This past weekend was pretty standard at first... on Saturday I cycled 100 miles and then consumed about 8,000 calories. The weather was unreal for January! I can't believe that it was 70 degrees and that I am still able to train in shorts every day. The warm weather made me happy and so I rode the 100 miles faster than I have since I started training in late October; 5 hrs 48 mins.
The morning session was actually quite different than usual because David Strauss, the man who will be making a full length documentary about the Bike for Burundi trip, came out to shoot some video. It was quite strange to have a man driving closely to me with a camera strapped onto the roof. Every now and then he would zip off into the distance and then I didn't know when I would see him again. One time I was having trouble finding him and then I realized he had his camera set up in a crop field about 200 yards from the road. Ha. Since I am not used to having someone video anything that I do, I thought it was hilarious to be followed by David. Every time I passed him I started laughing. I suppose I am a bit camera shy. At lunch he interviewed me for a few minutes and then he left. He said he is not sure what the focus of the documentary will be, but that he will gather lots of footage and will then decide on a story.
Later on Saturday night I went to have dinner with Bonnie Turco, the woman who is organizing Bike for Burundi, and her husband. They were great and they gave me the Garmin GPS that will be attached to my bike during the trip. The only problem is that the map software we will use to link our maps to the GPS requires a computer with a CD player. My computer died a few months ago, so I realized now was the time to buy a new computer. Bonnie had a little computer that she wanted to give me, but then we saw that it did not have a CD player. Bummer! On Sunday morning I told the people at breakfast that after church I was going to buy a computer. When I came back for lunch, right before leaving to go downtown to buy a computer, Jack Rankin, the weekend manager at St. Christopher, said that he and his wife Ardy wanted to give me one of their barely used computers so that I can blog during the bike ride and have a computer to use afterwards. What?!?! Huge blessing! I was extremely excited. Later in the night my buddy Daniel Dunn donated an Under Armour cold gear shirt and a pair of nice cold weather tights for the ride. Whoo hoo! This past weekend was great was a great! I can already see tons of ways that God is using people to bless this trip.
Less than 5 weeks until the ride.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Monday, January 23, 2012
It's Really Happening...on March 5
There has been a bit of change in the past few months. In early December I asked my boss, David, if he could find a replacement for me so that I might be able to ride with the Bike For Burundi crew (www.bikeforburundi.com) I told David that I would not leave my position unless they found a replacement before January 9. I was praying hard that there would be a good candidate to replace me, but surprisingly, not many people applied for my job. There was, however, a great candidate who applied and was offered the job in early January. I was super excited, but then he rejected the position! I was slightly discouraged, but still had hope. It was a huge blessing and relief when my boss David called me on January 3 to tell me that he had hired someone!
This, however, left me out of work until at least the end of the bike trip around early April. The people out here at St. Christopher Camp and Conference Center were great to me however, and they said that I could live and work out here in the facilities department until the bike trip. That's what I am doing now. My temporary job pretty much now consists of painting, fixing random things around the camp, and moving equipment for people who actually know how to do technical things such as carpentry and plumbing. It's pretty great to have a 2 month temporary gig out here.
Around Valentines Day I will be leaving here and will be moving to Greenville, SC for 2.5 weeks before flying to LA to begin the ride. The point of this is so that I can see my valentine :) and then train in the mountains of the upstate. It will be much more effective training up there because if you are not aware, Charleston is about as flat as it gets. Even though my legs feel pretty fit from the training here, the low country is not exactly preparing me for successive 100+ mile days in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
In other news, I'm getting really pumped up about what we are raising money for in Burundi. The man Simon that I will be riding with wrote a great book called Dangerously Alive, which is about his experiences there for 10 years as a missionary. It truly inspired me to ride so that more people in that nation can know the love of Christ. Check out the book Dangerously Alive here.
Exactly 6 weeks until the trip. Let's do this!
This, however, left me out of work until at least the end of the bike trip around early April. The people out here at St. Christopher Camp and Conference Center were great to me however, and they said that I could live and work out here in the facilities department until the bike trip. That's what I am doing now. My temporary job pretty much now consists of painting, fixing random things around the camp, and moving equipment for people who actually know how to do technical things such as carpentry and plumbing. It's pretty great to have a 2 month temporary gig out here.
Around Valentines Day I will be leaving here and will be moving to Greenville, SC for 2.5 weeks before flying to LA to begin the ride. The point of this is so that I can see my valentine :) and then train in the mountains of the upstate. It will be much more effective training up there because if you are not aware, Charleston is about as flat as it gets. Even though my legs feel pretty fit from the training here, the low country is not exactly preparing me for successive 100+ mile days in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
In other news, I'm getting really pumped up about what we are raising money for in Burundi. The man Simon that I will be riding with wrote a great book called Dangerously Alive, which is about his experiences there for 10 years as a missionary. It truly inspired me to ride so that more people in that nation can know the love of Christ. Check out the book Dangerously Alive here.
