My poor dad

Cosimo · 23 Apr 2010 at 11:44

Poor man, hope his recovery is speedy and goes well.

Tomsk · 23 Apr 2010 at 11:46

Ouch.
Sounds like he hit something like a lampost as he came off.
I've come off a push bikes (and motorbikes) at speed and walked (staggered) away with nothing more than bruises, cuts and grazes because all I hit was the ground.

WrathOfAchilles · 23 Apr 2010 at 12:04

fastwunz said:
My dad took his racing pushbike out on tuesday evening and was on his way home when he came off. He was not knocked off but we think he hit a pot hole or something.

Anyway he was rushed to Swindon Great Western hopsital where he resides at the momment with some pretty astonishing injuries considering he just fell off.

He has:

4 broken ribs
a collar bone thats literally snapped in two
a shattered shoulder blade
punctured lung (although this is only a small puncture that should heal on its own but caused a great lot of pain with breathing to begin with - now subsiding)
cuts and bruises.
battered ego

I have to be honest, he has paid into private health care for years but is refusing to use it in this case (which i find rediculous but still....) as he believes the staff are doing a good job, however in my opinion, had he gone private, he would now be post opperation and in the recovery ward.

Apparently they were going to put a plate in his shoulder today but surprise surprise, thats now changed to another day. Possibly tomorrow but to be honest, and with the NHS, ill believe it when i see it.

Oh and the nurses are machines! They sure aint fitties.

Poor dad. What a melon.

Glad he is ok, not making use of his private health care tho is pretty stupid. I pay into BUPA myself. He is also taking up a bed and NHS resource...

Keltik THC · 23 Apr 2010 at 12:19

Sorry to hear about ur dad..

But how's the bike? Did it survive?

Andelusion · 23 Apr 2010 at 12:29

Wow, your dad would pwn at Hall of Meat on Skate!

Hope he has a speedy recovery

dokko · 23 Apr 2010 at 12:35

Mental injuries, send a pic of him lying in hospital all beaten up to Nuts and win him £50.

Seriously though (although i was partly just there - i'd do it to mine) I wish him a speedy recovery.

AHarvey · 23 Apr 2010 at 12:40

Sounds like the exact same injuries my father in law suffered when the rear tyre on his moped blew out on a dual carriageway.

He's a frail man and made a full recovery, although he was in hospital for some time.

You should push your dad about using his private healthcare, after all, why has he been paying in if he isn't going to use it. It's like paying for car insurance, writing your car off and then not claiming

Your dad will be fine

arc@css · 23 Apr 2010 at 13:06

Best wishes for your Dad. It doesn't surprise me when I see potholes in the road, some are massive. Recently I can recall saying on two occasions to someone that 'a person could easily flip over the handle bars if the wheel got stuck'.

I agree with the others, it sounds like he has a good chance of a claim here.

apeZ · 23 Apr 2010 at 13:12

Best wishes, some pretty nasty injuries there just from a bike!

I get around · 23 Apr 2010 at 13:55

Poor bugger, just out of curiousity where was this pothole? I am not taking my car down that road

I'm not a fan of private healthcare, I wouldn't go out and get a policy anyway, if my employer paid for it i'd take it but I wouldn't pay into it. NHS does it's job very well considering the crap they have to put up with.

MajorMaccas · 23 Apr 2010 at 14:04

Sounds like he needs more cheesestring in his diet, good source of calcium

lol

Glad he's ok, the battered ego will take the longest to heal, private or no private :rolleyes:

Wyrdo · 23 Apr 2010 at 14:05

If he has private health care but is in an NHS hospital he may be entitled to money for each night he's in there, check the policy. I think mine pays something like £100 a night if I have to stay in an NHS hospital.

That's some crazy injuries just from falling from a push bike, glad he's on the mend.

LordSplodge · 23 Apr 2010 at 14:09

Hope he gets better soon.

This is why it is always a good idea to wear a helmet. Sure he has some nasty injuries but his head is OK.

By the way one of the things I always think (because I'm getting old) when doing 30+ is how much would it hurt if I came off. Second thing I curse the amount of bumps and potholes on the road...

NarChaDBaueR · 23 Apr 2010 at 14:16

wahh sounds nasty, hope he gets better soon!

PermaChanged · 23 Apr 2010 at 14:33

Blimey, thats a whole list of horrible injuries! Hope he has a speedy recovery!

sanaxe1 · 23 Apr 2010 at 14:56

a pot hole? suuuuure..... He owes a loan shark some serious amount of money.

fastwunz · 23 Apr 2010 at 21:02

Wyrdo said:
If he has private health care but is in an NHS hospital he may be entitled to money for each night he's in there, check the policy. I think mine pays something like £100 a night if I have to stay in an NHS hospital.

That's some crazy injuries just from falling from a push bike, glad he's on the mend.

HEAD NAIL HIT - he is making money by staying there lol - been with him today - they have confirmed that he has some blood in his right lung lathough he has stopped bleeding and they believe it was as a result of the immediate accident. Its likely that the body sensed this straight away and rushed coagulants to the area to patch the hole before they filled up with blood - the body is quite simply amazing. He is off the pain killers by his own choice and as a result, his digestive system is back in full swing - if there were wallpaper in the hospital, it would melt.

He is in good sprits but ive shed a few tears seeing him in such a state. The docs have told him to take deep breaths and to walk around as much as he can manage as this will aid the lung in disapating the blood - all good advice.

To be honest, having seen the nurses in action and the actual care they do provide, ive got nothing be admiration for them. The process is slow, but the results will hopefully all be worth it.

The pot hole in mention has, i suspect been filled. Just outside of Newbury, in a place called 'Speen' there is a roundabout which acts as a junction to the M4 motorway (or the now Newbury Bypass). It is at this roundabout as he returned home that he came a croper.

In all honesty, i would never wish this on my worst enemy. Its terrible seeing someone like your own dad as helpless as a baby and cringing every time he moves in agony.

Dont ride road bikes, you look gay in spandex and it hurts when you come off.

yermum · 23 Apr 2010 at 21:20

My beloved OH ha dinsurance when he had his accident, so he chose NHS care with private operations and private consultants / surgeons. As he did it this way, he was entitled to better implants etc. than NHS ones which gave a better outcome. Maybe you should look into this for his shoulder?

BigglesPiP · 23 Apr 2010 at 21:45

Ouch, that sucks. I've always had a knack for falling off bikes, that or I'm just lucky.

Andy90 · 24 Apr 2010 at 00:22

Quite common injuries if you come off your bike. Arm goes out to break the fall - whole body weight travelling at speed (and it doesn't have to be much) gets transferred through the arm, breaking collar bone and often smashing the shoulder blade. Then you come down on your ribs. Horse riders have similar injuries when they get thrown from a horse.

Few years back some of my traffic collegues dealt with a middle aged bloke who fell off his bike. His head hit the pavement and he died. It should be compulsory to wear helmets.

Hope your Dad makes a good and speedy recovery though.