Getting back to health

Does this look like a dangerous intersection to you?
This was taken at the same time of day as my accident.
The exit is covered in gravel - it's just a little thicker on
the outside than on the inside.

I can't believe it's been three years since my hard lowside near US-90.

To simplify the story, I thought I saw gravel on the outside of an exit ramp, so I leaned the bike a little further and WHAM! I was suddenly having one of those moments where you have this long conversation in your head while this incident that lasts just a few milliseconds occurs in slow motion:

"This shouldn't be happening..."

"Well, hang on this time. It might get better..."

"Oh, no. Not again."

"I can't hold on!"

"This is gonna hurt... "

"Just gotta keep the helmet off the ground..."

"It's over. If I could just lay here for a moment before I get up. Man, my hip hurts."

As it happens, right before I made the "turn" I waved to a guy on a cruiser. He rode up to me and asked it I was all right. I don't remember what I told him, but I can only imagine that he called for help. I knew I just wanted to rest a minute before I tried to get up. But, before I could do any of that, a police officer was holding my helmet still and telling me not to move. I swear I just closed my eyes for a second... But I was fully aware of my surroundings as the ambulance arrived, they checked for my ID and asked me what had happened. I was also smart enough to ask the paramedics to remove my tankbag before they drove off with me. Good thing, too. I had my camera (a Nikon D70) in there. I managed to convince my paramedic to take a snapshot while I was being transported, though I didn't realize that the camera was no longer on automatic, so the pictures came out a little fuzzy.

Did you have to tape me to this board?
I'm glad you didn't cut my (favorite) jacket off!

Hi, I'll be your paramedic today...

I won't bore you with how I was feeling better by the time I got to the hospital, they untaped me and discovered that everything was fine and how my wife and inlaws arrived to make sure I was okay. My mother-in-law swore she was going to burn the bike. I can shrug that off, but nothing made my heart sink as much as when the paramedic took out my cell phone and called my wife at work to tell her that I was in an accident. "What have I done?" I kept asking myself.

But it's the recovery that was so interesting. I went through a couple months of chronic pain in my right hip - the place where I was primarily injured. I wasn't healing well, even though the bruising had gone down tremendously. I had been to chiropractors before, but I thought to myself, "why not?" I've done the physical therapy route before and it only helped a little.

Above: the bruise and road rash I acquired despite my gear.
I'm glad I wore it; wish I had worn more...

My wife and I went to "Back to Health Chiropractic" (which is fitting, no?) where they took x-rays and performed an initial physical. I was impressed by the thoroughness of the doctor's examination before providing any treatment. It also helped that they took my insurance, too. I went to a Monday afternoon seminar Dr. Drew holds and learned about his philosophy of chiropractic care and some of the things patients need to practice when receiving care. After a couple weeks, I began feeling better with only residual pain. After a few months, my hip would only act up on occasion. Three years later, I'm much more fit, I have better posture, my allergies don't act up near as badly (I'm not kidding about that one!) and I'm generally in better health.

So after that last trip in the truck, my "trouble spots" were telling me that I needed to go back ASAP. I've seen a couple other 'bikers' in his office on occasion. I can tell you that from my own experience, a chiropractor - one that takes the time to find out what's wrong and what's right - can make all the difference. Combine that with a good diet and some exercise and you'll feel like you're on top of the world!

My riding boots took a lot of damage for me - and spared my ankle!

This was my favorite leather jacket. It was unarmored and rode up around
my waist allowing the road rash. If I had worn my riding pants, that
bruise might not have been so bad, either...