Exactly 6 weeks until the trip. Let's do this!
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Changing Plans
My Great Great Grandfather Reginald Selmer Plummer. He used to take this bike out on the weekends and ride 100 miles! Whoa!
Over the past month or so God has changed a lot of my plans for my cycling trip. While praying about my planned trip this summer, I kept thinking that I needed to contact Simon Guillebaud, a man that I met last spring. Simon is a missionary to Burundi, and when I met him last spring he told me that he would next summer be riding his bicycle across the USA in hopes of raising $1 million for the missions of his non-profit organization, which is called Great Lakes Outreach (GLO). When he told me about this trip he was taking I was immediately interested in joining his team, but when he eventually decided to move his trip back to early March, I thought that I wouldn't be able to recover from my severed achilles tendon quickly enough to join his team. My job also would not permit me to leave in March.
Over the past few months, however, I have been preparing to ride across the country this summer to raise money for Water Missions International. I have not been able to find anyone to ride with. Although I love what Water Missions is doing, I kept feeling a nudge to speak with Simon about joining his trip. There are many reasons why I felt that it was going to be a better idea to ride with his group. If you want more details on how that thought process developed, please ask me. When I started considering Simon if I could join his team my physical recovery was going more quickly than I expected, but my job was still not permitting me to leave. I eventually figured that since my boss David is a Christian man, it would be a good idea to speak with him about all these ideas and passions I was praying about. When I eventually spoke with David he told me that if I felt called to the Bike for Burundi trip that he would look for a replacement for my position. After some prayer and deliberation I felt freed up to ask if I may leave my job so that I could ride with Bike for Burundi. My participation in the trip is still pending, as I am waiting and praying that someone will be able to fill my role here at the Barrier Island Environmental Education Center. We need a replacement Naturalist by January 9, so please pray for that.
It is pretty obvious to say that if it is God's will for me to partake in this amazing adventure, He will provide a great replacement for me at my job. I will miss everybody here enormously, but I do also believe that it is time for me to move on. To be completely honest, I only have a little bit of an idea of the situation that Great Lakes Outreach is dealing with in Burundi. All I do know is that last spring I had a burning desire to ride a bicycle across the country. During prayer I felt that I should buy a bike. Since then, God has really been putting together the pieces. I am not saying that this is necessarily why I severed my achilles tendon while riding my bicycle this past summer, but I do think that my injury was a huge reminder to me that God wants me to use my passion for adventure not entirely for my personal gain, but more so to worship Him and bless others. My injury was a reminder that my strength comes from Him. When you lose your ability to walk, you realize how much God has blessed you in the past. Now I am excited to serve God with the blessings he has given me by allowing me to be able to use my leg again. I'm excited that God put me in contact with Simon. I'm excited to learn about the work that God is doing in Burundi. I'm excited to spend a ton of time with three older and wiser British guys while pedaling for 100 miles / day for an entire month. Basically, I'm excited.
......now it's time to pray
-jeff
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
The Road to Recovery
The boot came off on September 1, 2011. Immediately I wanted to swim, cycle, and run. Over the past two months, however, I have been slowly regaining muscle and my ability to walk correctly. Running and jumping is still not a part of my life, but it will be very soon. Due to the cycling that I have been doing for the past month my calf is almost not a veal anymore.
So yes, I have been cycling for the past month. Initially I was extremely afraid of getting back on the bike. Ya know, if I were to sever the achilles again I might be a little bit sad. But I have a cool little story about why I don't have to be afraid to ride anymore. The Bicycle Shoppe in Charleston looked for a chain or bash guard for my bike that would protect my leg if it ever collided with my cogs again. After lots of research that led to dead ends, The Bicycle Shoppe took a bash guard from another bike and made custom cuts on it so that it would fit my bike. They made the cuts on the bash guard, attached it to the cogs, and gave me my bike back for only $10! Wow! What a great deal! I suppose they felt bad for me after the accident. Here is a picture of my new custom bash guard.
After my bike was fixed I started training again. I have been riding 5 days a week and am hopefully going to be strong enough to take a few days over Christmas break to ride across South Carolina. I am also anticipating being perfectly healthy this spring, so I am also training to ride across the country this summer to raise money for Water Missions International. I made a promotional video to advertise for partners that you can check out here.
Cycle with Jeff!
I learned how to use Imovie on a mac to make that video in about an hour. It's a really cool program that I'm excited to get much better at using. I'm thinking about making a documentary to show what God does on this cross-country cycling trip this summer. Anyway, my prayer for the trip right now is for continued healing of my leg and 1 or 2 partners that are willing to commit to the trip. Within the next few weeks I will probably start fundraising. Yay God! Boo Devil!
