Power Kite Forum

"Just one more run ..."

Kamikuza - 19-9-2009 at 06:15 AM

It's always the last one that gets me :lol:

Good wind today, I went down to the lake to do some kitesurfing ... hoo, windy! Forecast said 20 knots, sure seems like it too!
I decided against the C-kite and tried my 10m Vortex ... not enough grunt. Out came the 15m Phantom - just right!

Then the gusts started getting bad and while fully sheeted I was being over-powered. Time to go home ... and I fell for the ol' "One last run then I'll pack it in" ... and got nailed by a couple of gusts, pushed into the shore and when I tried to brake and go upwind to stall out, I got lobbed at the shore over the board, breaking my wrist :(

Luckily for my love life, it's my left wrist that's broken :lol:
It's an impressive break apparently and I'm going for a CT scan in 2 weeks then surgery a few days after ... titanium plate and screws! And no sports for three months :( end of my season it seems ...

So a lesson to me then - listen to your instincts a bit better ... my own fault (and a bit of bad luck) for bein greedy!

lad - 19-9-2009 at 06:24 AM

YEEOWOUCH!!! :o :shocked2: :o

Sorry to hear that, man. You might have to settle with serene single-line kites for awhile.

I guess no one ever considers wearing wrist-guards when kite surfing, though I wouldn't think of going on concrete or other hard surfaces w/o them.

At least you're not like those old golfers who'll stay out in the greens to lift irons in a lightning storm!

cheezycheese - 19-9-2009 at 06:24 AM

lousy break (oooh-no pun intended:embarrased::embarrased:) feel better... can i use your phantom while you heal?:D:D i hear kites are like car batteries.. if you don't keep'em charged they die:thumbdown:

lad - 19-9-2009 at 06:32 AM

The Vultures already start to circle (but I was here first!):saint:

Tonka - 19-9-2009 at 07:29 AM

Ouch......heel-up quick dude!!!!

carltb - 19-9-2009 at 08:01 AM

OUCH!!! hope it heals quickly mate!!!

Jolt - 19-9-2009 at 08:04 AM

3+ months of no kiting :(...

what are you gonna do?

furbowski - 19-9-2009 at 08:12 AM

one handed keyboard kiting is no fun either....

good luck with the scans and surgery!

Bladerunner - 19-9-2009 at 08:13 AM

Thanks for sharing.
I have listened to the " voices " and backed off a few times. While I wouldn't want anybody getting hurt I will use your example and others as proof I'm making the right choice when Im questioning going back out.

get well soon. :Ange09:

Houston AirHead - 19-9-2009 at 11:19 AM

consider jogging?

sorry to hear that man, im all too familiar with the ER room. always seems like the time spent waiting around to recover is worse than he actual inury.

ps: ibuprofen goes a long way

action jackson - 19-9-2009 at 02:28 PM

I broke my wrist years ago kiting, I just flew the arcs with one hand. I only missed 2 weeks! Sand would be coming out of the cast all week in between sessions. Sorry about the break!........aj

Kamikuza - 19-9-2009 at 05:59 PM

Thanks all!
My own dumb fault - onshore wind, too much wind and gusty ... LISTEN TO THE VOICES! :lol: I often have to learn things the hard way ... is my first broken bones though (and first trip in an ambulance :lol:) and I've not been in an ER for over ten years :D and the other day the wife was complaining about how much insurance is and how little I use it :lol:

Yeah the break hurt but was no real problem, hurts now but I can take it - it's like the dull ache of too cold hands warming up ... resetting the bone tho - mother love a duck! Still not as painful as my back was tho!

That sounds encouraging aj :lol: had a tentative plan for a trip to Okinawa in Xmas hols ... reckon it's worth a shot then :)

Tell you what though - I was loving the Phantom on the water! First time I'd tried it ... bit tricky to begin with but I could see me getting the hang of it eventually - light years better than the C-kite!

Todd - 19-9-2009 at 07:42 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Kamikuza
Thanks all!
My own dumb fault - onshore wind, too much wind and gusty ... LISTEN TO THE VOICES! :lol: I often have to learn things the hard way ... is my first broken bones though (and first trip in an ambulance :lol:) and I've not been in an ER for over ten years :D and the other day the wife was complaining about how much insurance is and how little I use it :lol:

Yeah the break hurt but was no real problem, hurts now but I can take it - it's like the dull ache of too cold hands warming up ... resetting the bone tho - mother love a duck! Still not as painful as my back was tho!

