Here are the xrays from the operation. I'm writing this article fairly late, but I'll go back and fill in the details as I remember.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Screwed. Literally.
My accident was on a Friday evening, but it wasn't until Saturday afternoon that my stubborness wore off enough to go to the hospital. They saw that it was a hip fracture (that's what they call it, even though it is the femur) and called the doctor who saw me and scheduled an 'emergency' operation for Sunday morning.
Here are the xrays from the operation. I'm writing this article fairly late, but I'll go back and fill in the details as I remember.
Here are the xrays from the operation. I'm writing this article fairly late, but I'll go back and fill in the details as I remember.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
An introduction
My name is Frederick. And I'm not a thrill seeker.
I am a married father with children. A geek who designs and writes software. I have bad vision- without my contacts. I'm a bit shy in large crowds. I've been told I'm likely to be a 'highly sensitive person'. I analyze everything I hear and see. And just now analyzing that article, I'm far too removed from many of the symptoms to believe I'm so easily categorized. Nothing really startles me- I believe that I anticipate almost everything in advance. I am sensitive to pain- when I'm not ignoring it (read ahead when in the ambulance, my BP went to 215/135 and I responded that my pain was '7/10'- I was only asked because of my symptoms, not my demeanor. I'm told I'm ridiculously competitive. I'm not drawn to the arts- but I appreciate anything well done- music, art, or an algorithm. Then again, when I watch a movie, I notice minute detail- and can match up faces of obscure actors to movies I have seen years before- and then launch into a critique of the movie involving plot, acting and inconsistencies.
The reason I mention this to counter the opening statement is that people who don't know me assume that I am some kind of thrill seeker. My current passion is spearfishing. Okay- no biggie- it's just scuba diving and bringing home a few fish. But I dive in shark-infested waters and have had to fight off sharks- and have never given up my catch. My last passion was rock climbing- an excellent sport that has me hanging 800 feet over a sheer drop on a 10mm rope. And during the 90s I decided I wanted to race motorcycles- and went from the guy who always got lapped to the guy who always won- culminating in a national championship- and even time on TV holding up one of those giant checks.
The reason I'm not a thrill seeker is that all those 'dangerous' activities were well-reasoned. Motorcycle racing has excellent protective gear, and you really only fall in the corners- where you are then swept off the track from centripetal force. The 'fall' is about twenty inches, followed by a lot of sliding. I have fallen many times while racing- and other than an unusual broken thumb from improper equipment, never got hurt. I took class after class of racing instruction until I felt ready to 'push' it and start winning. Rock climbing is far more likely to result in injury because of the potential energy release. But rock climbing has developed techniques and equipment which ensure safety. I've never even taken a fall that scared me. I made sure I was well trained before I attempted anything beyond my skill level. Again, never hurt. Scuba diving by its very nature is relying on equipment to keep you alive in a hostile environment- you can't breathe water- and if you surface too quickly you'll hurt yourself badly. Add in the stress of hunting and keeping the other predators at bay, and it is a 'dangerous' sport. But, I built up my skills over many years and listened and watched experts, and learned their techniques and adopted their equipment. I dive with redundant air supplies. If anything happens to my main equipment- tank, regulator.. anything- I have a complete backup. I volunteered for diving experiments- partially because I was able to be locked into a room with a leading researcher of dive medicine for hours on end.
I hope I've explained myself. I love doing exciting things- but only when I'm sure there's not excessive danger. I don't think I could ever skydive- at least the 'freefall' type- because the reliance is totally on equipment. You might think it is similar to rock climbing- but rock climbing only relies on the equipment after you fail. If you don't fall, you don't use the equipment. You skip that first part in sky diving.
I made a huge mistake that starts this saga.
I am a married father with children. A geek who designs and writes software. I have bad vision- without my contacts. I'm a bit shy in large crowds. I've been told I'm likely to be a 'highly sensitive person'. I analyze everything I hear and see. And just now analyzing that article, I'm far too removed from many of the symptoms to believe I'm so easily categorized. Nothing really startles me- I believe that I anticipate almost everything in advance. I am sensitive to pain- when I'm not ignoring it (read ahead when in the ambulance, my BP went to 215/135 and I responded that my pain was '7/10'- I was only asked because of my symptoms, not my demeanor. I'm told I'm ridiculously competitive. I'm not drawn to the arts- but I appreciate anything well done- music, art, or an algorithm. Then again, when I watch a movie, I notice minute detail- and can match up faces of obscure actors to movies I have seen years before- and then launch into a critique of the movie involving plot, acting and inconsistencies.
The reason I mention this to counter the opening statement is that people who don't know me assume that I am some kind of thrill seeker. My current passion is spearfishing. Okay- no biggie- it's just scuba diving and bringing home a few fish. But I dive in shark-infested waters and have had to fight off sharks- and have never given up my catch. My last passion was rock climbing- an excellent sport that has me hanging 800 feet over a sheer drop on a 10mm rope. And during the 90s I decided I wanted to race motorcycles- and went from the guy who always got lapped to the guy who always won- culminating in a national championship- and even time on TV holding up one of those giant checks.
The reason I'm not a thrill seeker is that all those 'dangerous' activities were well-reasoned. Motorcycle racing has excellent protective gear, and you really only fall in the corners- where you are then swept off the track from centripetal force. The 'fall' is about twenty inches, followed by a lot of sliding. I have fallen many times while racing- and other than an unusual broken thumb from improper equipment, never got hurt. I took class after class of racing instruction until I felt ready to 'push' it and start winning. Rock climbing is far more likely to result in injury because of the potential energy release. But rock climbing has developed techniques and equipment which ensure safety. I've never even taken a fall that scared me. I made sure I was well trained before I attempted anything beyond my skill level. Again, never hurt. Scuba diving by its very nature is relying on equipment to keep you alive in a hostile environment- you can't breathe water- and if you surface too quickly you'll hurt yourself badly. Add in the stress of hunting and keeping the other predators at bay, and it is a 'dangerous' sport. But, I built up my skills over many years and listened and watched experts, and learned their techniques and adopted their equipment. I dive with redundant air supplies. If anything happens to my main equipment- tank, regulator.. anything- I have a complete backup. I volunteered for diving experiments- partially because I was able to be locked into a room with a leading researcher of dive medicine for hours on end.
I hope I've explained myself. I love doing exciting things- but only when I'm sure there's not excessive danger. I don't think I could ever skydive- at least the 'freefall' type- because the reliance is totally on equipment. You might think it is similar to rock climbing- but rock climbing only relies on the equipment after you fail. If you don't fall, you don't use the equipment. You skip that first part in sky diving.
I made a huge mistake that starts this saga.
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