I am back amongst the living! Kind of...

"J. Walter Weatherman" (J-WalterWeatherman) 11/18/2013 at 10:14 • Filed to: twowheelsbad, bikelopnik

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Update on my broken leg after the jump, for those that are interested. Sexy rally Porsche for everyone else. Oh, and, um, gore warning? Pictures of my X-Rays inside, don't click if you are squeamish about medical stuff. They are not really that bad, just thought I would give a heads-up.

First of all, thanks to everyone for their well wishes last week! As I posted last week, I wrecked on my cyclocross bike pretty hard. I put my leg out to try to catch myself as I was going down, and my knee buckled the completely wrong way. At first I thought I shredded the tendons in my knee, because I have broken plenty of bones, and this didn't really feel like other breaks. I head to the ER, they take X-Rays and tell me it was actually broken. The brake was to something called the tibia plateau - basically the lower half of the knee joint. The X-Rays show the tibia plateau fractured into multiple pieces and displaced, so the told me that I would need surgery. Here is the X-Ray:

And here is a cross section of the bone, from the CT Scan, showing just how bad it splintered:

I went into surgery the next day. The surgeons said that the brake was catastrophic - the bone was in "hundreds" of pieces - they said it looked like a bomb went off inside my knee. Apparently they just vacuumed out most of the smaller pieces, and only screwed the bigger ones back together. It took two plates and 10 screws. On the bright side, they said that, somehow, there was no serious ligament or cartilage damage. On the not so bright side, I can't walk (or drive!) for at least 3 months , and I have a highly increased risk of developing arthritis in that knee. Here is an X-Ray from part way through the surgery, sowing one of the plates and a few of the screws (the rest of the junk in there is just surgical equipment):

I wound up having to spend 3 days in the hospital, and am now recovering at home. I am on heavy doses of pain meds, and am basically immobile. I can get up long enough to use a walker to get over to the bathroom, and that is about it, my leg starts throbbing and swelling up if I am up much more than that. My wife basically has to do everything else for me at this point.

I guess that means I will have lots more time to spend here on Oppo for a while, so please keep me entertained! I would also be happy to take any suggestions you guys might have for things to watch on Netflix!

DeltawingGothamDeserves > J. Walter Weatherman 11/18/2013 at 10:22

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Go on a Top Gear marathon. Hope you get better.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > J. Walter Weatherman 11/18/2013 at 10:24

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Arrow, Hetalia: Axis Powers, and the Aquabats Super Show.

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > J. Walter Weatherman 11/18/2013 at 10:29

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Ouch mate, that.. yeah.. not good I guess. A for things to watch on netflix, I dont know what you like, but I'm partial to a show called MI-5 (it' a BBC show), I think it's ten series(seasons) of it, with 6-10 episodes pr series, each episode is about 60 minutes. Should give you somethinge to do for a while.

SpeedSix > J. Walter Weatherman 11/18/2013 at 10:30

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Waste your time looking at hoaxes perpetuated on Wikipedia .

HammerheadFistpunch > J. Walter Weatherman 11/18/2013 at 10:33

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So, what are the bike prospects? I'm sorry to hear about this, that sucks much; Pretty much my big fear whenever I ride. As far as entertaining, I wrote this post about Moab you may or may not want to read.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

And I couldn't sleep last night so I watched the Europa Report on Netflix and really enjoyed it. Its a "found footage" type movie of the sci fi genre, but it didn't suck like so many of them do. I would call it an 8 out of 10 for the genre ( Moon being a 10). Then there is commando , watched that the other day. anyway. Hope you get feeling better soon.

Say, what does your recovery path look like?

Leadbull > J. Walter Weatherman 11/18/2013 at 10:33

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I feel your pain, man. I shattered my distal humerus (elbow) several years ago. Coincidentally, I also fell off a bike. TWO WHEELS BAD

The hardware:

In all, I went through three surgeries... the middle one was to fix a complication with my triceps tendon.