-Jeff
So yes, I have been cycling for the past month. Initially I was extremely afraid of getting back on the bike. Ya know, if I were to sever the achilles again I might be a little bit sad. But I have a cool little story about why I don't have to be afraid to ride anymore. The Bicycle Shoppe in Charleston looked for a chain or bash guard for my bike that would protect my leg if it ever collided with my cogs again. After lots of research that led to dead ends, The Bicycle Shoppe took a bash guard from another bike and made custom cuts on it so that it would fit my bike. They made the cuts on the bash guard, attached it to the cogs, and gave me my bike back for only $10! Wow! What a great deal! I suppose they felt bad for me after the accident. Here is a picture of my new custom bash guard.
After my bike was fixed I started training again. I have been riding 5 days a week and am hopefully going to be strong enough to take a few days over Christmas break to ride across South Carolina. I am also anticipating being perfectly healthy this spring, so I am also training to ride across the country this summer to raise money for Water Missions International. I made a promotional video to advertise for partners that you can check out here.
Cycle with Jeff!
I learned how to use Imovie on a mac to make that video in about an hour. It's a really cool program that I'm excited to get much better at using. I'm thinking about making a documentary to show what God does on this cross-country cycling trip this summer. Anyway, my prayer for the trip right now is for continued healing of my leg and 1 or 2 partners that are willing to commit to the trip. Within the next few weeks I will probably start fundraising. Yay God! Boo Devil!
-Jeff
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
6 Weeks After Surgery & 1st Adventure Since Surgery!
I had surgery on my achilles tendon 6.5 weeks ago. This is what it looked like before the surgeon repaired the tendon.
This is what the surgeon did to repair the tendon
This is the scar that is now on my leg 6.5 weeks after surgery...not too bad!
This is what a leg looks like after not walking on it for over 7 weeks...like a chicken wing
God has taught me a lot during this strange summer in my life. First, I didn't realize how much of my identity was in my ability to move, work, and stay busy. This injury caused me to have to quit my summer coaching job, which has made me slow down tremendously and has freed up tons of time. During this time God has taught me a lot about solitude, spending time meditating on his truths, and seeking him even when discouraged. I have had friends around, but I have also had more alone time this summer than I have ever had. This is tough for an extrovert like me, but this summer has been a great lesson in learning to wait and listen.
Over the past month and a half I have been able to read some great stuff, I have learned a bunch through some interesting documentaries, I have written a ton, I have gone on many great dates with my now girlfriend Sarah, and I have painted a bit. Here are a couple of 20x16 inch paintings I have done so far.
This is Sarah on the left and Heather on the right.
So this blog is not supposed to be about painting, but adventures. Without functioning legs, however, painting can be a pretty great adventure. But I was cleared to walk with a boot on August 5. I knew that my leg was seriously weak, but when I heard I could walk I wanted to go climb a mountain...so I did.
Sarah suprised me from Kentucky for my birthday on August 8. On the 9th we decided to embark on my first true "adventure", besides kayaking, since I was injured. We drove up to Brevard, NC to check out the town and find some mountain waterfalls in the area. Brevard is in Transylvania County, which is the county with the most waterfalls in the USA. I was pumped about walking around to the waterfalls but I was terribly afraid that Dracula, or one of those vampires that all the teenage girls in the country have pictures of hanging from their walls, was going to jump out from behind a tree and suck my blood. Soon after those fears came, I decided that it would be awesome if Count Chocula jumped out from behind a tree and gave me some tasty cereal. Then I remembered that the Transylvania where vampires live is in Romania. I was instantly relieved that I wouldn't have to battle any fierce vampires, but I still wanted some chocolatey cereal. Oh well. At least I was hiking around with an awesome lady.
We hiked about 3 miles and found 4 waterfalls!
Conestee Falls
Triple Falls
Hooker Falls
This day was incredible! Beautiful weather, great conversations, walking, and great stuff that God made! "Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me." -Psalm 42:7
Everybody who passed us on the trail this day had something to say about my leg. It was either along the lines of "You're a nut, kid!", "Wow, now that's dedication!", "What did you do to make her hurt you like that?", or "She should really be carrying you up this mountain!" Ha. It was ridiculous and funny...and even though my foot got a bit swolen, it was definitely worth it.
Life is good. God is better. :)
- jeff
This is what the surgeon did to repair the tendon
This is the scar that is now on my leg 6.5 weeks after surgery...not too bad!
6 weeks after surgery I went straight from not putting any weight on my leg to walking on it with my boot and without crutches. I should be in the boot for 4 weeks and then I will be able to walk in hiking boots for 2 more weeks until I am completely cleared. That means 10 weeks after surgery I will hopefully be walking freely. The doctor says it will probably be between Halloween and Christmas before I start running or jumping.
This is amazing and I am extremely happy with the speed of this recovery. I feel enormously blessed to be able to walk again. I now realize how much I have taken for granted having the ability to walk.
