Recovery

Recovery is a slow and painful process- tedious is a word that often comes to mind for me. I've mentioned my frustrations with the "system" of healthcare, so I won't get into that again (and hopefully not in the future too).

Sitting on the couch with my laptop desk/ stand is getting old fast. Sitting at the kitchen table though just hurts too much. So the couch it is. Answering the many, many emails that have gotten backed up during this month- so if you've sent me an email and have not gotten a response yet, please don't feel neglected because you've got lots of company. The typing situation is still really painful. I can use my thumb better but having the cast on weakened my forearm/ wrist and it wears out fast and I get massive cramps/ spasms after a little while. Plus I can't straighten the right arm yet, due to all the "soft tissue damage" in the elbow.

The knee feels a lot better, most of the time, but does still hurt. Looking forward to being able to get an MRI of the knee to determine what's going on. My ortho suspects some possible tears in the meniscus of the knee joint. The brace should be ready to come off in about 8 weeks. Hopefully the meniscus can heal on the same time schedule as the bones. I'm really itching to start some therapy and get my leg back- the muscle atrophy is bumming me out.

At least all of me is atrophying; since the accident, I've lost about 20 pounds- though some of it is coming back. Before the accident I weighed around 205lbs and last week in the hospital I weighed as little as 184 (with all the hardware on). So now I can see my ribs again and I'm beginning to have the classic cyclist build- the upper body of a 12yr old girl. The old power discrepancy between my right and left legs will get fixed now too- I doubt my right leg will ever be as overpowering again. This will change my Kilo start strategy... for sure.

I'm currently on such a massive dose of blood thinners and anti-coagulants that I've been instructed to be very careful when shaving... WTF? Dang! I'm in danger shaving? Needless to say, I've been growing a shaggy beard that makes me look like a homeless bike dork. Not to mention the first hair on my legs since just after my daughter was born 7 years ago- I started shaving my legs when I was 12 (and didn't have any hair on my legs anyway) and have only let the hair grow a few times since then. I feel like a Wooly Mammoth! Plus I need a haircut! I'm feeling a little over-sensitive on the whole hair subject right now...

Seeing my General Practitioner today. Hopefully I'll be getting some good news so I can return to work soon. I'm feeling better all the time, but the clots are a big concern still, as are the 3 fractured vertebrae in my neck. I won't be able to drive, but may be able to carpool with a co-worker. I miss the outside world... a bit. Plus, soon our sample bikes for the Fall catalog/ Interbike will start showing up and that's always a very special time for me; there is almost nothing quite like seeing your "ideas" turn into real hardgoods. Those first sample arrivals make me feel like a kid on Christmas day... only a lot bigger and dorkier. So hopefully I get the ok to sit on my ass all day in the office, instead of sitting on my ass all day at home. Beginning to learn that flying overseas could be potentially deadly for me now too; long flights are very bad for causing blood clots and I'm now a member of the "high risk" club. Yeah me! I might have to start wearing special compression garments when I fly and have to get up frequently to exercise and keep the blood flowing. Since I have a really hard time sleeping on planes, this might not be such a bad thing. Maybe.

BUT... I'm planning to get better and get back on a bike and get back to the office to keep working with my product manager (Waynebow) to create a bigger, better and way more badderest line of bikes.

Health is a state of mind sometimes and I am working on staying very healthy... promise.

Tim

Happy to be alive.

I just need to remind myself that I am happy to be alive because today was an infuriating day of dealing with our "healthcare" system.

Never get sick.

Never get hurt.

Never ask questions.

I'm blessed to be surrounded by people who love and support me and help when, where and how they can.

Ok... rant done.

Tim

Coolness...

Taking a short departure from my injury stories and ramblings about bicycles for just a moment... so indulge me.

Today, during my usual rounds of the InterWeb, I stopped over at the blog of my friends over at Swobo, How to Avoid the Bummer Life. My buddy Stevil wrote another of his epically good posts. Buried in this rough, yet somehow special gemstone of a post, was a song and music video that has been stuck in my head ever since.



