Flying Mike the Dork Chop Hurt (kinda)

[MFOB]

So Mr Flying Mike the Plane Captain did a solo sunset load from the Tater bridge last night. And upon landing hit a stick "About the size of your thumb". This said stick caused an abnormal angle to his Tib/Fib and snapped it right in two, Tib about 8" above ankle, and Fib near the knee. He waited at the landing for about an hour before people showed up. While in pain and in the dark and cold, Flying Mike decided to post stuff upon Facebook because "There was nothing else to do while I waited for the boat".

So, Glad youre Ok buddy, I was really looking forward to a Chicken Dinner with ya this weekend. Get better and I hope your surgery went smoothly today.

Heres a sweet pic...if it works
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Lesson Learned...... Dont hit thumb sized sticks in the grass.

[stitch]

OUCH !!! That looks way worse than mine was. Did the Tib break the skin ? Enjoy the surgery Mike. Having the staples pulled out is the shizzle.

[huckleberry]

. And upon landing hit a stick "About the size of your thumb". This said stick caused an abnormal angle to his Tib/Fib and snapped it right in two,

Lesson Learned...... Dont hit thumb sized sticks in the grass.

WTF? You're shittin' us right?
A little stick?????

heal quick dude!

[Para_Frog]

Those rudder pedals are gonna be a bitch. Might as well get your lasik now.

Since you're not answering your phone...I'm assuming you're still in the hospital. Which one bitch? I'll swing by. Keep momma company and all that. Y'know.

Just like all you fuckers would do with Blondie if I got blowed up.

[Flying_Mike_D]

Naw, it was ALMOST compound. I could feel the pointy end of the tibia wanting to poke out of the skin. My foot was actually dangling 90º to the position of my right leg and hanging with the sole of my foot towards the ground while I lay there on my back sending twitter messages and updating my facebook. Hey, I was bored people!

And yes, it was a stick. I flared right over the trail leading from the landing area (I was landing facing to the east, took a 2-2.5 second delay before pitching). I got just a bit more float than I anticipated but didn't think anything of it and drifted about 4' off the trail towards the river. Placed my right foot down, then my left. I had enough inertia to take one more step but there was a branch about the size of my thumb that I had stepped over that was caught between my feet. I couldn't get my right foot up and over the stick fast enough to take the next step and looked down and watched as my entire weight came down across the stick right above the top of my hiking boots, I watched and heard the sucker snap in half. It didn't tickle.

Much thanks to Paul Wise (my 1st phone call) who started calling to find someone with a boat as well as bring me supplies that I requested after I assessed my injuries.

Adam Lanes who made a jump (now a night jump) with a blanket, stocking cap, and water. Adam also gathered my gear and helped carry me out on the board to the boat.

Jamie Boutwell, he rode the boat and helped carry me out, thanks bro!

2nd call was to my wife who was about to start a seminar at the College of Southern Idaho for prospective BSU students. This call didn't go over as well as I thought, she was pretty upset and I just reassured her that I was a big boy and had suffered plenty of broken bones in my 33 years.

3rd call was to Doug McFall the Jerome County Sheriff and a good friend of mine who I gave as much info as I could. Position, condition, level of shock, and special requests, etc.

Much thanks to all those that come to my aid after a stoopid fucking injury. I always wondered how in the hell so many people break their tib/fib at the bridge, now I know. It's pretty damned easy to do. I'd equate this injury to something that could have happened while hunting with Abbie the week before or being out on a long run and stepping in a hole. I'm also convinced (ala a study done by the US Army years ago) that high ankle support boots with steerable main canopies cause the majority of issues with leg injuries as opposed to wearing a lower top shoe/boot with not as much ankle support. Rounds are a different story with high ankle support. After thinking back on it had I worn my Chuck Taylors I'd probably have just sprained my ankle because my foot would have been able to roll over the top of the branch rather than have the tongue of the boot catch it right at the top of my boot. Oh well, shit's over now!

No staples to be pulled out. I had 5 breaks in my tibia and 3 in my fibula. They opened my knee up and drilled a hole THROUGH my tibia from knee to ankle and then inserted a titanium rod all the way through the bone and secured it in place with screws at the top and bottom of my tibia. It's permanent, going through security daily for work just became a whole lot less fun for me.

[lifewithoutanet]

I'm also convinced (ala a study done by the US Army years ago) that high ankle support boots with steerable main canopies cause the majority of issues with leg injuries as opposed to wearing a lower top shoe/boot with not as much ankle support. Rounds are a different story with high ankle support. After thinking back on it had I worn my Chuck Taylors I'd probably have just sprained my ankle because my foot would have been able to roll over the top of the branch rather than have the tongue of the boot catch it right at the top of my boot. Oh well, shit's over now!

