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The other day I posted a trackday report about my ZX experiences at Portland International Raceway (PIR) and my buddy’s crash on his R1. This updates the story slightly. His foot/ankle/leg injury was worse than thought. He had surgery eight days after the injury (Tuesday).
My point: I’m gonna harp on the “boot thing” again, though we already talked about it. My buddy’s not going to walk again without crutches for three months(!). I’m not being a nag, certainly not trying to scare anyone off the track, but ask to please consider your footwear. $700 for Daytona Security boots (or equal) starts to sound cheap compared to the consequences.
All this from a “simple” 50 mph track crash, on a track with absolutely great runoff, just because his foot ended in the wrong place in a tumble. I think a lot of this could have been prevented.
If injuries give you the willies, skip his comments. He posted them to another forum Monday evening. I’ve edited for brevity:
<start excerpt>
…
Since <the wreck> I've seen a handful
of doctors, had a CT scan of my entire leg, and been prescribed some
kick-ass painkillers. I broke three bones in my lower leg: tibia, talus and
calcaneus. The tibia is the large weight-bearing bone of the lower leg (the
shin bone). The fracture starts at the ankle and runs up as a diminishing
crack. It doesn't actually go all the way through. So it's like my shin bone
split a ways, then came back together. The other two bones are the main
ankle joint bone and the heel bone. Right now they all hurt pretty bad, and
for the past week I've had to keep my leg elevated and myself medicated
pretty much 24/7. I go in for orthopedic surgery tomorrow morning, where
I'll become the proud new owner of several pieces of surgical hardware,
mostly screws I think. The docs say I have to stay off the injured foot for
3 months following surgery. Fantastic.
<end excerpt>
Surgery went well: they reconnected a couple bones (with screws), inserted some small plates in the ankle, and braced the tibia, I guess. Hopefully the talus bone break won’t be a major issue, though the doctors are worried somewhat since this bone is rather sensitive to blood supply. We’ll see. All of it hurts like a bitch.
To be honest, I’m a bit squeamish about this because, well, it “could have been me:” I’ve run similar boots at a half-dozen trackdays, albeit with no wrecks. I’ve been on race tires, but run a much faster pace than my buddy. “There but for the grace of God go I.” Or you, me, or anyone else who does track days.
Takeaways:
- Simple crashes can take severe turns for the worse, in the wrong circumstances.
- Medical insurance = good.
- We are involved in an extreme sport. Stuff happens: it’s happened to me and all my buddies, without exception, and I don’t hang out with squids/goofballs.
- Take track riding deadly-seriously in terms of gear, down to the last detail: boots, in this case.
- Daytona Security (or equal) boots would have almost surely mitigated or eliminated his ankle fractures. I do not know if they’d have transferred force to a non-rigid area up the line, like the knee, however.
-=DRB=-
My point: I’m gonna harp on the “boot thing” again, though we already talked about it. My buddy’s not going to walk again without crutches for three months(!). I’m not being a nag, certainly not trying to scare anyone off the track, but ask to please consider your footwear. $700 for Daytona Security boots (or equal) starts to sound cheap compared to the consequences.
All this from a “simple” 50 mph track crash, on a track with absolutely great runoff, just because his foot ended in the wrong place in a tumble. I think a lot of this could have been prevented.
If injuries give you the willies, skip his comments. He posted them to another forum Monday evening. I’ve edited for brevity:
<start excerpt>
…
Since <the wreck> I've seen a handful
of doctors, had a CT scan of my entire leg, and been prescribed some
kick-ass painkillers. I broke three bones in my lower leg: tibia, talus and
calcaneus. The tibia is the large weight-bearing bone of the lower leg (the
shin bone). The fracture starts at the ankle and runs up as a diminishing
crack. It doesn't actually go all the way through. So it's like my shin bone
split a ways, then came back together. The other two bones are the main
ankle joint bone and the heel bone. Right now they all hurt pretty bad, and
for the past week I've had to keep my leg elevated and myself medicated
pretty much 24/7. I go in for orthopedic surgery tomorrow morning, where
I'll become the proud new owner of several pieces of surgical hardware,
mostly screws I think. The docs say I have to stay off the injured foot for
3 months following surgery. Fantastic.
<end excerpt>
Surgery went well: they reconnected a couple bones (with screws), inserted some small plates in the ankle, and braced the tibia, I guess. Hopefully the talus bone break won’t be a major issue, though the doctors are worried somewhat since this bone is rather sensitive to blood supply. We’ll see. All of it hurts like a bitch.
To be honest, I’m a bit squeamish about this because, well, it “could have been me:” I’ve run similar boots at a half-dozen trackdays, albeit with no wrecks. I’ve been on race tires, but run a much faster pace than my buddy. “There but for the grace of God go I.” Or you, me, or anyone else who does track days.
Takeaways:
- Simple crashes can take severe turns for the worse, in the wrong circumstances.
- Medical insurance = good.
- We are involved in an extreme sport. Stuff happens: it’s happened to me and all my buddies, without exception, and I don’t hang out with squids/goofballs.
- Take track riding deadly-seriously in terms of gear, down to the last detail: boots, in this case.
- Daytona Security (or equal) boots would have almost surely mitigated or eliminated his ankle fractures. I do not know if they’d have transferred force to a non-rigid area up the line, like the knee, however.
-=DRB=-
