Injuries

My windsurfing year so far is a disaster.

 

When I came back from Namibia (Nov 2015) I went in to the doctor to get checked out. My arm had been put back in place in Namibia after the dislocation but I wanted to be fully checked over here.

 

The doctor I saw wasn't my GP, he was full, but I have faith in all the doctors so it didn't worry me. He referred me on to get a ultra sound on my ribs to make sure no internal damage was done to my organs when I broke 3 ribs. He also referred me for a cat scan to check that I didn't have any blood clots on my brain after being knocked out.

 

I asked about my dislocated shoulder and he told me that it was back in place and there isn't much more that can be done. It would be back to normal in 2 months.

 

Feeling a bit down at this stage I ordered three Goya custom wave boards as a treat for when I'm back on the water (Christmas time)

 

After Christmas I still couldn't lift my right arm so I booked into my GP. He was in shock that I hadn't had a ultra sound on my shoulder. 4 weeks waiting list for a ultra sound or go private in a week, I went private. The doctor doing the ultra sound could believe I had been left because there was no way the shoulder would repair with so much damage without surgery.

 

Another week to see a surgeon and another week to get booked in. The hospital theatres were closed for cleaning for February but they put me down as an emergency and in I went.

 

The operation to re-attach the muscle to the bone usually takes an hour, mine took 2.5 hours. Its the worst one he had ever seen, 7 rivets type things to pin the muscle to the bone and now 6 weeks of my arm in a sling. No driving, no anything with my arm to allow the muscle to adhere again then 6 month of physio.

 

One more week of the sling then I can start to work on the arm. We are off to Cancun a week on Thursday and that's where I'm planning my come back training.

 

I'm hoping to be back fit for Weymouth speed week this year. Have the summer on big kit slalom training and the odd wave session. No full out speed for a year or so though.

 

My gps recorded my crash a 51 knots. The ribs and shoulder were injured hitting the water. It's very dangerous!

 

Before I went I reckoned that someone could kill themselves on the speed strip, I realise now that the someone would be me. I can't tell you how off the scale the conditions were. You had (can't say any names) ex world champions too scared to run the course at the time I crashed. Later it died a bit and most had a run or two.