Under the knife for Christmas

I go in for a shoulder a/c joint operation next week. Who else has had a bike related injury/op, how did it happen, how did it mend are you still aware of it when you ride/race?


Not very festive i Know but interesting all the same

Anyway seasons greetings to all bantam racers

See you all next season where not doubt I'll be showing off my scar

Tony

Only had the minor collarbone fracture (trying to keep up with Hugh Anderson, 5x 60s world champ !!!!) but every week I anaesthetise chaps like your self for AC joint/shoulder type procedures in Public and Private hospitals. They can be very pain free, we send some home same day; but need lots of multi modal painrelief. If the NHS don,t give you any, take some big dose of paracetamol (1500-2000mg once and an NSAID (Voltarel, Brufen) night before or morning of. Ask if you can have a Local Anaesthethetic (like dentist does) as part of the procedure eg: interscalene or suprascapular nerve block and heaps of Tramadol or Codeine after.
Hope it goes well for you.
Dr JohnSbantam

Cor,
we must all have a gory tale! Mine was at a 1976 Snetterton 50 miler where I was pushed rapidly into the armco at Russells. Broke the collarbone and a couple of ribs and lost a chunk of Knee. The knee grew back, the collarbone was good enough to race, after two weeks, at Carnaby with the auto 66 club. But the ribs played up for months. I am sure the whole paddock heard the scream when my Yam reared up on the start line and the tank hit me square in the chest........
The things you do when you are young and silly....
Stay healthy and ride well.
Alan

PS: John can you send me a picture so I can turn it into an avatar for your posts...

Hi John

So that's what you do Dr John
Not sure the exact proceedure as it's all a bit last minute as the surgen is moving on to a better job so offered me an op straight away or go on someone elses waiting list. This gives me time to get fit as I put it off during this season where I did a fair few sprints right up till the begining of Oct. He did say I would be under a general anesthetic, was you sugesting a local as well? where they'll try and fix with existing liguments and poss put on a plate. I'll talk to them about pain relief and find out what's available after as well.

Thanks again john, will we be seeing in the next season or so?

Tony

I damaged a couple of vertebrae and broke my wrist at Brands on the ex Bill Lawrence Greeves in 75, the back problem has stayed with me ever since, it comes and goes. Broke my thumb at Brands in 80 when Steve Trasler hopped off at Druids and his bike carreered down the hill and t boned me on my X7. Spent a week in Louth hospital after a high speed spill at the full Cadwell circuit, I was on the Kawasaki dicing with a guy on a TZ750 and my front end gave way dumping me on my right temple and knocking me out cold. They thought i broke my neck so strapped me up and in Louth they cut my leathers off. I actually tore all the ligaments and muscle tissue and had to wear a collar when they let me out.
Two weeks later, we turned up at West Raynham, i took the collar off and Vern, my mechanic put duct tape from my helmet to the back of my leathers so i could support my head. My sponsor Rex then asked if i could have a pusher from the back of the grid because we had some starting problems. This was agreed and we set off for the Formula TT race, I got away brilliantly and carved through the field and within two laps was right behind Nat Wood's Kawasaki (he won the Marlboro clubmans that year so i was pretty happy). Nat looked over his shoulder as we went over the line and suddenly put his hand up to retire, never figured it out, he was running fine. Anyway there i was leading and a lap and a half from home, while lapping a tailender, he moved across my line, bang, he went down and i went to the grass but kept upright. Seeing this, Alf Mossell went into the lead with a broad grin, what he didn't know was i quickly got back on the track, seeing red. Last corner and a back marker loomed up in front of Alf, he obviously had visions of the same thing happening to him so took it easy, that's all i needed, i dived underneath both of them and took the flag. My then wife Heather was in the timekeepers caravan and started jumping around with delight, Mary Styles had to calm her down. Needless to say i was rather sore and had to be helped off the bike but damn it was worth it.

By the way, to my knowledge i'm the only rider to have won the Eastern Centre Band Aid award twice, correct me if i'm wrong.

Lovely subject for the festive season, Tony!
Hope your op goes OK...
Too many crashes for here. Last on a Bantam was with Ned's lovely Bantam at The Parade of '81 at Snetters... Damn jinx of a circuit -- always head, knees, elbows and collarbone. Blame that one on Dick 'Unter. Twit was racing what ain't allowed on Parades...! Roy Bacon in his wellies an' all! I was wearing Judy's DR helmet stuffed with toilet paper. She was quite put out when I gave it back with a whacking great crack in it...

