Bad Bad Day

I was headed out on my bike to meet up with a friend of mine to go on a ride at about 10:45am Saturday. I was coming up to a stoplight at Arsenal and Grand, so I started to slow up to come to a track stand. I turned my wheel and brushed my right toe, which threw me off balance. I struggled to get my foot out of my toe clip so I didn't fall. I got my foot out but when I planted it something odd happened. I still fell. Which was then followed by possibly the worst cramp in my calf I have ever had. I needed to get out of laying in the street. So I grabbed my bike and headed for the sidewalk.

All it took was one step to know that something was very wrong inside my leg. I sat down on the sidewalk and felt my achilles tendon on my right leg. It felt very odd so I compared it to the left. The left felt fine. I was pretty sure I snapped my achilles tendon.

I called my wife to come get me. Then I called my friend to inform him that we wouldn't be riding.

We got to the hospital and the ER was packed. But most of the people appeared to have nothing noticeably wrong with them, especially the guy walking around carrying shopping bags eating ice cream. When I check in they asked me what was the matter and I told them I was 99% sure I tore my achilles tendon. About an hour and a half later I was finally taken back to get an x-ray.

Once I had my x-ray I was taken to a room, where I then had to tell my story of what happened over and over and over again, as different doctors and nurses would come in. I also finally got some pain medication that didn't seem to do too much.

I was informed that the x-rays showed I had no broken bones, so I would need an MRI. Well, three and a half hours later I was taken to get the MRI. I was then informed that I had torn my achilles tendon.

After seven and a half hours in the hospital the doctors put a splint on me, gave me crutches and told me the orthopedic surgeon would call me next week to schedule an appointment and surgery.

Riding bike is over for me for quite sometime, and skateboarding and snowboarding are over for me for at least a year.

What a crappy day.