Moped accident,

Hello Luke

bloody terrible stuff - I know how you feel  I had a similar one when I was twenty involving a Bedford van and a Suzuki GT6 (unfortunately I was not the one in the van). Compound fractured femur - six months in traction, three months in a wheelchair and another three months on crutches / walking sticks etc.

First of all, hard luck on the smash, which it most certainly was - but well done on the not being killed as a result - Pulmanary Embolism is not at all trivial and could easily have finished you off.

As a result of my incident I have about two inches shortening in my left leg, thirty five years on I get back ache a bit and I still cant kneel down comfortably (because my knee wont bend more than 45 degrees) it hasnt slowed me up too much and I have been around the world and not in any way restricted in what I can do (If I had  planned to become a vicar I would have course been knackered - but luckily I hadn't)

It sounds a bit glib, but there are some positive sides to these life changing things.

First of all, I myself was upset about the whole thing - why me? etc and spent a deal of time on all sorts of drugs both fron the NHS and later from other more dubious sources. I spent much time being depressed about stupid things like "If I had to wear built up shoes I would not be able to run down the beach in bare feet and lots of other things I would not be able to do 'anymore' (play football for England - dance like Michael Jackson etc). All in all I had a few problems in the "brain department" that proved potentially more dangerous than the physical stuff."

Not sure how it came about but at some stage in the proceedings I met up with some other people who had faired considerably worse than I had in particular an eight year old girl called Nicolla who had a form of bone cancer but who was putting up a much better show than I was in dealling with it despite being much worse off than me and having undergone many many operations.

It occured to me eventually that actually surviving such an incident, whilst obviously life changing is not as it initially seems, all negative and once I realized that a there were a lot of people considerably worse off than me.  I could easily have been killed by the smash - but wasn't, and that rather than being angry and depressed by it I started to get to grips with the situation and, despite the lack of flexion in my knee managed to kick myself up the arse and get on with things.

So when I was finally discharged by the docs I set about doing all manner of things with enthusiasm and general bloody mindedness. I did eventually pluck up the courage to ride a bike again - but I wasnt married so it's not quite the same as for you.

I don't ride much now having bought an Austin 7 - which is slightly safer and to be honest my wife did tell me subsequentally that when I used to go out on a bike she used to worry about me all the time until I came home (which she had never mentioned before).

So, daft as it may sound (it is after all 4.30 in the morning) I can think of ar least one benefit from the experience of it all in that having realised that I could easily have been killed at age 20 so the following thirty six years are a bit of a bunus and to be honest addressing the simple problems of "How do you fill the kettle when you are in a wheelchair?" (by backing up to the sink and holidng it over your shoulder) or how do you get up the stairs in the nurses home and the seemingly trivial practical problems of getting on with life can get you started with a mind set that can eventually put you not at a disadvantage but rather give you an edge that can take you forward.

I can guarantee you that whatever you take on after all this will not frighten you at all which I think goes some way to explaining why the generation that survived the last war are as they are sort of resilient.

Best wishes to you and the family - look forward to meeting up with you in the future.

Kind Regards
Bernie

PS Dont want to worry you but I don't like the way your dog is eyeing up your leg.

Thank you Bernie,
   Your post really struck a cord, and it feels like whatever I wright now can't possibly compare, your accident seems similar in so many ways, and im sure if youve had had it now instead of 36 years ago (36 bloody heck thats my age and a half and a bit) they would have probably takeled it in the same way they are dealing with mine. Its strange to think how much damage I've done at the time I only thought I had broke my leg and with todays medical miracles it would be no problem! it wasnt until maybe a week after the first operation that I realised how poorly I had been, talking to the surgeon, he said I had been lucky and expenive! he said that if the damage had been much worse they may have had to amputated, I have nothing but gratitude to the hospital and all the people who work there who helped me out. Before the accident I had been rather scathing of the health service but now I really appreciate all the hard work of the people who work there,

  As I said in my first post the surgen seemed confident that I would heal up and that things would generally go back to 'normal', I agree with you, it certainly makes you look at life differently and all the things I took for granted when i was 'able bodied' for example bath's! I'm so jelous when the mrs runs a bath for herself, I've been told with all the dressings for a skin graft that I cant have a bath until it heals, and after that with the fixator it will only be once a week, I'm really looking forward to having a good 2-3 hour soak. Another problem I have is with cups of tea, I can assemble all the ingredients, set the kettle boiling and mash a brew, but I cannot carry the tea into the living room! although I have come up with a system I hold the cup and place it on the floor as far in front of me as I can reach, then I hobble past it on my crutchs and stop, turn around and pick it up and put in front of me again etc... it gets the job done but sometimes I spill, but I suppose its not really a problem because I used to spill tea before the accident! I think there are some plus's from the accident as well, Like i said I will never take doing the simple things for granted again, and a definate positive is my relationship with my mrs and the rest of my family, whilst in hospital natalie didn't miss one visiting time, I talked to her about how I was feeling and she was really supportive when I needed it most, the rest of the family have been good as well visiting when posible, phone calls that I never had before and at christmas I had extra 'sympathy' presents!!!!