Most nasty crash-memory was after Joe Wheeler flipped his outfit on the grass with me as passenger. That was a real HIGH SIDER. Joe broke his pelvis and I was apologising for getting up too quick in the Esses when I felt trickling blood on my right side.
It was the year before it was All-Balls! -- regs for ball-end levers & footrests, I mean.
Went to Newmarket hospital where a jockey and Joe were side by side moaning about their respective pelvises (or is it pelvisi?). Nurse came at me with what looked liked a pair of very-very long-nosed pliers (forceps I suppose Dr John will say) on the end of which was a blob of white with yellow stuff attached. She pushed this into the hole -- alongside my appendics scar -- and kept pushing, twiddling and pushing. I was gasping with pain and nausea. It was endless agony. With no pain relief I was almost sick --and screamed at her to stop or she'd have the pliers coming out of my back!
She said she was sorry -- she thought it was only a half inch deep.
After a dressing was stuck over the hole I walked out... I felt really rough-- particularly when I had to limp about two miles to the circuit from the end of the bus ride...

Admin Alan: what does 'ICQ no.'; 'AIM Address'; and the other abbreviations mean? I could only get accepted on this site by admitting my age!
I'd get a photo from off the WC room wall (only place they are not forbidden these days!) and send to you if I had your address.
What happened to Miki Sprosen?
Why is the 175, '06 Champ shown lying in the road?
Take care,
Stay cool,
Keep well,
Have a merry festive season ...
Aye! JayBee.

PS. Going to Süd Eifel for Xmas -- where I passengered an Autogyro last time. Maybe the best crash ever! JB.

Sorry about that Mr. B but I dont know what they do but I am sure that I will find out eventually!
try this email address as my old one is inoperative because of the spam problem
alanbrown1@talktalk.net
send me a pic and I will sort it out for you.
I am still learning how this forum works so dont shout too loud yet as I definetly dont know it all
Keep safe and stay away from the knife....

Thanks Alan!
I had a couple of compter courses --- didn't do me much good because the language is changing all the time.

Trying to get a picture off the wall...
Try to behave during the tippling season...
Aye! JayBee.

[quote="tonydavis"]I go in for a shoulder a/c joint operation next week.

Hi Tony, you wont be alone. My wife is having her right clavicle "plated" on Wednesday, (day after tomorrow) . The clavicle is currently in 3 pieces, and has resulted in the bone being effectively 20mm shorter. We expect a bit of gyp straight after, but should be fine after that. (most of the pain seems to come from the misalighmnet). She fell off in september and the bones have not united.

So, good luck with your "procedure"

Yes LA around nerves as well as GA.
I can only but dream of another visit to England for a while. The old man is 86, so any excuse to get over.

Thanks for messge JS

Pleased to report wife doing well - LA was used to block nerve(s) in vicinity of surgery. Seen the x-rays, about 5 or 6 screws evident. I am surprised they dont have various lengths to suit bone "diameter", there was lots of protrusion!

interesting that the anethetist was a Dr Bass, and that he seemed keen on motorcycles.

johnSbantam wrote:

Yes LA around nerves as well as GA.
I can only but dream of another visit to England for a while. The old man is 86, so any excuse to get over.

just got back home, bit of one handed typing. surgery was said to of been caried out to a high std by a genius surgen, no plates just cut 12mm off bone and used liguments stiched to collor bone to pull down, more on this revolutionary treatment later apparently he had a few senior consultants as spectators. the pre op and post op care was shocking 9 hrs left in a little waiting room not knowing, then no food and little help after the place seemed like a mad house at times. a genius in hell no wonder he's left now, guess i was lucky for him to squeese me in. john did have local as well as general thanks for point thatout.

now where's them pain killers i'm off to bed

pete wish you're wife well from me, tell her i know what she's going through

Tony and Peter!
Glad to hear the ops went OK.

Alan! I hope you get the pic in spite of the Xmas rush. If not, it is one where you can see that the poor little machine really is a BSA Bantam (Icarus 1) and the pig aboard should be on a machine ten times that size -- 1250cc at least!
I hated fairings. First time wearing one -- at Snetters, of course -- I crashed at the Esses and only remember the screeching of fibre-glass at the start: the respective riders either side decided to put the squeeze on JayBee as it were. There must be a natural GA that kicks in when the local scenario gets to look unhealthy -- I came to in Norwich Dock 12 hours later. Derek Neil, my great mentor, reckoned that in the circuit's medical room I tried to punch the doctor whilst demanding to be allowed to get back on Icarus 1. Cannot believe that!... Me, the most gentle, respectable and well-behaved of all humanity.
You'll, no doubt, be glad to hear that I'll not be thumping this key-board until the 3rd or 4th Jan... '07...We are off to Süd Eifel -- no not Paris as my Irish buddy thought -- its a volcanic lake area about two hours drive south west of Köln.
Don't eat too much Xmas pud -- it creates air polution...!
Aye! John-Boy.

Peter!
A Dr Bass ey!?
Well, it seems the famous ones are not just beer makers after all because we also have a dentist here (in Germany) who has invented a special cleaning technique for the gnashers... No! its not me making a bit on the side although I do make myself available for extractions -- and other methods -- if necessary.
Long live the BRC! Take care.
Aye! JayBee.
PPS -- I'm really am going now -- JB...