I'm a total music dork. Just like I'm a bike dork or a coffee dork, I loves me some music. The video and song are great, but I really and truly marveled at the talent of the artist. I mean, to create such an amazingly catchy song and corresponding video using very short snippets from the Disney movie Alice in Wonderland... I just kept listening and listening and listening and listening. Maybe it's just me, but I doubt it because the song is really awesome.

So if you have the 2:43 to spare, you should give it a listen/ look and make up your own mind.

Tim
(Best of all, there is a free MP3 download available for the song!)

WARNING; Graphic thumb photos

Well, below are some pretty graphic photos of my right thumb. As my orthopedic surgeon said- "beauty is in the eye of the beholder." Dr. William Tontz Jr is the man behind reattaching (heck, "recreating") my thumb. He also said, as he was unwrapping the thumb, "everyday is like Christmas for an orthopedic surgeon." He was right on both comments; beauty truly IS in the eye of the beholder and I did receive a gift when he unwrapped the thumb... a thumb I get to keep and use!

________________________________________________________

Yep... that's a steel pin sticking out of the end of my thumb! DO NOT TOUCH THE PIN!


You can barely see the two sets of stitches on the outside edges of my thumb, but there are several other stitches on the inside of my thumb as well.


See how the color of the thumb is consistent? That means there is blood flow through entire thumb. THANK GOD!


The existing nail is going to fall off. The nail bed looks healthy and should produce a new nail... though it may be another one of those beauty/ eye/ beholder things...


And there we are... a "thumbs up"... because I CAN!

Again, I really can not thank Dr. Tontz Jr enough for his amazing surgical work. He said after he unwrapped the thumb, that he really expected to be unwrapping a "dead thumb"... so we were both very happy with his work. I have zero memory of what my thumb looked like before the surgery, but I am told that it was as if the end of my thumb had been removed like a sheath/ sock and turned inside out... and then the bone got severed off and shoved up through the space between the two halves of my thumb nail. So yeah, Tontz did a phenomenal job of recreating my thumb. And, keep in mind- I was even wearing a pair of full finger gloves when I crashed... so, yeah... wow...

So there's the thumb pictures. Now you can be as grossed out as me. Aren't you glad I shared?

Tim

Home... again.

I'm home again. Sprung from the hospital and the sobering reality of the oncology floor. I am blessed to "only" be as hurt as I am. Wow...

So I'm home now. Yeah, me!

WARNING: Next post will have very graphic photos of my healing thumb. Wanted to just give you all a warning. I'll post the pictures in just a little while, but they are not for the faint of heart... hell, I nearly passed out myself- sincerely. So if you want to see what a surgically reattached thumb looks like, then stick around for just a little while...

Tim

Fingers crossed...

Unless things go sideways, I'll be getting out of here in a few hours and going home!

Clots are stable and my blood numbers are "improving", so I'll get to go home. I'll be going home with a prescription for the blood thinner that I take via a shot twice daily in the abdomen. My mom and step-dad (both are nurses) will get the honors of giving the shots to me- I'm brave, but I ain't that brave.

Gonna be on blood meds for the next 6 months and will have to get my blood monitored often... but I'm gonna get to go home very soon. It'll take about 4-6 weeks for my body to absorb/ dissolve the clots. The drugs I have to take will help keep the blood from clotting again. Waiting for test results that will tell me if I have a permanent need for the drugs- hopefully not, but possibly.

But I'm going home! Home, sweet home.

Tim

Yep, I'm still here...

Still in the hospital as of this morning. Rumor has it that I might be able to go home today... might. So far, early tests of my blood show that it is not thinning out enough for me to be released (I always knew I had good, thick blood). Until the blood is sufficiently thin, I'm sitting on my butt in the hospital. I'm on strict bed rest, though I have "bathroom privileges"- meaning I don't have to potty in a jug. Since I hate TV, I've been getting lots of sleep (thanks to the drugs) and just relaxing with visitors.