God has taught me a lot during this strange summer in my life. First, I didn't realize how much of my identity was in my ability to move, work, and stay busy. This injury caused me to have to quit my summer coaching job, which has made me slow down tremendously and has freed up tons of time. During this time God has taught me a lot about solitude, spending time meditating on his truths, and seeking him even when discouraged. I have had friends around, but I have also had more alone time this summer than I have ever had. This is tough for an extrovert like me, but this summer has been a great lesson in learning to wait and listen.
Over the past month and a half I have been able to read some great stuff, I have learned a bunch through some interesting documentaries, I have written a ton, I have gone on many great dates with my now girlfriend Sarah, and I have painted a bit. Here are a couple of 20x16 inch paintings I have done so far.
This is Sarah on the left and Heather on the right.
These are my roommates for the summer. Kelsey and Corey "Goose" Gheesling.
So this blog is not supposed to be about painting, but adventures. Without functioning legs, however, painting can be a pretty great adventure. But I was cleared to walk with a boot on August 5. I knew that my leg was seriously weak, but when I heard I could walk I wanted to go climb a mountain...so I did.
Sarah suprised me from Kentucky for my birthday on August 8. On the 9th we decided to embark on my first true "adventure", besides kayaking, since I was injured. We drove up to Brevard, NC to check out the town and find some mountain waterfalls in the area. Brevard is in Transylvania County, which is the county with the most waterfalls in the USA. I was pumped about walking around to the waterfalls but I was terribly afraid that Dracula, or one of those vampires that all the teenage girls in the country have pictures of hanging from their walls, was going to jump out from behind a tree and suck my blood. Soon after those fears came, I decided that it would be awesome if Count Chocula jumped out from behind a tree and gave me some tasty cereal. Then I remembered that the Transylvania where vampires live is in Romania. I was instantly relieved that I wouldn't have to battle any fierce vampires, but I still wanted some chocolatey cereal. Oh well. At least I was hiking around with an awesome lady.
We hiked about 3 miles and found 4 waterfalls!
Conestee Falls
Triple Falls
High Falls
Hooker Falls
This day was incredible! Beautiful weather, great conversations, walking, and great stuff that God made! "Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me." -Psalm 42:7
Everybody who passed us on the trail this day had something to say about my leg. It was either along the lines of "You're a nut, kid!", "Wow, now that's dedication!", "What did you do to make her hurt you like that?", or "She should really be carrying you up this mountain!" Ha. It was ridiculous and funny...and even though my foot got a bit swolen, it was definitely worth it.
Life is good. God is better. :)
Friday, June 24, 2011
Surgery
Tuesday-
My dad came into town from Tellico Lake, TN on Tuesday night to cart me around to all of my medical appointments and to make sure that everything went smoothly. Thanks Dad!
Wednesday-
Went in for an MRI and a pre-op appointment. The pictures from the MRI looked pretty intense, but it was surely a clean cut on the achilles. In the afternoon I got an unexpected, but amazing package of chocolate covered fruit from my good high school friend Kaitlyn Pasko. Edible Arrangements makes some tasty treats that can cheer up your day! Also, Wednesday night was great and relaxing because I got to have dinner, ready some of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, and watch a movie with a very nice lady.
Thursday-
Arrived at Greer Memorial Hospital at 12:30 pm on Thursday the 23rd for surgery. Before surgery they gave me some medicine that made me a bit loopy and then they gave me a shot called a "block." This shot was amazing because it blocked 100% of the feeling in the lower half of my leg for over 20 hours. The next thing I knew, I was waking up from surgery to the doctor telling me that everything was just fine. I slept well on Thursday night because the anesthesia made me ridiculously tired and I also couldn't feel my leg. The nurses, however, came in about every hour to make sure I was still alive. Every time my resting heart rate was between 45 and 50 beats per minute. My blood pressure averaged about 105/70. Booyah! I guess riding a bike around makes your heart happy and healthy. Gotta figure out how to keep it happy and healthy now that I'll be laying around for an extended amount of time.