  Now for the woman that caused the accident, At first i resented her, I wanted her to feel the same pain as me and see all the destruction she caused. I was bitter, she had most likely wrote off my puch that I had been working on for so long and caused so much emotional distress, but now in a way a forgive her, I'm sure in no way did she purposly go out with the intent of crashing into me, No one aim's to have an accident, and i belive in my heart of hearts that it was an accident, and although times have been hard of late things are definatly getting better and things will return to normal, Although i forgive her for the accident, I am still slightly annoyed after the accident she never got out of her car to see how I was, I had to ask the first car driver that stopped for help. I could have been dead in the car and she never took the time to see if she could help me, the traffic warden in charge of the case said she was probably suffering from shock from the accident, and although I don't agree with it i think that it definatly would expalin it, but I would have thought since the accident she should have tried to get in touch and make some sort of appology but I've had nothing as of yet, and it does wind me up slightly. Police wise Ive given my statement and the official line is its her fault, when giving my statement I told the policeman in charge of the incident that i didn't want the woman to go to jail or anything like that, but i did request that her licence was taken from her as i didn't want anything like this to happen to any one else, The more I think about it now though, I don't know if it was the right thing to request, after all every one has accidents don't they? if it was 'just an accident' how can i justify having some ones licence revoked?

thank you for your post dolly, I appreciated it, and it made me feel like i'm not the only person in the world who has had to go through this,

Luke

Like all the guys and gals on the forum I've read this rather thought-provoking thread, and until now felt ill-equipped to reply.
 
I've been lucky in only being T-boned once, in my case escaping with mere lacerations, although the CB250RS that I was riding came off much worse...
 
I suppose that one of the attractions of the Cyclemotors that I now choose to ride is that although you can't of course legislate for other road-users, if you pick the quieter lanes and runs, the chances of coming-across a daydreamer is somewhat lessened.
 
Dolly's comments are of course marginally diluted by her quadrupedal status. One crock leg out of four is something less of a challenge than that currently presented by yours!
 
All I'll say is that I was touched by your post and hope that like Dolly, in time you'll again feel comfortable to pootle-around on one of our favoured breed.
 
In the meanwhile, get out there and take life by the throat!

My very best wishes to you Luke,
 
 
 
 
 

Dear Worzel
Whilst sharing your sentiments wholeheartedly, may I point out that some of your comments regarding, for example,  my quadraped status are blantanly sheepist and were they to continue could very well lead to you being baaaa-d from this forum.

Not wanting to inflame the situation but I did hear Worzel muttering something about `mutton dressed up as lamb` not too long ago.

Isn`t `worzel` a country name for a turnip? Don`t these get fed to sheep at this time of year........

Hi Luke,

It looks like you have joined the exclusive club for twenty something year olds who have suffered the misfortune of meeting up with a careless car driver whilst riding a bike.

A few days before my 21st birthday I was minding my own business pottering along at 50mph, the then overall speed limit, on my Dunstall Dominator when I was sideswiped by an out of control car driven by a drunken 65 year old man. I was thrown off the bike and landed on the grass verge at the side of the road. As I rose to my knee`s thinking `bloody hell` I was run over by a car that had swerved off the road to miss the accident. I woke up sometime later covered by a blanket after being pronounced `dead` by a Doctor attending the scene. I walked away with only broken ribs and a few scratches, much luckier than the car drivers passenger who was killed when the out of control car hit another head on. The Dominator, my pride and joy, was completely destroyed in the accident.

After being checked over in hospital I walked home where my father was waiting for me in a right mood. My mother was in histerics as the accident had featured on the TV news and she thought I had been killed. No mobile phones then and few households could afford a landline either.

I was `banned` from ever owning a motorbike again but two weeks later after selling what remained of the Dominator I bought a much smaller bike, a Ducati `Elite SS` which I left in a friends shed. My parents soon found out about this when the were visited by the local Police Sargeant who informed them I had been caught doing 50mph in a 30mph zone on the Ducati.

What`s all this got to do with your unfortunate position, well don`t give up and as soon as you can get on a bike and enjoy yourself. Chances of it happening again are there but ride defensively and sensibly and you should be OK.

I`ve led quite a charmed life riding bikes for over 50 years now. I`ve fallen off a few times due to youthfull exhuberance and silly mistakes. I`ve been T boned twice, knocked off by a hit and run driver, and was even subject to a `road rage` attack by a motorist a couple of years ago but I`m still riding.