It's no fun at all, but I'm thankful that we have modern medical technology.

Also, can't go wrong with Star Trek. Any of them. Or Psych if you like comedy with a side of mystery.

Get well soon.

Icemanmaybeirunoutofthetalents > J. Walter Weatherman 11/18/2013 at 10:41

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Aw yeah! Time for all the Top Gear, Star Wars, LOTR, Harry Potter, Dirty Harry marathons!

Seriously speaking, sucks to be on pain meds and then feel the pain when it starts to wear off and you basically can't do anything by yourself. I know. My dad shattered the bones on his right leg a couple of inches below the knee and had to be pretty much at home for close to six months. Chin up, don't bug your wife too much (:P) and take this time to read up on all the things you always wanted to, help her out in other ways and don't push yourself too much. Rest and recuperate and post all the gifs on oppo :) Get well soon man!

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > HammerheadFistpunch 11/18/2013 at 10:44

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If Moon is a 10/10 (and I think it is), then I know I'll like Europa report as well. Thanks for the tip, even though it wasn't meant for me :)

*scoots off to netflix*

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > J. Walter Weatherman 11/18/2013 at 10:46

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Wow, that sucks, thankfully you can make it to the bathroom at least, that would be much worse...

Good luck on the recovery.

2 great shows I've loved have been Sons of Anarchy and Breaking Bad. Maybe too soon for a motorcycle show though?

area man > J. Walter Weatherman 11/18/2013 at 10:55

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I'm no doctor, but that looks like it HURT.

Übel > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh 11/18/2013 at 10:57

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I watched Europa Report the other day and it was WONDERFUL. IMDB reviews are mixed, but I thought it was excellent.

Quattro-luvr, Powered by Datsun & Stinger > J. Walter Weatherman 11/18/2013 at 11:07

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Holy $hit man! I'm sorry to hear about this. Glad you're going to be able to recover though!

I've had a few ACL and meniscus surgeries where screws and pins were removed and put into place. That's some intense pain to deal with.

Do you have Roku? If you like manga get the Crunchroll app and watch Attack on Titan. Also, re-runs of Cheers never gets old for me.

EDIT: Also, if you like podcasts and also enjoy reading, check out Dead Authors Podcast. Some great comedy. And they say comedy speeds healing!

Kugelblitz > J. Walter Weatherman 11/18/2013 at 11:11

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Last time I was laid up I watched "Koyaanisqatsi" three times straight because I thought my pain meds were fucking with me. Well, they were, but it was fun anyway.

Heal up. Also, the word you are you are not using correctly is break , as in broken, not brake as in those things on the handlebar grips that can get you into highsides and lowsides.

Klaus Schmoll > J. Walter Weatherman 11/18/2013 at 11:15

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Sucks to hear that! I wish you a speedy recovery. At least you were out of the hospital quite fast.

I had a similar mishap in January this year, spent over a week in there. Several days without being able to walk to the crapper.

My advice would be to see a physiotherapist as soon as possible. All this "and move this part, and relax there" might seem a little esoteric but they can really work wonders. Also, a warm welcome to the "half man half machine" club!

J. Walter Weatherman > HammerheadFistpunch 11/18/2013 at 11:27

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I will definitely ride again, I am just not exactly sure when. Biking is pretty low impact, so in the long run, I don't know that it will slow me down too much. I will just be extra careful from now on about crashing.

Thanks for the movie recommendations, I will check those out.

J. Walter Weatherman > Leadbull 11/18/2013 at 11:29

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Damn, that looks pretty brutal. It was nice of them to give you that nice looking anodized metal! I wonder if mine are cool colors too.

J. Walter Weatherman > Klaus Schmoll 11/18/2013 at 11:31

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Wow. That is some serious metal. How did yours happen?