Used to love my La Sportiva mountaineering boots. Now love my La Sportiva trail running shoes. Ditched the boots a few years ago.

Couldn't agree with you more, Mikhail.

-C.

[Huck]

High top boots/shoes have their +/-. I landed in the "main" landing area off Smellveggan(sp) in Lysbotn once and am convinced I would have snapped my ankle had it not been for Hanwags. It's on a slope and winds were funky that day, I rolled my left foot soooo bad. Foot swelled up and hurt like a bitch (nothing some REALLY exp. Norwegian beer couldn't cure) for a few days but didn't break.

But I agree what others have said also, they restrict movement in areas that may need to move/giveway in the event of a bad landing.

[nicknitro71]

Used to love my La Sportiva mountaineering boots. Now love my La Sportiva trail running shoes. Ditched the boots a few years ago.

Couldn't agree with you more, Mikhail.

-C.

Ladies,

Careful with the advices there! If one has to break then it's much wiser to break AWAY from the joint. Chances are, Mike in 6 months won't even know he broke tib/fib. If he broke his ankle instead, 30 years later he'd still fell he broke it.

[Para_Frog]

HeY

FliP FLOps

PuSsIes

[Flying_Mike_D]

Ehh, ehhhhhh, ehy! Ehh, ehhhhhh, eh, ehhhhh, so. Ah.....ehhhh, ehhhhh....


Gerald

[lifewithoutanet]

Ladies,

Careful with the advices there! If one has to break then it's much wiser to break AWAY from the joint. Chances are, Mike in 6 months won't even know he broke tib/fib. If he broke his ankle instead, 30 years later he'd still fell he broke it.

True on both points, Nick. But if you're making decisions based upon what you read on the internet, you're an idiot. I'm just saying this is what works for me.

-C.

[Johnny Utah]

for me... I really dig ankle support in a gnarly situation.
i do like to put just the right tension on my upper lacings and I don't use the top lacing on old hanwags.

[stitch]

IMO Mike's fractures came out the way they did because he wasn't wearing Hanwags or similar. Paragliding boots aren't made to prevent fractures. More like a design to minimize damage. Had he been wearing paragliding boots the breaks would more than likely been in the same location and the chance of an open fracture would be slim at best.

If no staples, then what did they use to close the incisions ? Stitches, Elmer's glue ?

[Flying_Mike_D]

IMO Mike's fractures came out the way they did because he wasn't wearing Hanwags or similar. Paragliding boots aren't made to prevent fractures. More like a design to minimize damage. Had he been wearing paragliding boots the breaks would more than likely been in the same location and the chance of an open fracture would be slim at best.

If no staples, then what did they use to close the incisions ? Stitches, Elmer's glue ?

So what you're saying is that because I was wearing a high ankle support hiking boot that has carried me all over the Sawtooth Mountains with 50lbs. on my back that I also use for hunting (implying that these are true off piste type boots) but not "Hanwag's" (i.e. I didn't spend an additional $100 on boots) is the reason I broke my ankle? BY purchasing even more expensive boots intended for paragliding rather than boots specifically made to prevent lower leg (ankle) injuries while doing serious backpacking and hunting I could have only hurt my leg a little, not broken it? I never said I had an open fracture, it was damn close but not completely.

Let's be honest here... I broke my leg because I fucked up. If I had recognized the situation a hair earlier I would have just PLF'd by tucking my left shoulder and rolling thereby preventing all of this, no matter what boot I was wearing. In the words of a good friend, I STOPPED JUMPING BEFORE THE JUMP WAS OVER. I was mere inches from a safe landing and I didn't fly it all the way to a stop safely. That's why I broke my leg. I didn't PLF, that's why I broke my leg. Wearing Hanwag's would have probably only served to break the tibia higher up on my leg. That break you see in the xray is just above the top of some very sturdy and hearty back-country hiking boots. If anything, wearing a higher support boot probably would have done damage to the knee as well as the tibia.

And for the second time Stitch... THERE ARE NO FUCKING STAPLES IN MY KNEE! But for you I just triple checked again....I can send you a picture if you'd like to confirm the lack of staples in my knee. Would you like me to do that?

Sorry if I'm being an ass but I'm a bit on edge, trying to stay off the Oxy today and deal with the pain.

[Para_Frog]

Stitch, how you gonna give advice when your little tib-fib laid you up on Serena's couch for like a decade.

Quit being a pussy Stone. Pain is weakness leaving the body.