[GODREKR]

I was riding at The Rock trail in Gainesville, FL. Theres a ramp/bridge over a fallen tree there. It's about 6' high at the peak. On the second try I went over off the top. The bike hung up and as I fell past it head first towards the ground the outside of my pedal caught below my knee and filleted a huge chunk of skin. My buddy was there with first aid; just gauze and tape but I couldn't have made it without it. We ditched the bikes and had to walk 20 min back to the car. 42 stitches total.

[GODREKR]

It's day 9 and I'm still on farking crutches. Healing is going slooowly. I went and saw a wound care surgeon yesterday because there is some seriously bad bruising and a small black spot developing in the top half. He said that it could be necrotic but he would have to wait and see how it looks at the end of the week. If it is necrotic he's going to have to cut it out and do a skin graft. F.

But, theres no infection, and no fluid building up underneath between the flap and bone; which is good news. He said just keep on caring for it like we have been and hopefully I won't lose too much skin.

I ride my road bike a lot also and spent all last week on the couch watching the tour. I just wanna get back on any bike! I never figured I'd even be on crutches this long.

[GODREKR]

So I've been going to a Wound Care Surgeon since my regualr doctor I think is a little intimidated but how bad this wound is. I went last Friday to get the stiches removed and it only took one glance for him to say "OK, we need to get you into surgery next week." FOCK.

So this Thursday he will be "debriding" my wound; which means cutting all the dead skin off. In that picture above with all the red area, all that is now purple/black/disgusting and needs to come off. The mystery is what's underneath. He said if there is new, live skin underneath than it won't be too terrible and healing can continue on its own. If he finds some new skin, some dead/gone skin he will have to do a skin graft. The worst case is that there is NO live skin underneath, just bone, muscle, and tendon. If this happens I have to have a "Wound V.A.C." installed for "Negative Pressure Wound Therapy". It is essentially a medical sponge and dressing they apply to the wound. The vacuum pressure stimulates skin cells to grow from the edges faster. They use it for bed sores frequently. He said that depending on the size and severity I might have to lug this 3+lb vacuum apparatus around for a month. This is not at all unlikely and the stupid vacuum has already been ordered.

So I had surgery yesterday. They cut out all the dead skin all the way down to the flesh and bone. I didn't get a skin graft at this point because there was nothing to graft to. Instead, I have the Wound VAC attached to my leg. It burbles every 30 secs or so; sounds like a little coffee percolator. The canister collects the fluid the VAC sucks out. They put a little tampon in there to absorb some of it. It's kinda gross watching the fluid travel through the like 8 feet of tubing they used. Follow up appoint on Monday to peel off the sponge and see how it's been working. Then I'll have to schedule another surgery to get the graft.

[GODREKR]

Day 22 - Went to the doctor yesterday and got to see underneath the VAC for the first time. The granular skin cells are growing in but it looks like I gotta lug the VAC around for at least another 2-3 weeks. You can sort of see the cells they are talking about, they look like red, "beefy" (doc used that to describe them), spherical, grains in the upper area and around the edges.

[GODREKR]

Day 29 - Doctor said it is looking much better. I should be ready for the skin graft surgery middle of next week. After that I'll wear the VAC for 5 more days and then I'll be DONE. The pain has really subsided and I haven't been using crutches for about a 5 days, thank god. I haven't tried to get on a bike, I don't think I've got enough range of motion in my knee yet... still too much pulling on the hole.

Yeah, that's fat in the middle. The doctor trimmed some out last Friday to help the skin grow in... free lipo!

[GODREKR]

The offending pedal... note the dried blood still on it. I took this last night.

[GODREKR]

DAY 43- So last Wednesday I went in for surgery #2. The doctor removed a piece of skin from my pale upper thigh to use for my skin graft. I was unconcious for the surgery but holy hell beast did it hurt the next several days. The removal site was heinously painful. Every 10-15 min I could feel this wave of pain and my thigh would LIGHT UP. It felt like someone was putting 4 cigars out on my leg... it was bad.

The graft site was sealed under the sponge and wound VAC combo so I didn't really get to see it. It felt like some punched my in the hole about a dozen times... probably from the staples.

So yesterday I got my first look at... GROSS. It kind of smelled bad too. The cubed-steak appearance is from the "mesher" that they run the skin through to increase pliability and surface area. Anyhow, the doctor was pleased with how it is coming along. He removed most of the staples and I'm FINALLY done with the VAC. That damn VAC was a pain in my ass.

I tried to sit on my bike just to see if I had enough mobility to get complete a pedal rotation... it still puts too much tension on the hole. I think it'll be at least a week before I can even use a bike and 2-3 more to actually ride.

[GODREKR]

DAY 53- This is what a skin graft looks like 13 days after surgery. Oh man does it feel so much better. It'll begin to ache after a whole busy day, but otherwise no worries. Kicked the narco habit I was working on last week so I'm pretty pain-free. I even been riding my bike around the block; no hammering but I've got to start getting limber again!

[GODREKR]

DAY 60- I took this picture to show how HUGE the scar is on my leg. It still looks knarly but it feels so much better. My range of motion is back to 100%. I can finally strech my quads again, which is such a relief. I definitely lost a lot of strength and flexibility though. If I squat down like I'm pooping in a hole I can really feel that my knee is weaker. It'll come back though. The good news I can ride my bike again! I haven't hit any single track yet but I've been pounding the pavement on the road bike the last few days. Haha, I rode in the pouring rain the other day and I realized I'd rather be riding in full on conditions than spend one more fuc*ing day on the couch. I have to move further down in southwest FL next week (job transfer) so I'm struggling to find time to get on the trails in the next few weeks.

[GODREKR]

DAY 750- Check it out, my skin is smoothing out finally. The waffle pattern is starting to disappear as well. While the wound isn't 100% totally healed and sealed I'm back to 100% health as far as I'm concerned. No more restrictions on swimming, biking, whatever. I think it's gonna take at least 6 months to a year for the scar to really set and harden up. The graft is really sensitive to sunlight, though. I usually cover it up when I'm at the beach or out fishing. I also went a rode hard on the trails for the first time! The shinguards fit fine and didn't cause any discomfort. I admit I was a little mellow at first but I got back into it quick enough. SHRED OR DIE.