Not accidents happen on the road, some are far more mundane but can have life changing results.When I was in my late twenties I suffered an industrial accident that left me completely paralized down my right side. I was told that I would never walk again, untrue, and that riding bikes was completely out of the question. It took me nearly six months to learn to walk, well stagger, again and it was another two years before I bought another bike and started riding again. I still have no movement in my right foot but there`s plenty of bikes that I can still ride. Its far easier than walking for me.

Never give up, don`t listen to the doom makers, tell yourself your going to do it and it will happen.

Although money doesn`t fix things or make you get better it does help the whells turn so get yourself some good legal advice as to what to do.

Best wishes to you and your family for a speedy recovery.

Regards

DC

Yes sorry to hear about your ordeal Luke, (I had read about on other Moped sites), obviously it's your choice whether you want to ride a bike again, I broke my leg racing several years ago - nowhere near as bad as you I have to say - I was put in a cast and was in agony for a week, when I went to my local hospital to get it checked they were horrified and had to reset it in a different position. I had this on for several weeks, I then went back and they fitted a hinged contraption, they then said I would never be able to ride a Motorbike again !
I felt that my leg had healed so that night I cut the cast off, and raced the same weekend, I admit I didn't do very well and had to withdraw from the following weekend's British Championship meeting as I had limited movement and strength in the leg. I did race again later in the year however, and the following year I raced in and Won the 500cc Sidecar British Grasstrack Championship. - so 2 fingers up to the Doctors AND the Housemaster at school who said I would never acheive anything by racing Motorbikes !!
I only say this to say that it may not all be doom and gloom, for me Motorbikes have and always will be in my blood, if they cut both my arms and legs off I would still find a way to ride them.

Whatever you do take care, obviously you have your wife and family to think about, so you have difficult decisions ahead, but whatever you do I hope you can still stay in touch with the friendly Moped world.

Hi Luke,

Just to add my wishes of a speedy recovery to those posted earlier.  In common with quite a few on the site, I suffered at the hands of a drunk driver many years ago when I was in my twenties.  This resulted in most of my left side  suffering damage  with the most severe to my left leg/knee almost requiring removal.  It took over 12 months to get back to something like full mobility.  I think I would probably have given up on bikes then had it not been for my friends who encouraged me to get back in the saddle as quick as possible.

Whilst it seems an uphill struggle now  things do get easier to deal with and you will be surprised how quickly these things move into your past and add to your inner strength to deal with future life problems.

I wish you a speedy and full recovery.

Dave  

thank you for kind words, I appreciate your comments, Ive just started on the phisyo's program and it turns out they are bl**y rough! although I know its for the best in the long run and it is nice to get some more motion in my leg,
 
heres me now (although I have had a haircut since the photo) you can see the difference in leg heights, Im due back in hospital on febuary the 4th for more xrays and to arrange a date for my next surgery (where they will break my bone) and I can start growing my leg back. The plastic surgens are happy with my skin graft and said its 80% healed. Things are good at the moment but life with the fixator can range from it being the savior of my leg to the worst idea possible! I'm glad I'm not the only one to be going through this and i can only be genuinely thankful its only temporary. I had a phone call from the policeman in charge of my case today, he said they are going to try and charge the woman (who pulled out on me) with 'driving with undue care and attention' I still don't know how I feel about the woman, when my leg hurts its all her fault and i don't like her very much but then when its alright I can accept its just an accident! I suppose the courts will decide what the appropriate outcome is.

Hope its going well Luke

but what are you doing with my T shirt on ?

Hi Luke, glad to see you are making a promising recovery after your horrific experience, and are able to smile for the camera, even if there are times when you really don't feel like smiling!...keep on taking the photographs, and we shall all watch with interest as you progress back to "normal", and hopefully, before long we shall see you on a run, somewhere!  Best Wishes for a happier new year!

Hi Luke
that t shirt emblem looks not dissimilar to the one used on crash test dummies - were you wearing it at the time?
If the rozzers do prosecute the driver it will certainly make the compensation claim easier in that it would make it entirely her fault, which won't cheer up her insurers at all.
Keep dancing
Bernie

Hi Luke,

Wow, nasty accident and injuries. 

Not quite the same but I broke my back in two places on my mountain bike 5 years back.  I was lucky in that I didn't do any nerve damage but it was a relatively long road to recovery, approx 6 months before I was back to work full time and the first 3 months I was close to bed ridden. 

In a similar way to you it was a life changing accident, but all my fault.    I'm reminded of it most days when my back aches but I found it to be a positive experience all in all.  I learnt a lot about myself during that time, and it changed my outlook on life.  I find that I have more confidence in my approach to various situations and I'm a much 'stronger' person than I was.  It strengthened the bond between me and my wife as well.  Try to find the positives in your accident too if you can.  It is much healthier than dwelling on the negatives.  Easily said but not always so easily done of course!

