The crash…

During a standard base ride, my season took a turn for the worse. It was Monday, Freddy and I had just finished an 80-mile loop around Round Valley. He needed to get to work, I needed to get in a century, just like the day before. To get in the extra miles I decided to do the Hermes recovery loop through Piscataway and Rutgers. Some construction on River Road had the intersection across Hoes Lane busier than most days. I rode alongside traffic and went into the intersection. I took a quick peek back over my shoulder to make sure I wouldn’t get slammed by a “right-hook”. Mistake. My front wheel got snagged and lickity-split I was piledriven into the ground. With no time to get my arms out, my right shoulder took the entire blow. 25-0 in a space too small to read on my PowerTap file. I knocked the wind out of myself and struggled to drag my bike to the side of the road, where I laid in the grass, unable to move. As luck would have it, I crashed in front of a cop and he immediately called an ambulance. Sprinkle in some more luck as said ambulance would be in the traffic I’ve just created. I was on my way to Robert Wood in minutes.

After a slew of hot nurses cut my clothes off for X-Rays I was told I’d be staying for a while. Doctor after doctor came in to tell about their part of the mess. 5 broken ribs compressed my right lung, making breathing difficult at best. A slew of Ortho guys came in to explain a possible game-plan for my shattered shoulder. 3 broken bones, with my Humerous in 3 places. 1 of those places was inside my shoulder socket, I actually broke the head of my arm off through my shoulder blade. This isn’t gonna be fun!! I ended up in the trauma ward so they could keep an eye on my lung and await re-constructive surgery to get my shoulder back in one piece. They put me under on Wednesday night, 6+hours later the worst was behind me, from here on out I’d be on a single road to recovery. I’ve now got some rods and plates and screws holding me together, I hope to see an X-Ray of that on my first follow up. After a week in the hospital, I’d get the go ahead to make the trip back home!!

I’ve already seen tons of improvement in mobility since I’ve been home. My appetite is back and I’ve been getting myself into a daily routine. I’m trying not to think about the bike at all, it will be there waiting for me when I’m ready!! So that’s it for my race season…I’m looking to come back with a vengeance in ’10!!

-Jim.