
And yes the ever present drive to push things to the limit is a problem lol.

Thanks for the well wishes everyone.

Hillhater, yes the pain form swelling getting out of bed the first time in the hospital about day after op and being shown how to use the walking frame was pretty bad. for toilet the hospital put me in a commode chair before wheeling me off to the bathroom with a support for my leg so not too bad but uncomfortable, leg was only up to hip height so was sore. At least they kept me pretty well dosed up with Tramadol. pretty much needed the tramadol for the first week home as well till the swelling dropped.
Its much better now just aches a little when I first get out of bed in morning but goes away pretty quick.
Found it pays to dose up on pain killers before bed as we had a couple of coldish nights and i woke in in the middle of the night aching right in the knee.

I have checked my batteries (12s4p made of turnigy 5Ah 20C hardcase packs). no external damage to the hard cases. no obvious swelling outside the cases. the balance still seams fine. I have checked several times since the accident and they look like they survived fine.
Also checked for abraded or damaged insulation as the silicon wire can be easily damaged but all seems fine.
Click to expand...
 
Out of curiosity i requested the ct scan data and here is a video of it played Back on my laptop recorded by my phone while i was still in hospital[youtube]zEyc7bJGp24[/youtube]

My brother used the data and showed me tbe post processing that they can do to hilight bone and hide muscle etc. Pretty neat. The 2d image of break before screws at start of my thread came from the ct data. My other interest in the data is trying to 3d print a plastic trashed knee lol.
 
Hi all
had a good day today. Needed no real pain relief. Popped a couple of paracetamol for very minor ache but nothing stronger. Dident even need to take all the days doses.
This is about 3 weeks from the accident and just over 2 weeks from the opperation.
This is good because the stronger stuff make me sleepy or not really able to concentrate on things properly.

Also noticed less aching when i lift the leg in/out of bed etc so i guess its healing.
hopefully i will find out more at my next appointment on tuesday when they have said they might adjust my brace to allow some knee movement. Still annoying that im only just over 2 weeks into the 8 weeks non weight bearing after the opperation.

still sleept way to much today but had the home help round for an hour to help with cleaning etc. Feels wrong having someone help but i guess its better than me risking falling over with the walking frame Causing more damage.

I have been finding my reclining chair is actually better to sleep in than my bed when trying to keep my leg up on cushions to reduce swelling.
i compared a photo of my leg without the brace between the day i got home and now and the swelling has reduced significantly along with reduced pain. I take the rom brace off and use a simpler less comfortable one in the shower to avoid having to bag the leg to keep it dry. Swapping braces gives me a good chance to see reduction in swelling etc.
20150424_114334_resized.jpg

A bit of bordom going on just sitting at home... sick of watching movies / netflix /documentaries...
remember netflix is the nz watered down one not the real deal.
 
TheBeastie said:
Gee looks hardcore, are they ever going to take those screws/plate out of your leg?
Click to expand...
Not sure. Surgon didnt say anything. My brother who works in the xray department thought they might leave them in but he did say they are a type that could be removed if necessary. Might ask at next appointment if i remember. after the op the surgon said
a few screws and a plate.... my brother got access to my xrays in digital form for me And to me thats a lot more than a few lol
 
Ricky_nz said:
A bit of bordom going on just sitting at home... sick of watching movies / netflix /documentaries...
remember netflix is the nz watered down one not the real deal.
Click to expand...

Check out Getflix. Region unlocked netflix should really help with the boredom (and pain).

Get well soon!
 
If you want the best value for money Netflix experience check out Popcorn time, its fully free because they use the bit torrent protocol to stream the videos, there are two different versions, I believe to try reach out for the widest audience.
http://popcorn-time.se/
https://popcorntime.io/

Netflix said in an investor letter to their shareholders that Popcorn-time is their biggest threat.
Just make sure you use only the hospital provided wifi when you use it.
Enjoy.
 
Yeah might have to look at getflix or similar.

There was no free wifi at the hospital but im now at home recovering and i haven't found any nearby open wifi connections and since we have a 3 strikes law for illegal download i should watch what i do on my own connection. Also have to watch bandwidth. I only get 80GB per month before excessive charges kick in And thats fairly easy to hit with video.
 
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