I'm on my third roommate here on the oncology floor. This newest one also has severe cancer. He'll probably get to go home before I do, but... I'm damn blessed. Like I said before- I'm massively inconvenienced by some serious injuries, but I am expected to make a total recovery. The conversations I've overheard here over the past few days have helped to give me renewed thankfulness. I've got a personal relationship with cancer (and I'll leave it at that) and I know what it can do to the person with the cancer and all the people in that person's life. To put it plainly- Cancer sucks.

Here's to hoping you're all out riding today and enjoying the weekend. I look forward to being out there with you in the foreseeable future.

Tim

Is this a rerun?

Well, I'm back in the hospital. Turns out that the severe muscle pain I was having in my groin/ thigh of my right leg was being caused by a massive blood clot in my groin and four smaller clots in my calf. Yep... 5 clots.

The clot in my thigh is the one that is of most concern- any clot above the knee raises concern. It's a really big clot and it's way up high in the groin. The biggest concern is that it could break up or dislodge and move into my lungs causing a pulmonary embolism. Which I hear is a bad thing.

This time, I am in Sharp Memorial Hospital and my room is on the oncology (cancer) floor. My roommate is an older gentleman with pretty severe cancer in his abdomen. I have potentially dangerous clots, but I don't have cancer. I know a little about cancer (ok, a lot) and know enough to know that it's a terrible thing and overtakes the lives of the person who has the cancer as well as those around that person. Sitting here in my bed, I feel like crap from the throbbing in my leg, but I'm confident I'm going to be better. Many of the other folks on this floor don't have that luxury. Life is all about perspective... and I'm a lucky sonofabitch. Hopefully I'll get to home Sunday... I hope.

I'm getting two shots a day in my abdomen, that burn like hell, that are blood thinners/ anti-coagulants. I'm also taking a drug called Coumadin that keeps the blood from clotting. I'm getting my blood tested every day and they have me as immobile as possible, though I am allowed to get up to go to the bathroom... so I don't have to use the little plastic jug (so I've got that going for me). Basically... I'm gonna be fine in a few days and then I can go back to healing from the other injuries.

Speaking of the other injuries... the knee fractures look pretty good. I might have a little tear in the meniscus that is keeping the knee from being able to go totally straight. The best news is that the thumb surgery was a total success and I will not be losing the end of the finger. It's an ugly thumb... trust me... but it's going to be a complete thumb again. I'm going to lose the thumbnail that was on the thumb at the time of the crash, but the nail bed looks healthy and I should be growing a new nail. So it looks like, with the exception of the clots, I'm actually healing.

So it ain't all bad... (plus I've gone from 205lbs the night of the crash to 185lbs... yeah... losing weight)

Thanks for the support and well wishes- it means an awful lot to me.

Tim

Andy Hampsten

I just read this on CyclingNews a minute ago. It was less interesting to me for the bike (though it is cool and a great bike with details that fit the rider perfectly), but for the rider.

Andy Hampsten was one of the few riders who really captured my imagination and inspired me when I was racing as a junior. Andy is in his mid 40's now and isn't all that much older than me, but he was that generation ahead of me that I watched going on to worlds I was dreaming of one day reaching.

Andy's Giro d'Italia win in 1988 was probably more significant to me than Greg LeMond's first Tour win in 1986. Probably because Greg was the heavy favorite and was a dominant champion of the time- and had simply decimated the domestic scene here before jumping to the other side of the world to win bigger races. Andy wasn't that guy- he wasn't the dominant or expected winner. Sure, he couldn't ever be ruled out if there were hills... but he just wasn't thought of as THE guy in a grand tour.

All that said, Andy was one of the riders who I really admired. He was a great rider- a climbing specialist. He was a great team rider and rode excellently in the service of LeMond while at La Vie Claire. As a young rider, I was built much like Andy and had a similar riding style- a skinny climber who just tried to stay out of trouble until the hills.

After winning the '88 Giro, Andy remained one of the most humble champions of the sport and became one of the most legendary champions of the race. The stories of his epic ride into history are many, but he always remained the quietly humble rider who happened to win one of the most epic editions of the Giro.