J. Walter Weatherman > Kugelblitz 11/18/2013 at 11:32

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Ha... all spelling errors I blame on the pain meds :P

Agrajag > J. Walter Weatherman 11/18/2013 at 11:33

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If you don't mind subtitles, and like weird movies, I just discovered this was put on netflix. I haven't watched it yet so don't judge me if it's horrendous, lol.

Didn't intent to plug French movies, but Tell No One is fantastic. A modern Hitchcock movie.

For series: Luther, IT Crowd. If you like sci-fi, Star Trek, Dr. Who, Farscape. There is also a bunch of the Michael Palin travel shows.

Klaus Schmoll > J. Walter Weatherman 11/18/2013 at 11:42

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They say that most accidents happen at home, so I took a leaf out of that book, and fell down the stairs at home. Fucking cheapo hotel slippers!

505Turbeaux > J. Walter Weatherman 11/18/2013 at 11:45

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jesus man that is a tough break. As a veteran of not being able to walk for 7 months, I feel your pain. Looks like a tidy fix they rendered. Glad to see you on your way to revival!

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > Übel 11/18/2013 at 11:46

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About halfway in the film now, put it on pause to grab another beer, then it struck me "shit, I've had closed captions on the whole time without noticing it" I'd say this movie is almost mesmerising..

Kugelblitz > J. Walter Weatherman 11/18/2013 at 11:59

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Absolutely. My mom, bless her dear heart, thought that bringing me a six pack of beer was a nice gesture. I drank one while still on the meds, which was a horrible, idea.

Also, my gf got some very strange responses from me around that time if she called the house. It was the meds.

Übel > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh 11/18/2013 at 12:01

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Yeah, it really does one Hell of a job of drawing you in. Also, one of the best endings I've seen in a long time.

J. Walter Weatherman > Klaus Schmoll 11/18/2013 at 12:17

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Ha, that is very true. I have had plenty of broken bones, and most of them fall into that category. How is your recovery going?

Leadbull > J. Walter Weatherman 11/18/2013 at 12:22

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Depends on whether yours are stainless steel or titanium.

Apparently, the colors just happen when you anodize titanium... it's not dyed. At least that's what my doctor and Wikipedia told me.

Klaus Schmoll > J. Walter Weatherman 11/18/2013 at 12:24

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Spent a month in rehab. Went to the therapist afterwards. Did a lot of cycling (I know, the irony!) and swimming this summer, so it's all fine now. The only thing that bothers me is that they have to cut me open again in 9 months to get the hardware out.

Gamecat235 > J. Walter Weatherman 11/18/2013 at 13:40

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Netflix? If you haven't watched The Killing and you have a head for character driven semi-procedural dramas. It is slow to start moving, but once it gets rolling, season 3 was one of the best seasons of any show I have ever watched. Ever.

Luther was fan-fucking-tastic. And uh... while netflix only has season 1 and 2... season 3 was awesome if you get that far. Let me know.

Top of the Lake was dark. But was definitely worth the watch.

If you haven't watched House of Cards do so, Kevin Spacey is amazing and so is the rest of the cast. And if you can get past the crass humor and onesidedness of the first few episodes, Orange is the New Black is quite good as well.

Those are the shows off the top of my head, but there are more, and I can recommend more if needed.

Hang in there. When will you be enough off the pain meds to enjoy beer again? I'm asking for reasons... =)

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > Übel 11/18/2013 at 13:58

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AWESOME MOVIE.. sorry.... Anyway, whoever made this must've been influenced by Arthur C. Clarke, and not just a bit either.. This is VERY much like Space odyssey 2010 and 2061.

Gamecat235 > Gamecat235 11/18/2013 at 14:39

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Also, that access to the subsonic server I have setup is still valid if you want to explore music... I have some suggestions from a past life which may go well with certain painkillers (depending on your attitude towards droning guitars and endless sound loops).

deadpedal > J. Walter Weatherman 11/18/2013 at 16:20

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Owwwwww.

Fucking owwww.