That sounds encouraging aj :lol: had a tentative plan for a trip to Okinawa in Xmas hols ... reckon it's worth a shot then :)

Tell you what though - I was loving the Phantom on the water! First time I'd tried it ... bit tricky to begin with but I could see me getting the hang of it eventually - light years better than the C-kite!


I'm just looking at all of the smiling and laughing going on in this post......... You're on meds right? :lol:

Hope you heal fast as strong!
The titanium isn't so bad; but I can tell you this.. I don't pass though airport security too well :spin:

Kamikuza - 19-9-2009 at 08:14 PM

No, some mild painkillers I think but not as strong as Ibuprofen :ticking: it's the kind of pain I'm used to I guess - doesn't bother me too much :lol:

Maven454 - 20-9-2009 at 05:19 AM

Tough luck Kami, hope it heals up well. My thought was along the lines of what Action Jackson said he did, find something you can fly hooked in using just one hand :yes:.

acampbell - 20-9-2009 at 01:51 PM

Hey man, feel better, and yeah, listen to the little voices. The healing time will go fast and you will find other things to catch up on. All the best.

william_rx7 - 20-9-2009 at 06:33 PM

Oh no! Sorry to hear about that! Get well soon.
Yeah, that little voice is there for a good reason, don't ignore it.

kitejumper - 20-9-2009 at 07:53 PM

wow,dude, sorry to hear that--you flying those monster kites in them winds--youre a beast!!

Kamikuza - 20-9-2009 at 08:30 PM

Can't get my fat inept ass out of the water otherwise :(

Kamikuza - 25-9-2009 at 03:13 AM

Here's my pics ... the doctor very nicely printed out the screenshot of my CT scans - apparently, the scans and x-rays I paid for don't actually entitle me to keep the output

From left to right, top to bottom - thumb side, palm side, top side, little finger side view ... plate is going in the big one with 9 screws or something, and I'm getting a screw to hold the chunk together on the outside bone ...

[img]http://www.post#@%$#!.biz/albums/userpics/11553/left_wrist.jpg[/img]

Maven454 - 25-9-2009 at 03:20 AM

Hope that goes well. And that you avoid doing that in the future.

Kamikuza - 25-9-2009 at 05:01 AM

:D I'll try mom :lol:

Maven454 - 25-9-2009 at 05:05 AM

What, you can't tell me that you want to do that again?

Kamikuza - 25-9-2009 at 05:13 AM

WANT to no but I can't guarantee a future lack of stupidity can I :D

Maven454 - 25-9-2009 at 05:16 AM

sigh Just try to remember, the fence really is electric and you don't need to piss on it to check :wink2:

Kamikuza - 25-9-2009 at 05:22 AM

you reckon? seems off to me ...

You know, my dad did the same thing - touched an 'electric' fence to check it wasn't 'on' so he proceeded to climb over it ... got halfway over, a leg on each side and then he did a graceful catapult the rest of the way :lol: How you like your nuts dad, roasted?

Maven454 - 25-9-2009 at 05:26 AM

Heheh :lol::lol:

furbowski - 25-9-2009 at 05:27 AM

Sounds like you need a read through the darwin awards again, if you haven't already done so! :evil:

a read through last year's entries kinda resets the parameters for us risk-taking folk, i find.... :wee:

we're not so stupid after all! :alien:

:dunno:

sounds like you're actually taking it pretty easy on the meds, btw.... :lol:

FloRider - 25-9-2009 at 10:14 AM

Tough luck Kami. Sorry to hear about it. What do your school kids think about the fact that their teacher is a kiting rockstar?

:wee:

The proof is in the plates and screws.

Todd - 25-9-2009 at 11:34 AM

Is the plate temporary or permanant?

The plates holding my left radius and ulna are for life. They often act up during weather changes. I do like the fact that I can become the human lightning rod by digging my toe into the dirt and raising my left arm to the sky :lol:


Heal fast Kami

Kamikuza - 25-9-2009 at 05:37 PM

Semi-permanent? I could leave it in all my life if I liked or have it removed - but that'll require another surgery :dunno:
Kids haven't seen it yet cos all this week is school hols :) had nice plans for it too :(

action jackson - 25-9-2009 at 06:04 PM

I had a plate and screws put in 2004 when it was still experimental. No probems since! The worst part is the first week after the surgery. Very sore! It hurt more than the rod they put in my femur. Best of luck with the operation......aj

Kamikuza - 25-9-2009 at 07:40 PM

Ay caramba AJ! :eekdrull:

Kamikuza - 26-9-2009 at 02:08 AM

I've been arcstrated :(

rip2tide2 - 26-9-2009 at 05:57 PM

been there. feel better man. sorry about the love life - :roll:

Kamikuza - 26-9-2009 at 06:13 PM

What love life - I'm married :(

WIllardTheGrey - 26-9-2009 at 07:13 PM

Exactly:thumbup:.