In retirement, Andy has run a tour company that takes riders on glorious rides through Italy to experience the fantastic roads, scenery and food of the country that truly placed him in the pantheon of cycling champions. His name also graces some incredibly beautiful bicycles too. He and his brother Steve have worked with some of the best builders around to craft the frames.

From time to time I've gotten a comment/ email from Steve over the past few years; if you happen to read this Steve, please pass along my best to Andy. This 20th anniversary of his historic win is a great time to thank him for inspiring a skinny kid from Alabama to keep riding and racing. Heck, if Andy's willing (or both of you), I'd be honored to do a little Q&A/ interview... and I promise I'll do my best to not sound too much like a fawning bike nerd.

Bravo Andy!

Tim

It's like it's my birthday or something...

I've always loved the sound of that big brown truck rolling up with boxes for me... now more than ever...


I got a whole bunch of really cool goodies the past few days/ weeks...

• The jersey is from Donna Tocci and Bob- Bobke- Roll. Bob did a dealer event in Boston for Kryptonite and the two of them got me the jersey and Bob signed it with a "Get well soon- Bobke". Like I said in the Spokesmen Podcast yesterday, Bob even called me in the hospital... and I even remember a few sentences from the conversation.

• The T-shirt is from Fritz and says "gravity is my secondary retention device". Oh so true.

• The gift basket is from Peace Coffee in Minneapolis and was sent from Spencer and the crew (including Tim Hayes- aka Souper Wookie) from Little Guy Racing- a small and awesome team Masi sponsors. A big bag of yummy smelling coffee, a couple of mugs, some whole grain pancake mix and some delicious natural maple syrup.

• The big beers are from my friend, former co-worker and bike shop owner MSV (no names... just initials to protect the invisible). Yes, I do believe I'll be having one tonight.

• The bottle of wine and CDs come from my good friend Valeria Maltoni in Philadelphia. Nice Italian Chianti and some Italian music to soothe a weary and beat-up body and mind. Graziemille, bella.

Not pictured;

• A great care package from Donna full of Boston's very own Dunkin Donuts coffee and coffee mugs and a few other goodies.

• Freshly roasted bag of Limited Edition Roast Gautemala La Voz from Kinetic Koffee- which I had this morning and I was taken to a new level of consciousness.

• A set of new Sesame Street training wheels from the fine folks at Ritchey (I'll find a way to get you back for that one, KY...)

Thank you one and all. Sincerely. I don't know what I did to deserve you all. I'm more touched than I can ever tell you.

Tim

Inching along...

FINALLY got a follow-up visit scheduled with the orthopedic surgeon who performed the miracle surgery to reattach the end of my thumb and examined my knee and my other fractures (like my vertebrae, skull and rib). I won't go on a rant about our healthcare system here, but suffice it to say I've been a tad frustrated lately.


Also experimenting with a new computer stand/ rolling desk for my laptop, that my sister Sara gave me. Trying to find a way to work "comfortably"... which is proving to be quite difficult. BUT... I'm still trying, just the same.

Thanks for all the comments and photos sent to me after my "do me a favor" post on Friday. I'll have a new post up soon sharing some of the photos I received and stories that were sent in. Thanks for helping to brighten things up during this recovery.

Ok... it's time for nap #1 for today.

Tim

Spokesmen Podcast #30

This morning I skipped the Percocet so I could remain coherent long enough to participate in the Spokesmen Podcast. It was great to chat with my fellow Spokesmen and friends David Bernstein, Tim Grahl and Carlton Reid. Fritz and Donna couldn't make it today, but were both there in spirit.

Of course, we talked about my crash, but we covered other topics as well- so go give it a listen. You won't regret it.

Tim

Do me a favor?

If you actually like me, even a little, do me a favor; get outside and ride your bike this weekend. Even if you only ride to the corner store to get some milk, a beer, a loaf of bread, a carton of smokes... anything... just get out and ride. Strap a helmet to your head and get out on your bike and get some wind in your lungs and sun on your skin.

I'm gonna be unable to ride for another 10 weeks at least. So if you wanna make me feel better, get out and ride. In fact, send me photos of your ride and I'll post them up here with a weekend ride report from you folks; tjackson (at) masibikes (dot) com.