Friday-
Woke up pretty early and watched some Wimbledon matches. Wimbledon is probably my favorite sports event of the year to watch so I was pretty happy to stay in the hospital for a while...especially since there is no cable at Goose and Kelsey's house. During a really intense part of the match between Sharapova and Robson, Dr. Lonergan came in to tell me what was going on with my body. He first told me that as he looked in the medical journals and books to find reports of my type of injury he could not find anything. He said that there were absolutely zero reports out there about a bicycle sprocket slicing open a calf and an achilles. So he told me that he took tons of pictures during the surgery that he will soon send to me. I suppose now he will write a report on how to treat this kind of injury...pretty crazy that it was so unique. Also, he said that since the injury was unique the physical therapists will have to think of some different ways to rehab me. Next, Dr. Lonergan told me an amazing fact! He said that the cut from one of the sprockets was literally 1mm away from severing a nerve in my leg. Had this nerve been severed I would have permanently lost feeling on the right side of my foot for the rest of my life. Whoa! 1mm! Crazy! Next, Dr. Lonergan said that I will be non weight bearing on this leg for 1 month. He hopes I will be walking a little bit without crutches in 3 months. Lastly, he told me that the honeymoon of no pain was soon to be over. Pretty soon after he told me this news the "block" wore off. Then I took a couple Roxycodones and checked out of the hospital. The pain started to ramp up and I was freaking out a bit. One the way to get my prescription filled I had to take a Hydrocodone. Once the prescription was filled I took and Oxycodone. All of this medicine was in the span of an hour and the pain level was still crazy high. After contacting the Dr. he told me to also start pounding Ibuprofen. Wow. It looks like I'm going to need an absurd amount of medicine for the next couple of days, but hopefully the pain subsides soon. Now I am back hanging out at the Gheesling residence. Dad went back to Tennessee, but there are a few people here looking out for me. Also, I have the cutest therapy dog around, Millie. I have no energy to type and I am currently slurring my speech due to this medicine, so hopefully there is something slightly coherent written in the words above.
Thanks for the prayers!
-jeff
My dad came into town from Tellico Lake, TN on Tuesday night to cart me around to all of my medical appointments and to make sure that everything went smoothly. Thanks Dad!
Wednesday-
Went in for an MRI and a pre-op appointment. The pictures from the MRI looked pretty intense, but it was surely a clean cut on the achilles. In the afternoon I got an unexpected, but amazing package of chocolate covered fruit from my good high school friend Kaitlyn Pasko. Edible Arrangements makes some tasty treats that can cheer up your day! Also, Wednesday night was great and relaxing because I got to have dinner, ready some of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, and watch a movie with a very nice lady.
Thursday-
Arrived at Greer Memorial Hospital at 12:30 pm on Thursday the 23rd for surgery. Before surgery they gave me some medicine that made me a bit loopy and then they gave me a shot called a "block." This shot was amazing because it blocked 100% of the feeling in the lower half of my leg for over 20 hours. The next thing I knew, I was waking up from surgery to the doctor telling me that everything was just fine. I slept well on Thursday night because the anesthesia made me ridiculously tired and I also couldn't feel my leg. The nurses, however, came in about every hour to make sure I was still alive. Every time my resting heart rate was between 45 and 50 beats per minute. My blood pressure averaged about 105/70. Booyah! I guess riding a bike around makes your heart happy and healthy. Gotta figure out how to keep it happy and healthy now that I'll be laying around for an extended amount of time.
Friday-
Woke up pretty early and watched some Wimbledon matches. Wimbledon is probably my favorite sports event of the year to watch so I was pretty happy to stay in the hospital for a while...especially since there is no cable at Goose and Kelsey's house. During a really intense part of the match between Sharapova and Robson, Dr. Lonergan came in to tell me what was going on with my body. He first told me that as he looked in the medical journals and books to find reports of my type of injury he could not find anything. He said that there were absolutely zero reports out there about a bicycle sprocket slicing open a calf and an achilles. So he told me that he took tons of pictures during the surgery that he will soon send to me. I suppose now he will write a report on how to treat this kind of injury...pretty crazy that it was so unique. Also, he said that since the injury was unique the physical therapists will have to think of some different ways to rehab me. Next, Dr. Lonergan told me an amazing fact! He said that the cut from one of the sprockets was literally 1mm away from severing a nerve in my leg. Had this nerve been severed I would have permanently lost feeling on the right side of my foot for the rest of my life. Whoa! 1mm! Crazy! Next, Dr. Lonergan said that I will be non weight bearing on this leg for 1 month. He hopes I will be walking a little bit without crutches in 3 months. Lastly, he told me that the honeymoon of no pain was soon to be over. Pretty soon after he told me this news the "block" wore off. Then I took a couple Roxycodones and checked out of the hospital. The pain started to ramp up and I was freaking out a bit. One the way to get my prescription filled I had to take a Hydrocodone. Once the prescription was filled I took and Oxycodone. All of this medicine was in the span of an hour and the pain level was still crazy high. After contacting the Dr. he told me to also start pounding Ibuprofen. Wow. It looks like I'm going to need an absurd amount of medicine for the next couple of days, but hopefully the pain subsides soon. Now I am back hanging out at the Gheesling residence. Dad went back to Tennessee, but there are a few people here looking out for me. Also, I have the cutest therapy dog around, Millie. I have no energy to type and I am currently slurring my speech due to this medicine, so hopefully there is something slightly coherent written in the words above.
Thanks for the prayers!
-jeff
Monday, June 20, 2011
Highs and Lows
I'll give you the good news first...