You must be fealing the meds more than you think. Go up and read your first post:smilegrin:

Kamikuza - 27-9-2009 at 04:07 PM

:lol:

Off to hospital today, for the next three days. Finally something to relieve the boredom!

Todd - 27-9-2009 at 04:21 PM

Good luck to you!

Kamikuza - 30-9-2009 at 05:45 PM

Well that was an excruciating way to waste $2,000 :( lets not do that again eh

BeamerBob - 30-9-2009 at 06:33 PM

Yeah, time lost from fun stuff and thinking about what you could've done with that money is worse than what the pain pills are for.

Kamikuza - 30-9-2009 at 07:41 PM

Oh forgot to add ...
Tuesday was bloody painful, yesterday hurt but today is just uncomfortable. Actually slept the whole night through for once!
Doctor said the op went so well that they didn't need to use a plaster cast as it's so stabilized with the plate but I've got a sorta FRP board that's been molded to my arm wrapped on till next Friday. Got a plate on the big break and a pin through the small one ... whee. Got almost full range of finger movement, half of thumb but not much strength at all. And the incisions hurt if I move my hand wrong ...
Do have a pic but can't find the print ...

Kamikuza - 5-10-2009 at 12:24 AM

Here's the after (top) and before x-ray ...

[img]http://www.post#@%$#!.biz/albums/userpics/11553/left_wrist_x-ray.jpg[/img]

Starting to use the hand now - I'm touch typing with all fingers, for example; although I struggle to turn taps on with my left hand, I can open the toothpaste and hold the brush now :D

furbowski - 5-10-2009 at 02:49 AM

glad to hear you are bouncing back fast, excellent news!

be careful not to push the recovery... but good to hear you have so much joint mobility back so soon...

i give it another few days before you go for it and get a kite up... winds must suck or you would have tried already, I know I would have!!!

:crazy:

:thumbup:

btw try saving the frp and cutting it back a bit b4 using it as a brace when flying? might work, might not...

Kamikuza - 5-10-2009 at 06:20 PM

Nah I'll be taking it real quiet for a while yet - do NOT want to go through all this crap again ... crikey, the paperwork for the insurance company and my office are enough to put any sane man off of going to hospital :lol:

Kamikuza - 25-10-2009 at 08:38 PM

Finally can turn my wrist enough to get a photo of the scar ... not much to show for all the grief :lol:

[img]http://www.post#@%$#!.biz/albums/userpics/11553/IMGP2146_720.JPG[/img]

Kamikuza - 18-12-2009 at 03:40 AM

Had the pin through the head of the outside bone (ulna?) pulled out today ... thought it would be a piffling operation but was a bit more full on with drips and stuff ... but much freer movement now! I've not taken the pain killers and so far it hurts as much as mere scratch ... we'll see how it goes as the night wears on.

Damn, I reckon I could have gone to Okinawa for a kitesurfing hol after all :lol:

Kamikuza - 20-12-2009 at 06:31 PM

Oh I meant to add ... total cost for an ER visit and a ride in an ambulance :lol: a couple of x-rays, a CT scan, a couple of hours of surgery, 3 days in hospital and another surgery? Less than $400 and I'll probably get another $70 back :lol: I love nationalized health insurance :D despite the paperwork

action jackson - 20-12-2009 at 06:42 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Kamikuza
Finally can turn my wrist enough to get a photo of the scar ... not much to show for all the grief :lol:

[img]http://www.post#@%$#!.biz/albums/userpics/11553/IMGP2146_720.JPG[/img]
We have matching scars!:wee:.........aj

stetson05 - 2-1-2010 at 05:14 PM

Yesterday was my first time snowkiting and I was having a good time. The sun had gone down and I was by my self an I kept thinking I could do one more run. I just kept thinking of this post and I quit and packed up. By the time I got home wind speeds had more than doubled gusting to upper thirties. Thanks for the warning, hope your wrist is doing well

Kamikuza - 2-1-2010 at 08:51 PM

LOL glad I saved someone the same hassle :thumbup: