vfrjim2002

Guys, Man, I really appreciate all the concern. Here's the latest. The antibiotics seemed to knock the infection down, but my Infections Disease Dr. isn't willing to declare the bugs gone as long as the plate is in my left shoulder. Other than that, things are a lot better than I had any reason to expect them to be last summer. The right wrist is pretty close to perfect, the shoulder has most of its original range of motion and is slowly gaining strength (rebuilding yourself when you're on the wrong side of 60 is a bear), and the left wrist is pretty bent and ugly but it's somewhat functional. I went back to work in August. Considering where I was a year ago, things are pretty darn good. The best news is I've managed to stay vertical. My surgeon is pretty insistent that the plate stay in place for the better part of a year and isn't willing to risk the infection seeding into the rebuild of the left wrist until the ID specialist declares the bugs gone. So, we have a date in late April to remove the plate. At that point she'll take cultures and get with the ID doc. Assuming we get a go from her, we'll do a rebuild on the left wrist in early June. In a nutshell, she'll cut both the radius and the ulna, adjust their lengths straighten them, and reassemble them with plates and screws. Six months or so later I should be GTG. It's been an experience and not all bad. I found two of the best doctors I've ever met, my family and friends have bent over backwards to help, and I have a darn good bunch of folks on VFRD cheering me on. It's hard to get too down with that kind of support. Thanks guys - so much.

Many thanks guys! At this point the only thing to do seems to be to keep putting one foot in front of the other and see what happens. I really appreciate all the good wishes.

Update: it has been a wild ride Well, the right wrist rebuild went well. By late May I was well into getting it rehabbed and had the left side rebuild scheduled for mid June. Unfortunately, my son came by the house the last Friday in May to use my miter saw and air nailers. I went out to the garage to observe, we talked a bit and I walked across the garage to grab a chair. As I stepped over the piece he was working on he picked it up, hanging my left foot in the air. I hop stepped with the right trying to regain my balance and hung the right foot on an air hose. I ended up parallel to the floor, 3 feet in the air. Landed on my left shoulder and shattered it. Broke the upper humerous in several places and the socket into 4 pieces. The surgeon who has been working on the wrists rebuilt the shoulder with an 8" plate holding the humerous together and a series of sutures and straps holding the socket/rotator cuff in place. She (the surgeon) is an artist. It looked good until I picked up a post op infection. As it stands now, I'm 2 weeks into a 6 week stint on IV antibiotics under the eye of an infectious disease (ID) specialist and 5 weeks into a 12 week healing cycle for the shoulder. The big fly in the ointment is the ID Dr is adamant that we can't completely knock out the infection until we pull the plate out of the shoulder and my ortho surgeon wants to leave the plate in for at least 10 months. Neither wants to open the left wrist until they're completely sure the infection is gone, so we can't tackle that until the plate comes out next spring. Hard to say what this means for my motorcycling future. I will be selling the VFR, however, and I'll decide what to do next next spring or summer. If you know anybody who wants a good '02 at a great price, send them my way. On the upside, Im very confident in the doctors and am getting a lot a help from friends and family. Thank you guys for all the support.

Had the first round reconstruction on the right wrist yesterday. It was pretty complicated but the Doc seems very confident in the result. We'll know more in a couple of weeks. The left is coming along, but will need some more work once the right becomes useable. Thanks again for all the good vibes, guys. You're the best. VFRD rocks.

Thanks for the good wishes guys. I had my third appointment with the hand and wrist specialist in SA yesterday. Her take is the left wrist is close to ok. The radius healed a mm too short, but rather than go back in now, she recommends rehabbing it for a bit to see how it works. She did a CT study of the collapsed right wrist. Its a mess and we scheduled the first round of reconstruction on it for next week. Appears it will involve quite a bit of bone cutting, plates, screws, bone cement, bone stimulator and some grafting. Should be interesting.

Hi guys, A quick update. Well, things have gone a bit sideways. About a week after the ex-fix was removed from my right arm we discovered the fracture had collapsed. Back to square one. The ortho who did the initial fix proposed reinstalling the ex fix and leaving it on for ten weeks. I got second opinions from a different local guy and from a family friend on the west coast. Both said, don't walk, run to a good hand specialist. I did. In San Antonio. An infection has cropped up in the left arm, but as soon as its cleared up, we start again.

Damn Kel. Thats a mess. Glad to hear about your comeback. The "twist grip" clutch idea is really innovative.

I know what you mean Seb. I had a choice of waiting until Monday and checking into the hospital to get them removed or doing in the drs office. I opted for the drs office. those suckers ARE long. Wasn't that uncomfortable, but about 3 minutes after the last pin came out I felt light headed and a couple of seconds later - lights out. Wierd. Maxwell, I picked up a couple of heat packs. Thanks for the heads up.