That's a long stretch of downtime. I'd take on a project, like reading all of (something) or trying to learn Mandarin or something.

As far as Netflix or whatever I'd watch or rewatch...

Deadwood, The Wire, Six Feet Under, Shameless (merican, never seen the brit version), British Office, All of the X-Files, Northern Exposure, Twin Peaks, VICTORY BY DESIGN

Then I have 11 books I keep walking by that I haven't cracked...

Shit, I have bedsores just thinking about it...

J. Walter Weatherman > Gamecat235 11/19/2013 at 10:02

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Thanks for all the recommendations. I had watched the first couple episodes of The Killing, but lost interest. I guess I should give it a second chance. I haven't even heard of Luther. I will check it out.

I have no idea what to expect as far as my recovery goes. I don't really like pain meds in general, so I am taking them as sparingly as possible, but at this stage, they are unavoidable. I have a follow up appointment with the surgeon next Wednesday, and will hopefully know more about what to expect at that point. I will keep you posted.

J. Walter Weatherman > Gamecat235 11/19/2013 at 10:06

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Thanks, I was actually just thinking about that. I can only watch so much TV before I go mad, so I will absolutely need something else to occupy my time. Normally that would mean that I would mean I would finally have more time to read books, but my concentration levels at this point mostly rules that out as an option. Any music recommendations that you have are very welcome.

Gamecat235 > J. Walter Weatherman 11/19/2013 at 12:10

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Depending on your opinions of remixes, I would recommend all of the Virgin Magnetic Material remixes (there are something along the lines of 40 of them) and the Verve Remixed series (delicious old Verve releases that were given the remix treatment in the late 90's/early 2k's). Both the VMM and the Verve releases serve as nice relaxing mood music.

My ultimate I'm so out of it that I feel like I am floating/flying/sinking album which is best experienced when under the influence is Slowdive's Pygmalion. This album is just simply as relaxed and slow as you can possibly get. I slept to this album a lot.

Depending on your experience with the following bands I generally recommend the following:

Zero 7, M83, Soulsavers, Mark Lanegan, Unkle, White Lies and I can keep going, but that may give you a feeling as to how far on or off we are in terms of general musical tastes. (but the latest Nick Cave, Push the Sky Away, is possibly my favorite, and that's really saying something, it has seriously grown on me).

Also, though I know a lot of folks are not big on tribute albums, the Talk Talk tribute album "The Spirit of Talk Talk" is freaking phenomenal.

The Killing started slowly, and it's not for everyone, but you sort of have to establish some character backstory and motive to really get some of the story in season 3.

Luther is Idris Elba being a seriously conflicted cop in London (it's a BBC show). The seasons are short but intense.

Gamecat235 > J. Walter Weatherman 11/22/2013 at 16:45

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Just checking in. Haven't seen much of you, hoping that things are going well and that your spirits are as high as can be.

J. Walter Weatherman > Gamecat235 11/22/2013 at 23:09

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Thanks man. I am hanging in there. I've had a few struggles, but my spirits are still high.

I thought for sure that this injury would mean more Oppo time, but it has proven quite the opposite. Every little thing that I am used to doing in my daily life takes about ten times longer now, and it completely wipes me out afterward, too. Add into that family and friends constantly checking in on me, occasionally being knocked on my ass by pain meds, and trying to get some work done during my more lucid moments, and I don't even know where the day goes.

Here I was thinking I would be bored out of my mind each day, but that couldn't have been further from the case.

Gamecat235 > J. Walter Weatherman 11/25/2013 at 12:27

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I totally understand, and actually had a feeling that something along those lines might be the case. It's difficult when everything takes extra effort, and the little bit of time you have is dominated by the needs around you.

As much as it bothers you, I'm sure that the pain meds are likely a necessary evil at this point, and they do have many benefits (like allowing you to sleep, and to not get into much trouble).

Hopefully you got to watch the Oregon game. Holy Sheet.