2010-12-07 - Rider Down, Marble Arch Roundabout (London)

All the very best for 2011. Looking forward to seeing you both on a bike before long.

Good luck to you both for coming year.

This blog may be of interest.

http://alex-cycle.blogspot.com/search/label/Index

This section 'My Accident & Recovery:' on that page details his recovery from losing his lower left leg.

James and Veronika, a successful 2011 to you.

I did think of you two this xmas, as I was walking down the market in my german home town.
Got introduced to a guy as "he's a proper sports nutter, not a wannabe like you", chatted with the guy a bit. He's doing proper long tours on mtb etc and I was well impressed with his holiday stories.

As I was walking away with my friend, he did ask me whether I noticed that the guy was a double amputee. I didn't. But yeah, the has two prosthetic legs, had beed run over by a freight train as teenager.

Just read this thread, super encouraging to think so many people actual care about someone involved in such a awful incident. many best wishes to Veronika and that her recovery is a speedy as it can be.

James and Veronika best wishes for 2011, please keep us posted with your progress. If there is anything you need or want even the most basic trival thing.. please ask i'm sure this forum would welcome it..

Al

Thanks for the continued support, even though it's ages ago that all this happened - or it feels like it anyway. This is a great forum and I want to keep you updated.

Veronika has moved to Hammersmith where the plastics team is based. We are just waiting/preparing for the next stage now which is more operations to heal the injuries.

Still, she's got an amazing spirit and is taking the whole thing extremely well. I can see progress every day.

It's going to be a long road but Veronika is determined and she has lots of support. I've been sent loads of encouraging stories about people who have suffered major trauma and bounced back with the ability to live much as they did before, so there's plenty of hope to hold onto.

thanks again!

james

Cheers to you James and of course to Veronika. I'd say she has the good will of everyone on two wheels in London at the moment. Send her our love.

great news to hear Veronika is doing well James, It might be a long journey but at least the destination is becoming clearer now.

good luck to you both and hopefully one day we shall get to meet you on a forum ride or at one of the drinks.

/eventhoughimstillyettomakeittoaforumdrinks

Thank you for the update.
All the best for the both of you.

Glad to hear things are going OK, hope the recovery continues to go well. All the best to you both.

Yes. Good luck to the pair of you. She sounds like a very determined and inspirational person

so good to hear such good news. stay strong and positive xxx

Thanks for the update, James. May everything in Veronika's medical care work out as best as possible!

It sounds daft, 'cos of course it's just words, but looking at the other 'Rider Down' thread today I just wanted to let James and Veronika know that people on here really do care when other cyclists are injured in such a horrible way, and whilst at best it's a bit ethereal I hope that knowing that people are thinking of you, even strangers, and sending you all their best can help in some small way.

Hoping that Veronika is getting the best care and is on the road to recovery.

Yes indeed. Keep us posted James and my best wishes to you both. Here's to a full recovery.

Hello everyone, I'm back again. I've just been reading some of the more recent rider down threads and it's once again reminded me how lucky we've been. There's a couple of incidents that sound similar and my thoughts are with those involved. It's also made it seem more important to post (and to read) some good news. And once again, thank you for the continued support. It really is truly incredible, that on one hand it often seems a pretty shitty world, yet there are people in it that emerge when you least expect it that somehow make the place brighter.
So Veronika continues to improve. She's had some major skin grafting, so that's another milestone passed, and as of the last few days she's been lifted out of bed for the first time (in two months) and sat in a wheelchair. Now the next milestone is in sight - getting mobile.
There's still a long way to go, but she's already come so far. And she's back on two wheels (ok, four)!
thanks
james

Great news James, there's a number of all ability cycling schemes/clubs round London that will be able to get Veronika started back on bikes, adapted ones will be easier at first. Once she has a prothesis then there's a crank adaptation that will help as she gets used to it and after that, well I have a friend who has done the end to end twice and the end to end of Ireland and he has a high above the knee amputation on the right (which is a bad one for cycling as it makes it hard to start on hills).
Any help I can give please just PM.

Hi all.
I was gently prodded by Concerned last night as I haven't posted an update for a while :)
Well not much is happening fast at the moment. Veronika is out of bed and mobile in her wheelchair for most of the day, which is cool. Actually we're just waiting for a custom one to be built (titanium frame, alloy wheels, brooks saddle, that sort of thing. Kidding about the saddle.)
But we're forced to play the waiting game, as her rehab can't start properly until the ex-fix holding her left femur (the amputated side) together comes out. Still, everything's pretty darn positive so she's looking forward to hopefully being able to hobble around later in the summer. She's also met some other lower limb amputees who are about a year ahead of her and they're up and about with some pretty cool hardware. All encouraging stuff!

It's really sad to see the last couple of threads on this forum - a couple of fatalities this week, terrible news. Thanks for all the support you guys give in these circumstances. We're thinking of the families and friends of those involved.

Cycle safe

james

great to hear this james give her our best

Good to hear she has something to look forward to.
The weather is getting better and when she becomes more mobile it will hopefully cheer her up.

Send her our best wishes.

Great to hear, James. Thanks for the update.

Very pleased to read the update - best wishes.

^ copy that. Hope the healing is going well.

Good to hear an update Guys, does Veronika want to pootle around Vicky Park on a handcrank?

Hey thanks for the offer Digger, sounds great!

Mind if I keep it for another day though. Veronika's still got this ex-fix holding her thigh bone together and it's a massive inhibitor to movement at the moment. So she hasn't really been out of the hospital for... wow, three and a half months now! Hopefully that'll change soon and she'll be out and about in the new chair. That'll beef her arms up for a handcrank.