|
WHEN ROAD RIDERS
THINK THEY CAN MOUNTAIN BIKE THIS IS TYPICALLY WHAT HAPPENS
Acromioclavicular joint separation Class III (
AKA, Owwie)
While interesting, the above picture
does not tell the whole story. This is the story of how if
you are going to crash your bike it is always better to do so in
the company of 9 EMT's, 2 Paramedics, and an RN.
This can be a hard time of year to describe. It was a
classically beautiful day in Wisconsin, albeit
unseasonably warm. The leaves were turning colors and
beginning to fall, leaving a modicum of crunch covering the
famous John Muir Mountain Bike Trails at Kettle Moraine. Foliage
of pumpkin plants were starting to decay exposing the bounty
which would soon be carved or turned into pumpkin pie. Off in
the distance the unmistakable aroma of brats on a grill was
wafting in the air. The kids were in school. Autumn
was definitely in the air. It seemed like the perfect day
to take a road trip and go biking.
It had been a long season for the
Drivers Club and many thoughts began to drift to stairclimb and
indoor triathlon season, but with one more WORS race and the
Iceman race on the horizon there was still some biking to be
done. The season had been full of minor mechanical
problems for most, but riding a wave of fortunateness ,
there had been very few crashes and only one ER visit. It
was a good year.
A surprising number of cyclist
gathered at the YMCA parking lot to make the journey to Kettle
Moraine. There would be 12 in all. Some had made the
trip several times, others would be completing their first trek
to the mountain bike Mecca of Southeastern Wisconsin. Most
had already been through the morning spin class and time was
short. They would only have time for a few loops.
All was going well. The weather
was wonderful and the trails that were open were in pristine
condition. Experienced and inexperienced cyclists alike
were calling this a perfect cycling day. As everyone
gathered in the parking lot after the second loop they all
agreed they had time to do one more loop at a pedestrian pace
and ride as a group.
About halfway through the five mile
ride a log appeared. It was not a large log, but it was
not a small log either. To complicate matters the trail
designers left a path around the log leaving it up to the
individual to make the choice. It could have been boredom,
overconfidence, or ignorance that led Chris Hannes to make the
wrong choice. In a split second it was over.
Chris Models the now famous, soon to be
patented
KA (Kristin Aurora) Sling
As Chris got up everyone was
laughing. It was said to be a good looking crash, possibly
a full 360 in the air with what appeared to be a good face
plant. When there was no dirt to be found on the helmet there
was a sense of confusion. As Chris pulled his jersey aside
and asked "does this look right" they had found the
answer. He didn't land on his head, he landed on his
shoulder. This is where 114 years of medical training
kicked in.
The patient presented with a poor
general impression and an obvious deformity of the R clavicle.
He had good CMS distal to the deformity. His skin
color was pale but he was able to answer all of our questions
and was determined to be AOx3. The mechanism of
injury led to a thorough primary which found no further obvious
musculoskeletal injuries and he denied any head neck or back
pain. A KA sling was fashioned out of a t-shirt and
applied to the patient to give him superiorly directed
support
. He stated this gave him immediate
relief and his color began to improve With extracation from
this deep in the forest being problematical at best, it
was determined the quickest route out would be a 2 mile hike to
the parking lot. Enroute the patient was carefully
observed and appeared to be improving rapidly. Upon
reaching the parking lot the patient was loaded into a van and
transported to AMC. Due to the Length of the transport it
was determined a food stop at Culvers would be required.
The patient had a Pumpkin shake which he stated was delicious.
No other changes were noted during the transport. Upon
arrival at AMC he was placed in Trauma A and his care was
transferred to the ER nurse not on duty.
Membership has its privileges.
Chris before pain medication
Chris after pain medication
It should be noted the author only has a vague recollection
of the events and has relied on several interviews to complete
this article..
CLICK HERE TO SEE WHAT
ELSE THE DRIVERS CLUB DID THAT DAY
|