I was standing in the driveway last week, about to go on a ride, when the UPS man jumped out of his truck asking for me. I didn't remember ordering anything so I was excited about the surprise inside of the brown box he gave me. I rushed inside, opened the box, and found a brand new digital camera! Yahoo! (I have never actually said yahoo in real life, but I bet that's what I would have said if I were from North Dakota) I had no idea who the new camera was from, but I figured it was a gift that was inspired by my blog which said I don't have my own camera. (I also don't have my own BMW M3...just saying) After reading all of the papers in the package I came across a little note that said "You can't be an adventure blogger without your own camera! Here is an early birthday present. Love, Aunt Kath, Uncle Mike, and Emma."
This gift was a huge blessing and it was tons of fun to receive it because I had no idea someone was going to give me a camera! Thanks Shafer clan!
Now I give you the bad news...
Last Friday I was cycling around Greenville running some errands, getting exercise, and was on my way to see a friend at Furman when BAM! I bit the dust. Aretha (the bike) sometimes has a mind of her own. I try to stay in the middle of the road or the path and she just swerves a bit. This time I didn't recover so well. I was between Leopard Forest Coffee Company in Travelers Rest and Furman on the Swamp Rabbit Trail when I hit the edge of the trail. Most places taper off the sides of paths so that they gradually run into the ground adjacent to the path. Not in Greenville, they don't. There was about an 6-8 inch lip where my tire hit. I tried to readjust, but by the time I turned the handlebars back I had already flown over top of them.
I felt like a moron for falling. I looked around, embarrassed, hoping that not too many people saw the spill. There were only 2 other people I saw on the path. Right as I was about to stand up and get back on my bike I looked down and realized that my leg was opened and that there was hamburger helper spilling out of my calf! Once I realized that I was hallucinating (or just in shock), I understood that when your calf muscle, your achilles tendon, and fat are hanging out of your skin from a fresh flesh wound, it only looks like hamburger helper. I must have been pretty hungry to think that my leg looked like hamburger meat, but hamburger helper is gross anyway and I soon lost my appetite.
Next step...once I realized that I was in a bit of a pickle I busted out the phone and dialed 911. EMS was about to send an ambulance when God hooked me up! The dispatcher was about to release the ambulance, which would have most likely cost me over $1000, when Mrs. Nan ran up. Nan is amazing. She is a mother from Montgomery, Alabama whose son is at Furman's Football Camp. She was staying at the Embassy Suites and told me she could run back to get her car. She ran off and I called my dad to tell him what was going on. At this point I was starting to have a bit of trouble staying with it, I was sweating profusely, and I was starting to black out. Just as I was about to black out guardian angel #2 came out of nowhere. I didn't catch her name, but she was the next person to pass me on the trail. She hopped off of her bike, gave me some fresh water to drink, elevated my leg, and told me she was a nurse. Pretty cool, right? All of the help I was receiving was great, but then I started to get worried. I wondered what to do with Aretha. Was the bike alright? Who was going to pick it up? So right then I called my loyal roommate, Goose.
It was no longer than 10 minutes from when she left to when Nan rolled up with a super nice and enormous SUV. Nan also brought with her guardian angel #3. When she went to the parking lot of the Embassy Suites hotel she happened to find a doctor. He came and gave me a little tourniquet on my leg. 2 guys lifted me up, told me to put pressure from my hands on my leg, and set me in Nan's car. They also put Aretha in the back, so it was nice to know that I wouldn't have to leave my bike in the middle of the trail to get stolen. Anyway, Nan was awesome. I'm sure she is an amazing mom. She dropped me off, hung out with me in the ER for a bit, and even took my bike out to be picked up later. She gave me her number and asked that I call her when I got out of the ER to let her know I was alive.
Once in the ER they hooked me up to an IV and gave me some pain medicine. It made me feel nice, but I actually didn't have any pain when I came in... the endorphins from the shock probably kept me from hurting. Then they figured I was dehydrated from cycling so they gave me an IV with the equivalent of 2 gallons of Gatorade. Wow! They were not super speedy in that ER, and that IV had my bladder about to explode. I probably went to the bathroom 15 times the rest of that day. 2 gallons of Gatorade is a lot. So the doctor came in and cleaned out the grease from the cut. It happened because my calf hit my cogs, or the sprockets on my bike (you know, the things that hold the chain on). It ripped me up pretty good. He said the laceration was about 4 inches long and 1 inch deep. Immediately I freaked out because I realized that 1 inch deep probably meant that my achilles was mutilated. After some inspection it was affirmed that the achilles was partially torn. I got pretty emotional in there for a bit because as an active guy, the ruptured achilles is probably the injury I am most afraid. This injury makes people much slower, and some can't run the same ever again. I realized once I started panicking that I should probably consult God. He gave me peace in the moment, which was great. Also, at that point in time Goose arrived and prayed for me and my leg. Great stuff. I was starting to cheer up and the nurse, Ann, also made the experience more enjoyable. She joked around a lot, and she even hooked me up with a Snickers, banana, orange slices, and cranberry juice. My doctor was also a cool guy. Dr. Theiling went to Furman and so we had plenty to talk about. When I asked him to make the injury look as much like a shark bite as possible he got pretty excited. He did say, however, that he was taught how to stitch people up by a plastic surgeon...so my scar will probably look great and not so much like a shark bite...bummer! It took 19 stitches to get me good to go, and after about 4 hours Goose and I were out of there.