Got the pins and fixtures off the right arm/hand on Friday. The wrist has some range of motion but not much and it's weaker than a newborn kitten. Start PT next week. Miles to go before I sleep, but it feels good to be starting the trip.

Thanks Maxwell, The heat packs sound like a great idea. I'll pick some up next week. As to getting back on, I'm not sure.

Thanks. Sadly, this ain't my first rodeo. Some years ago SNL did a skit making fun of Sean Connery after he'd been accused of assaulting a woman. The character was playing celebrity jeopardy and one of the categories was "Therapists." His choice was "The Rapist for $200, Alex." Some of the therapists I 've been to may well have gone to school with the Marquis de Sade. :) I could not agree more on the pain pill advice. The docs will happily load you up with that stuff, but not mention the part where the piper has to be paid. He is NOT a pleasant fellow.

Hi Folks, Just a quick update. The second procedure on my left wrist left me with a 4" incision and a new pin. Went back to the ortho on 2/14 and things seem be lined up well so that's, hopefully, the end of the surgery. The right side wasn't as badly broken and there's a good chance the hardware will come off it in about 10 days. Looking forward to that.

Well, got it done. The doc said it was a bit more involved than he thought it would be, making the aftermath more painful, but this should be it. The question of wrist protection is an interesting one. There are passive systems like the skate folks use. Something like that would help in some cases where you reach out to break a fall. But it wouldn't do much in situations like mine. at any rate, thanks for all the positive thoughts.

Update: back to the OR Friday for a tweak on the left ulna.

Thanks guys. Notice the cool left glove tribute to MJ. Thanks for the good wishes. I'm back to the ortho and neurologist this week. I'll keep you posted. Many thanks to WeazyBuddha for the flaffing opportunity. You guys stay safe, y'all hear?

Hey guys. Thanks for all the positive energy. I was released from the hospital late Thursday afternoon and had the first follow up with the ortho yesterday. I'm cleared to two-finger-type. Woohoo. I count myself lucky on a bunch of levels. The injuries could have been a lot worse, but my helmet, jacket,and gloves did exactly what I bought them to do. I have great friends, great on-line friends great co-workers, a great wife and great kids. Just how good they are becomes all the more obvious at times like this. Things about the other driver and the Klr's conditionare still pretty vague. That's on the agenda for next week. I'll keep you posted. In the mean time, Thanks again - YOU GUYS ROCK!!!

I have ridden, but not much. I test rode it when she bought it, but it was cold and I was trying to feel and test so many other things (and not pushing braking limits), I never noticed a problem. I have also ridden it up and down the street, but nothing that would really give me good information. I guess I need to go out and really ride it one day to see. She commented that she feels like she is pulling the lever, but it just isn't stopping. I think that means she pulls the lever a certain amount and thinks the bike should be stopping quicker than it is. A larger piston M/C wouldn't have to be pulled as much, which I think would give her the feeling she is looking for. A good flush/bleed, combined with the SS lines may make a world of difference. Good luck with it.

Wera, have you ridden it? (edit: of course you have. sorry to be so dense.) A number of years ago I converted a KZ900 from the original single disc setup to one of the Lawson replica (street version) dual disc arrangements using stainless lines. I bought the MC along with the calipers and tried both it and the original. I ended up staying with the original even though the piston was substantially smaller than the dual disc version. Why? Power Brakes. It had a little more travel than the larger piston MC, but the stainless lines reduced that, and the power and feel were worth it. Making the brakes hyper sensitive might not be the best thing for your GF, but I'd recommend trying it both ways and making the call based on your experience.

Twelve pages this time. I recommend we dispense with the arguing over which gen is best and settle this like real men. or for the rabid 5th gen'ers out there.

@BLS: Geeze Larry. Nothing in moderation, huh? I predict the bandwidth police will be at your door shortly.

Tell that to the guys that have cam chain tensioner issues. Or to the 5th gen'ers whose RRs lost their magic smoke out on the road somewhere. Are 5th gens the best VFRs? If you have one, absolutely!

Too loose and they'll make a racket. The most obvious symptom if they are tight is it will get harder to start. Power may get a bit softer, but that can be hard to detect on a engine that isn't regularly pushed really hard.

I just got a good one the first time. 40 years later - @ marriedman - That may have been the most humane way to deal with the Buells.

I have a pair of Gore Tex Stradas. I wear them pretty much year round in deep South Texas and don't find them horribly hot. I'll admit that once the mercury hits triple digits, I leave the bikes in the garage most of the time. They are plenty water resistant for most rain riding, but will leak a little after several minutes if you go wading in shallow streams.