My only advice is to make sure you make the effort to understand what the doctors have planned for you.  The individuals within the NHS, in my experience, are great people but the system let me down in a number of ways.  If you are unhappy about anything or think that they are missing something then make sure to mention it, politely. 

Physio is rough and I found I appreciated it more a couple of days after a session..when the pain had gone!

As for the woman who hit you...I admire your sympathy for her.  Yes it is was an accident and we all make them.  Most of the time we are fortunate enough to get away with not causing injury to ourselves or others.  However, there has to be a consequence for those occaisions when someone gets hurt and, IMO, it is only right that she is prosecuted.  Even more so given the seriousness of your injuries.

I hope you heal well.

Paul.

thank you,

    Yeah thinks are getting better all the time, the leg isn't as painful as it was and today at 'plastic dressings clinc' they said I will probably only have to visit them once more to check my skin graft as it has almost fully healed,
  On the 28th I'm back to see the orthapedic consultant, hopefully he will give me the ok to go in for the op to start lengthening my leg, I'm quite looking forward to actully working towards getting the frame off, at the moment it feels like im just sitting here and doing nothing to improve my situation!
 With out mopeds in mind I managed to replace my old car for a semi automatic smart car, its great for a 600cc and with it being automatic i can get myself about, so i get some independance back!
 
  As for the puch, Its in a bit of a sorry state Its in my mothers garage at the moment, mostly the exhaust is damged, the petrol tank is dented, the seat ripped, the legshields folded, the casting around the headlight is missing a chunck and the front fork chrome shrouds are dented and scratched, the worst part is I think the frame is bent as the rear wheel is sticking out the mudgaurd at a funny angle, but I've not had chance to have a really good mess with it yet,

but I'm more than certain it will be a write off, which is a shame as It had only been back on the road for a month or so!

And on a better note, I finally went to the powder coaters to collect the parts from my pf50 novio that I had left with them before the accident! only 3 months down the line!!

The police officer who attended the accident visited last month, they brought a bag full of possesions for me, two motorbike boots, the left one cut from the neck to the toe, half a leather jacket, a foam 'back protector' from my leather jacket, set of gloves, bandana and my bag with a honda novio chain gaurd in, I was glad for the chain gaurd the bag, gloves and bandana but the boots and jacket? they went in the bin!  the police man took a witness statement and we had a talk about the case, he said they were just about ready to start court proceedings, I mentioned sentances and he said he thought she would most likely loose her lisence, Ive always said I wouldn't want to send her to jail or anything like that, but In fairness I wouldn't even mind her driving again If she could re-pass her driving test and show that she is capable of driving to the current standards! after all every one makes accidents don't they? I know I have made them before!

anyway thanks for the kind words
Its great to know you all care!

Luke

Hi Luke,

It is so good to hear that your recovery is proceeding well and you are on course for full health again. I'm sure that your attractive new wife is being a super aid and support in this.

I feel a bit ghoulish about this but I remember the super job you did with the exhaust pipe on your Puch. If, in fact, it does turn out to be a write off, and if you don't intend to build up another MS would you consider flogging the remains, or part of the remains, especially the exhaust mods?

I am still working on my MS to get it running really well but activity has stalled lately due to 1. laziness, 2. cold weather, 3. unheated garage, Spring is just beginning to encourage a little action and I have had a tentative run out on the Mini-Maxi - all going well I'm glad to say.

Best regards, Marcus. (0151 625 0428)

not a problem,  If I do you will be on the first refusal list! I don't know what will be happen with my puch, but i doubt anything exciting will happen before my claim is settled ( i know claim is a horrible word) and i know it will probably need a new silencer, I wouldn't want to be fitting a bent and grave rashed one, I'm not 16 anymore!
but I doubt anything will be sorted for a few years yet the soliciters said around 2 years, when a docter can make an assesment on how it will effect the rest of my life,

I'm glad your working on getting your MS back on the road and I'm sure that riding the mini maxi can only fuel your enthusiasm for project MS!

Luke

Speaking as one who will be seventy five in April,  I only hope that my entry on your first refusal list will not have been eliminated through the natural consequences of old age! Thank you anyway.

No worries,

If you want I can help you order the piece's to make your own system, the most important part was the down pipe and the most expenive being the silencer,

I used stainless steel tubing for the mount and the clamp were a from ebay, although i also fitted an extra bracket from the swinging arm spindle to pick up on the proper mounting point on the silencer, you can get proper exhaust mounting brackets to sit on the spindle (like a puch vz) but you need a longer spindle, and I have no lathe to make up my own, 

I don't know if i mentioned it before, but for christmas I had ordered myself a hand pump from the vmcc website and some transfers for the petrol tank, it was abit disappointing not being able to use them!

Well, once you are up to it, put the transfers on to something totally unrelated, and see if anyone notices!!  an endless source of amusement!