Share your bike fun with ME and I'll share it with the world.

We got a deal?

Tim

This is what I was trying to say all along...

This comment came in response to my short post yesterday;

Matt Boulanger has left a new comment on your post "Interesting article;":

I hope that every "bike boom," large or small leads to a few more people discovering cycling as a viable option for getting around. I'm happy to be in such a bike-friendly place (Missoula, MT), where I can live in town, bike to work, and get many of my errands done on the bike as well. I sold my clunker car for fender and tire money two years ago, now my wife and I share a car and haven't looked back.

But back to the "living in town" thing. In my working life, I'm a land-use planner, and that's where it all starts. Planning for enough residential density and mixed-use in town to make biking, walking and public transportation viable. Creating a built environment that people want to live in, that's nice enough so they don't buy a half-acre on a cul-de-sac at their first opportunity to get out of the loathsome city. Get enough people living in town and bike facilities and complete streets become economically viable. And for heaven's sake, welcome new people into the biking fold. In my other working life, I've been a sales floor guy at REI for the last few years, and we see our share of people looking at bikes who haven't been on one since they were 12. The price point has to be explained gently, the basic education (tire changes, etc) has to be worked in without being intimidating. As cyclists, as retailers, as citizens, we will all benefit from more butts in saddles. One of the most important things to do as a cyclist is to get out there and be seen riding, to and from work/grocery store/whatever. Be seen riding a regular old bike, with fenders and a rack, wearing normal clothes, following the rules. Show the world that in between DUI cyclists and spandex racers, there is a whole other class: regular people riding bikes to meet the needs of dasily life. OK, I'm rambling, but you get the poitn and I'm preaching to the choir anyway.

That's what I've been trying to say all along.

Matt- thanks for extending the conversation!

Tim

Interesting article;

Give this a read. Smells like hope is blooming in the bike industry.

I've always said that higher gas prices are not the cure for the bike industry's blues, but it is clearly helping things. I see it as a great start, or catalyst, to help make the necessary changes for more/ broader ridership. It's always been my belief that convenience and safety are paramount to keeping people on bikes once they get on a bike.

It is my sincere hope that we are on the road to creating a better cycling world in the US- one with the proper infrastructure to keep people interested in using their bikes as more than toys/ fitness tools... but as a regular part of their lives.

Hope does spring eternal after all...

Tim
(Thanks to my coworker James Ayres for sharing this article with me. As they say, "even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in awhile".)

Masiguy Podcast #8 ready!

I finally recorded Masiguy Podcast #8... so give it a listen.

Of course, it's all about the crash... but go listen anyway.

Tim
(It's just easier than me trying to type.)

Coffee, coffee, coffee, coffee, coffee, coffee...

My good friend Luc in Belgium shared this with me. We both have a fairly decent addiction to coffee and share a certain zeal for the caffeinated liquid gold.

It's in French... but you can understand the meaning pretty well.

Gotta go refill my cup now... before I get violent!

Tim

Yes, it's true!

Yes, rumors have been swirling about for a bit that Lance Armstrong's new bike shop in Austin, TX- Mellow Johnny's- was going to be carrying Masi bikes.

Well... it's true!

If you click through the thumbnail images, you'll see several of the bikes around- Speciale Fixed, Speciale CX and SoulVille. (Thanks to my friend Gary Boulanger of Bike Radar for snapping the pictures during the opening.)

The story, as I have been told, is that Lance's partner/s and shop manager came to the Masi booth during the last Interbike and spoke with me and looked at the bikes. Apparently they liked what they saw and heard. Honestly, I spoke with about 1,000 folks during the show and do not remember speaking to them (though their faces are familiar in the pictures). I'd love to take credit for this happening- of course- but the real hero is the bikes themselves. I just stood there and looked pretty... the bikes did the work.

So if Masi is good enough for the most famous cyclist in the world (outside of Saint Merckx), then Masi is good enough for the rest of us!

