Wednesday, January 23, 2013

BROKEN COLLARBONE UPDATE, ALMOST 3 YEARS LATER

For a little collarbone-related peace of mind before I leave for Luxembourg, I saw Dr. Bergman yesterday. He's the surgeon who plated my collarbone in May 2010 when I Supermanned over my bike handlebars on the Boulevard Trail in Bellingham.

I'd been wondering if I should have the titanium centipede removed (see above X-ray shot yesterday) because a screw, or something, visibly protrudes. (See here and other posts throughout this blog.) And while it doesn't hamper or limit my mobility in any way, sometimes my collarbone aches and with such a protuberance (that's an upsetting word), I wondered if it was time to have it taken out.

But Dr. Bergman says no. The X-ray shows that the clavicle has healed well and there's no sign of a screw working its way out, which had been my concern. He prodded around a bit, said everything felt good and that the protuberance (there's that word) might just be bone growth atop one of the nine screw heads. "Whew!," say I. I was loathe to have more surgery.

In the above photo, please also take a moment to admire my first-ever Fu Manchu mustache. Or maybe it's a biker mustache. (What's the difference?)        

2 comments:

  1. That fu manchu was gone by Sunday, methinks, leaving just the soul patch.

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  2. Hi Mike,
    I came across your blog while searching for info about returning to cycling after collarbone surgery. I am 3 weeks post-op of my own surgery (grillotrip.blogspot.com), and going a bit stir-crazy not being able to ride or run. Just wanted to thank you for detailing your own healing progress. It's been encouraging to read about you reaching your milestones and helps me look forward to reaching my own. Best of luck to you and your family in Luxembourg!

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