Back in the Saddle again

Earl was a dedicated, but realistic convalescer (is that even a word?)  He reluctantly cancelled a bucket list adventure to Borneo in the Spring, knowing he wouldn't be able to meet the hiking requirements.  It was a difficult, but reasonable decision.

Determined to get back in biking condition within a year, he signed up for the Gran Fondo Whistler ride in September with a friend.  She too, had been hit by a car on her bike, had surgery on her injured shoulder, and eventually recovered to ride another day.  In fact, she had become one of Earl's mentors through this ordeal.    

We headed back to Maui for most of March.  Tropical warmth feels better than Northwest rains to a healing bone structure.  This time Earl could walk and lift, so we were able to resume most of our usual routine.  We weren't going to run the risk of losing luggage this time*.  Because his shoulder was still weak however, I wasn't going to "latch on".  But the airline staff was helpful in that regard.  They loaded me in an aisle chair.  Ugh, but I had already learned to bite yet one more humiliation bullet.  

Earl had experienced a wave of PTSD back in December when he drove near the accident location.  He knew his bike rides in Maui were going to be tough, but that was his objective.  It had to happen eventually.

After the accident, I only had one spousal demand – no more lone riding.  Believe it or not, Skeeter and I had some utility toward that end.  The co–owners in our condominium had invested in a good street bike and that became his new wheels.  The rehab routine was to load the bike and Skeeter into the van, notify our Maui village where we were going, and drive to the path that ran along, but 20 feet from the highway.  Granted, there was no cycling challenge and he had to keep Skeeter and me in sight, but he was back in the saddle again.  Four to five rides, three pathways and a few weeks later, some of the PTSD abated.  Earl came to accept that, although he was going to recover eventually, biking would never be the same again.  The 'biking gods' had spoken and he was paying attention.

We enjoyed our month in Maui with Earl's rehabilitation in progress.  He was able to handle Skeeter and our carryons, so we resumed our customary routine on the plane trip home.  Jason was meeting us at the airport, so we were pretty relaxed on the flight.  We even took the slight delay in locating Skeeter in stride.  Except that when the airline did find her, she was broken.  No tire, no brakes — nada.  Having it happen to the flight to Portland made it inconvenient.  Jason freewheeled the scooter to his car, dismantled it and took us home.  If that had happened going to Maui, it would have been disastrous.   In contrast to the luggage fiasco in December, dealing with the airline was great.  Since it was cheaper to replace than repair, I had a new Skeeter within a week.

When we returned home, Earl took the next step of resuming bike rides with his buddies.  Not ready to be part of large group rides, he joined a couple dealing with their own health issues.  She and her husband 'sandwiched' Earl and rode a familiar route at their speed.

The lesson:  It's all well and good to approach healing in a methodical, stepwise fashion, but "getting over it" isn't something you do.  It's something that happens in it's own time.

*Previous post: Carrying On!