Clearly, we're very happy to be associated with such a name and brand as Lance. It's a big day at Masi Global Domination HQ. But, please also support the other fine Masi retailers in Austin (and all over Texas and beyond). Austin is a wonderful city that I have loved for many years and the cycling community there is among the best in the US. I'm happy that we are a part of the mix there and hope that the fine folks of Austin will enjoy our bikes!

Tim

I really hope I didn't break it...

The night of the crash, I was racing on my production sample of our new Speciale Sprint steel track racing frameset (due to come out in Fall). It's the all-steel version of the Coltello, for all of us who still like the feel of steel and want a truly race-oriented frameset.

Up until the crash, it rode like a dream and I am confident it will be a big hit with everybody. From what I am told, it is still in great shape- though I have not yet seen it myself. The folks at the track have been holding it for me and I am very anxious to get it back in my hands.

I was going to post these pictures anyway, but they are a little later than I planned. Consider it Mother's Day Bike Porn!


Even moms like pretty bikes!

Tim

Thanks Mom!

Today is Mother's Day and my mom's gift is the fact I am out of the hospital and on the road to recovery. She'd probably prefer flowers... but... or the announcement of my retirement from racing (at least on the track)... but...

But anyway, she gets to keep me around to worry about for a few more years at least (I hope). So Mom- thank you for all the love and support over the years. I know it hasn't always been easy and has certainly been bloody, but you gave me good enough genes to keep bouncing back and never give up. As much as quitting racing might make you feel a little better about my safety, you KNOW I'd just find another way to hurt myself. C'mon... this is me we're talking about... and besides, you DID teach me to not give up... so at least I listened to you on one occasion anyway.


For your "present" this year, I promise I will do my best to stay out of the hospital and to always remain conscious. Your love and support over the years has often been the difference between success and failure for me and I hope to one day repay you... somehow. Maybe I can make you a ceramic mug/ ashtray or some paper flowers? With my right hand bandaged up, if I use my left to paint you some pictures, it might be just like kindergarten all over again- I think I saw a blank spot on your refrigerator the last time I was there. Consider it...

I love you Mom!

Tim

It's sunny, I'm inside and the Giro has started...

Ok, first slight dose of melancholy today. It's gorgeous here today and I'm unable to ride- of course- and the Giro d'Italia has begun- further fueling my bike jones.

It's gonna be a LONG 3 months of waiting to ride. Those first few rides on the trainer are going to hurt like hell... but will be the best rides of my life. As soon as I can, I'm going to get my daughter on her Trail-A-Bike and go for a ride with her. That's a promise.

If you are able, get out and ride and enjoy (but wear your damn helmet). My mind is wandering all over the world, dreaming of bike rides I've had and hope to have. I look forward to being back on the roads with you all.

Tim

Two special big thanks (to start with)...

I have to kind of back track a little and give a few thanks here. I have hundreds, if not thousands of people to thank, but these first two are "A-Listers" and I simply have to give them their own post...

First and foremost, I have to swing the doors of my heart way open and give thanks to my very best friend in this world- Jim Becher, aka Blue Squirrel. Jim got the news out about my crash nearly immediately and I don't really even know how he got the news so quickly to even begin spreading it. But he did and he turned that news into action. Jim's updates fed the blogosphere the news and stoked a flame of support that I never, ever dreamed I would receive. Jim's support and friendship over the years has carried me through many hard times as well as helped me to further enjoy the good times... but he's always been there. Not only did he provide an endless stream of updates on my condition and status at the hospital, but he also set up (on his own and without my knowledge) a Get Well Fund to help with my expenses related to this crash and my recovery. Needless to say, I love the guy like the brother he truly is and my life and world are better thanks to his friendship.

(OK, go grab your Kleenex and blow now...)

Next, I really have to thank my very dear friend Kathleen King (KK). Like Jim, Kathleen spearheaded getting the news of my crash out and helping to provide updates on my condition. Along with Jim, the two of them were an awesome conduit of news and information to those who were looking for information about me and my condition. What touches me the most about Kathleen is that we have really only become friends over the past 6-8 months, but that hasn't stopped her from being an amazing friend and supporter during that time. Again, proving that blessings come in all forms and without timelines we really understand sometimes.

