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Another broken finger- a how to for ignoring injuries

8/7/2014

23 Comments

 
So many friends are injured. Its really starting to annoy me. How can I go for an epic lady shred fest when Jamie, Kelly and Sienna all have wrecked their ACLs? What am I supposed to do with Megan while her wing is in a sling, status-post proximal humerus fracture? 
The title of this post is somewhat of a misnomer. It should read something closer to, "How to have balance in you life, so that when you are injured, you don't go crazy." Because lets face it, with mountain biking, its not if you get injured, but when. In my case, I've been real lucky. Most of my wrecks have left me with very short stints off the bike. This season (knock on wood) has been fairly benign. Just a discolored, sausage-shaped brake finger. 
Picture
One of these sausages is not like the others.
I raced The Captain in early June and did well. After the last stage was said and done, as I was riding back to the car, my front tire washed out in a corner and down I went. In slow-mo, I put my hand out and impaled my index finger on a boulder that refused to move. I was hoping that it was just a sprain, but alas, that was not to be the case. 
Picture
God bless 'Merica, at The Captain, Stage 1 start.

Despite the x-ray's finding of a "2nd digit proximal interphalageal intrarticular avulsion fracture," the finger didn't really seem to bug me riding. So I went ahead and kept riding. And shredding. And racing. And squeezing my craptastic brakes for all my broken-brake finger was worth. A week later, in fact, I was off to race the BME in Snowmass. This probably wasn't the wisest of choices I've ever made. But it makes sense why the finger hasn't seemed to have gotten much better, now more than 2 months later. I'm sure I'm well on my way to permanent arthritis at this point.
Picture
I proudly wore this splint for all of 5 minutes before removing it and asking for my orthopedic referral to be cancelled.
So I should have done what Kelly and Jamie and Sienna and Megan are doing. And what Liz and Elle and Tricia had to do last year. Rest and recovery. Not two of my favorite words. Its a frustrating journey that my lady shredders embark on without their trusty steeds. I really have to hand it to these bad-ass women for being able to work through their injuries and come back stronger on the bike, and as more well-rounded women, off the bike. 
Its probably a good idea to have a surplus of activities that don't involve being active so that when the bell tolls, I won't go completely bat-$h*t crazy from lack of stimulation. Hopefully.
As you can see, in addition to occasionally reading, working on my tan, and drinking beer and whiskey with friends, I like to bake, knit and dabble in reclaimed-bike-art-jewlery.
So maybe I'm guilty of having too many hobbies, or maybe I'm just well prepared for the inevitable. Either way you look at it, my finger is looking forward to the off-season.
23 Comments

    Leigh Bowe

    Rides bikes, a lot. Heals people. Fond of thinking and knitting. 

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