Dr. Theiling let me go coach my team in their lacrosse tournament the next 2 days near Charlotte, which was great. By the time I went with the team to Charlotte I had an appointment with an orthopedist on Tuesday. One of my player's dads, however, did some research for me that ended up changing my plans with the doctor. His neighbor is an orthopedist who is an achilles specialist. I talked to his neighbor, Dr. Lonergan, on the phone and he assured me that he was the man for my surgery. He told me to come into his office whenever I wanted on Monday and he would fit me into his schedule. What a nice guy! Dr. Lonergan was the head of orthopedics in Iraq for the Army, where he received a Bronze Star. Did I mention he specializes in achilles?
Today I went and met Dr. Lonergan. He thinks my achilles is completely severed. I could hear him and the other doctors all talking about my injury outside the door. I think they are a bit excited about the surgery because this type of achilles injury happens extremely rarely. Literally, 5 doctors walked into the room to check out my situation. I suppose it's pretty neat to have an uncommon injury, ha. Dr. L got me an appointment for an MRI on Wednesday and surgery on Thursday. I trust that he will do a solid job. Please pray for him and any other doctors involved in the procedure.
Dr. L told me that the injury is actually worse than most achilles ruptures....this is a bummer because a "standard" ruptured achilles is one of the most brutal injuries in terms of rehab time. I think I am coming to peace with the idea of being out of commission for a while, but yesterday I was freaking out about my insurance not pulling through and being many thousands of dollars in debt. We will see, but I do think God will provide yet again.
Here are some verses from church last night that really inspired me.
Psalm 127:1
1 Unless the LORD builds the house,
the builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the guards stand watch in vain
Application = Unless the Lord heals my body, soul, and spirit, this rehab will be in vain
Proverbs 3:5-8
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.[a]
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the LORD and shun evil.
8 This will bring health to your body
and nourishment to your bones.
James 4:13-16
13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.
God is good and he is in control! I'll post another update soon...but for now, check out this awesome picture.
I was standing in the driveway last week, about to go on a ride, when the UPS man jumped out of his truck asking for me. I didn't remember ordering anything so I was excited about the surprise inside of the brown box he gave me. I rushed inside, opened the box, and found a brand new digital camera! Yahoo! (I have never actually said yahoo in real life, but I bet that's what I would have said if I were from North Dakota) I had no idea who the new camera was from, but I figured it was a gift that was inspired by my blog which said I don't have my own camera. (I also don't have my own BMW M3...just saying) After reading all of the papers in the package I came across a little note that said "You can't be an adventure blogger without your own camera! Here is an early birthday present. Love, Aunt Kath, Uncle Mike, and Emma."
This gift was a huge blessing and it was tons of fun to receive it because I had no idea someone was going to give me a camera! Thanks Shafer clan!
Now I give you the bad news...
Last Friday I was cycling around Greenville running some errands, getting exercise, and was on my way to see a friend at Furman when BAM! I bit the dust. Aretha (the bike) sometimes has a mind of her own. I try to stay in the middle of the road or the path and she just swerves a bit. This time I didn't recover so well. I was between Leopard Forest Coffee Company in Travelers Rest and Furman on the Swamp Rabbit Trail when I hit the edge of the trail. Most places taper off the sides of paths so that they gradually run into the ground adjacent to the path. Not in Greenville, they don't. There was about an 6-8 inch lip where my tire hit. I tried to readjust, but by the time I turned the handlebars back I had already flown over top of them.
I felt like a moron for falling. I looked around, embarrassed, hoping that not too many people saw the spill. There were only 2 other people I saw on the path. Right as I was about to stand up and get back on my bike I looked down and realized that my leg was opened and that there was hamburger helper spilling out of my calf! Once I realized that I was hallucinating (or just in shock), I understood that when your calf muscle, your achilles tendon, and fat are hanging out of your skin from a fresh flesh wound, it only looks like hamburger helper. I must have been pretty hungry to think that my leg looked like hamburger meat, but hamburger helper is gross anyway and I soon lost my appetite.