So please, help me thank these two great and different friends. Both of them have been a big part in my spiritual recovery and I doubt I'll ever be able to fully thank them enough.

More thanks will be coming- believe me... so stay tuned.

Tim

Making a broken Brand Manager smile...

Got this today through the Masi website;

Hello, just bought my first Masi, a speciale fixed. Got back from my first ride earlier today, and I love it. Thank you.

Topic:

Name : Liz Gresey

Country : USA

All the parts of me that don't hurt are smiling right now...

Tim

It's gonna take a while...

Recovery won't be easy or quick... sort of like typing for me now- it hurts, it takes forever and I make lots of mistakes. But I'm gonna keep trying. I promise.

First follow-up visit with the hospital today. Should be "fun"...

Grossed myself out yesterday; was checking out my thumb, which is 100% bandaged and in a semi cast. I can't actually see anything- it's mummified. The tip is criss-crossed with tape as well- totally hiding the entire thing. While I was checking it out, I noticed a small "wire" under the tape. I figured it was just there to protect the end of my thumb from being bumped- since the cast is open around the end. But then I noticed that as I wiggled the wire... my thumb moved. I also noticed that the wire was in a straight line... inline with the bone of my thumb. The bone that is held together by metal... perhaps even something that feels like a wire... and might possibly be extending past the tip of my thumb.

(BARF!)

Needless to say, I don't touch the "wire" anymore and the mention of it makes me feel pukie.

Word to the wise- if in doubt... DO NOT WIGGLE any wires or pins sticking out of your bandages/ casts. I'm just sayin'...

Now some pictures to make you feel better about yourself...


The day of surgery for my thumb... don't I look "fresh"?

Thumbs up! (My only working one...) My new Prayer Quilt that my mom got me from her church. Believe me... it makes a difference. Wrapped in warm love always makes you feel better.


Cookies! My very dear friend David Bernstein of The Fredcast and The Spokesmen sent these and they were a huge hit with my visitors, the nurses and ME!


We tried a walker first... but I really couldn't get used to it- it hurt more, it was awkward and it felt wobbly... and it isn't stair friendly and I have lots of stairs to navigate. The Physical Therapy folks at Scripps Mercy Hospital were fantastic and worked so hard to help me become mobile again. I can never thank them enough.


It's a bad angle, but the knee was the size of a watermelon. Double fracture of the Tibia and Fibula, so 12 weeks with no weight on my foot.


Going home! The nursing staff was awesome. Just awesome. I got great care the entire week I was in the hospital. I can't thank these fine folks enough. From the doctors to the nurses, I was treated fantastically.


Gotta represent the team still! My new friends- crutches and a new potty/ shower chair. Oh yeah... I'm a TOTAL rock star. Don't be jealous... but I know you are.

Tim

Friends are great!

Thank you Smithers!


It's ok that I like flowers... sometimes a fella just likes to feel pretty.

Chris Smith is The Man behind Time USA and is a "competitor" of mine in the road bike market, but we're also friends. Friendships like this one are the main reason I love my profession so much.

Thanks Smithers- the flowers mean a lot and I really appreciate it.

Tim

Wear your damn helmet!

Granted, we have no choice when racing, but please wear your helmet each time you ride your bike. OK?


This overgrown disposable coffee cup is THE reason I am alive and not paralyzed as well.

Done for tonight...

Tim
(Podcast tomorrow.)

Thank you... and where do I start?

First, I have to give my heartfelt thanks to all of my friends, family and readers- the support has been nothing short of touching.

Typing is really hard with 1.5 hands, so this will be short tonight. I will be back with more and pictures too... I promise.

I will be ok and I will be back... but it's gonna be a long journey (and a painful one at that).

I just wanted to let everybody know I'm home and alive. Alive is the word... and I'm lucky to be able to say that. Luckier than I ever want to get again.

I'll be back tomorrow with pictures and a few more words (typing is really hard). I might even record a podcast- since that might be easier.

I don't know how to say thanks to all of you- I'm not too proud to admit that I've cried a few times over the incredible kindness I've received.

Thank you.

Tim