Next step...once I realized that I was in a bit of a pickle I busted out the phone and dialed 911. EMS was about to send an ambulance when God hooked me up! The dispatcher was about to release the ambulance, which would have most likely cost me over $1000, when Mrs. Nan ran up. Nan is amazing. She is a mother from Montgomery, Alabama whose son is at Furman's Football Camp. She was staying at the Embassy Suites and told me she could run back to get her car. She ran off and I called my dad to tell him what was going on. At this point I was starting to have a bit of trouble staying with it, I was sweating profusely, and I was starting to black out. Just as I was about to black out guardian angel #2 came out of nowhere. I didn't catch her name, but she was the next person to pass me on the trail. She hopped off of her bike, gave me some fresh water to drink, elevated my leg, and told me she was a nurse. Pretty cool, right? All of the help I was receiving was great, but then I started to get worried. I wondered what to do with Aretha. Was the bike alright? Who was going to pick it up? So right then I called my loyal roommate, Goose.
It was no longer than 10 minutes from when she left to when Nan rolled up with a super nice and enormous SUV. Nan also brought with her guardian angel #3. When she went to the parking lot of the Embassy Suites hotel she happened to find a doctor. He came and gave me a little tourniquet on my leg. 2 guys lifted me up, told me to put pressure from my hands on my leg, and set me in Nan's car. They also put Aretha in the back, so it was nice to know that I wouldn't have to leave my bike in the middle of the trail to get stolen. Anyway, Nan was awesome. I'm sure she is an amazing mom. She dropped me off, hung out with me in the ER for a bit, and even took my bike out to be picked up later. She gave me her number and asked that I call her when I got out of the ER to let her know I was alive.
Once in the ER they hooked me up to an IV and gave me some pain medicine. It made me feel nice, but I actually didn't have any pain when I came in... the endorphins from the shock probably kept me from hurting. Then they figured I was dehydrated from cycling so they gave me an IV with the equivalent of 2 gallons of Gatorade. Wow! They were not super speedy in that ER, and that IV had my bladder about to explode. I probably went to the bathroom 15 times the rest of that day. 2 gallons of Gatorade is a lot. So the doctor came in and cleaned out the grease from the cut. It happened because my calf hit my cogs, or the sprockets on my bike (you know, the things that hold the chain on). It ripped me up pretty good. He said the laceration was about 4 inches long and 1 inch deep. Immediately I freaked out because I realized that 1 inch deep probably meant that my achilles was mutilated. After some inspection it was affirmed that the achilles was partially torn. I got pretty emotional in there for a bit because as an active guy, the ruptured achilles is probably the injury I am most afraid. This injury makes people much slower, and some can't run the same ever again. I realized once I started panicking that I should probably consult God. He gave me peace in the moment, which was great. Also, at that point in time Goose arrived and prayed for me and my leg. Great stuff. I was starting to cheer up and the nurse, Ann, also made the experience more enjoyable. She joked around a lot, and she even hooked me up with a Snickers, banana, orange slices, and cranberry juice. My doctor was also a cool guy. Dr. Theiling went to Furman and so we had plenty to talk about. When I asked him to make the injury look as much like a shark bite as possible he got pretty excited. He did say, however, that he was taught how to stitch people up by a plastic surgeon...so my scar will probably look great and not so much like a shark bite...bummer! It took 19 stitches to get me good to go, and after about 4 hours Goose and I were out of there.
Dr. Theiling let me go coach my team in their lacrosse tournament the next 2 days near Charlotte, which was great. By the time I went with the team to Charlotte I had an appointment with an orthopedist on Tuesday. One of my player's dads, however, did some research for me that ended up changing my plans with the doctor. His neighbor is an orthopedist who is an achilles specialist. I talked to his neighbor, Dr. Lonergan, on the phone and he assured me that he was the man for my surgery. He told me to come into his office whenever I wanted on Monday and he would fit me into his schedule. What a nice guy! Dr. Lonergan was the head of orthopedics in Iraq for the Army, where he received a Bronze Star. Did I mention he specializes in achilles?
Today I went and met Dr. Lonergan. He thinks my achilles is completely severed. I could hear him and the other doctors all talking about my injury outside the door. I think they are a bit excited about the surgery because this type of achilles injury happens extremely rarely. Literally, 5 doctors walked into the room to check out my situation. I suppose it's pretty neat to have an uncommon injury, ha. Dr. L got me an appointment for an MRI on Wednesday and surgery on Thursday. I trust that he will do a solid job. Please pray for him and any other doctors involved in the procedure.
Dr. L told me that the injury is actually worse than most achilles ruptures....this is a bummer because a "standard" ruptured achilles is one of the most brutal injuries in terms of rehab time. I think I am coming to peace with the idea of being out of commission for a while, but yesterday I was freaking out about my insurance not pulling through and being many thousands of dollars in debt. We will see, but I do think God will provide yet again.
Here are some verses from church last night that really inspired me.
Psalm 127:1
1 Unless the LORD builds the house,
the builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the guards stand watch in vain
Application = Unless the Lord heals my body, soul, and spirit, this rehab will be in vain
Proverbs 3:5-8
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.[a]
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the LORD and shun evil.
8 This will bring health to your body
and nourishment to your bones.
James 4:13-16
13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.
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