Am I nuts to be riding???

[ydduit]

At the age of 20 (I am 40 now), I was hit head-on by a dumptruck...3 weeks in ICU, numerous surgeries to repair my pelvis and hip(plate and screws), crushing injury to my sciatic nerve has left my lower right leg with severe atrophy and drop foot....yet I continued to ride...

In 1998 I took a fall off a ladder and broke the joints off of my L5-S1 vertebrae. I was also diagnosed with a grade 2 spondylolisthesis of my L5-S1 and Degenerative Joint Disease...after two different spine fusions(first fusion was L5-S1...the vertebrae "crumbled" around the screws causing the rods to loosen and one year later, they fused the L4, L5, and S1 with rods and screws...)3 years later, i continued to ride...

2005 I was diagnosed with DJD in both shoulders...Doc said that I have no soft tissue left at the joints and that the balls are severely warn (I have had shoulder pain for years but never went to a doctor) Doc says I need to have total shoulder replacements but claims that I am too young and should live with the pain as long as possible....Yet I continued to ride...

Last year I started having severe pain in my buttocks and hip area. Back to the Doc...After an MRI and CT scan of my lower spine the neurologist said that I need a third fusion...My L5 is deteriorating and causing pressure on my sciatic nerve...He also told me to prolong surgery and live with the pain as long as possible...Yet, I continue to ride...

I live with pain every day...day in and day out...hip pain, back pain, shoulder pain (so bad at times that I can't pick up my arms or if I do pick up my arms they sometimes feel like the arm "drops" out of place at the shoulder. I have always had back pain from the fall I took in 98 but in the last year it has progressively gotten worse.

When I do ride my bikes (mainly trail ride with the occasional harescramble)I ache so bad for days that daily life is almost intollerable...yet when the weekend rolls around, I jump back on the bike and hit the trails...

Why do I punish myself like this????....It's the ADDICTION!!!

I just can't stop riding!?

As of last week, I am now the proud owner of a 2001 KTM 400 MXC...I may be aching all over but DAMN, I just can't wipe the smile off my face!!!?

[jmg343]

Normal.

[tnat1]

My question is do you have a wife, kids or someone else that has to help you out whenever you have surgery?

If you answer yes to any of those my thinking is if everyone around you has to alter their lifestyle in order to be a care giver to you and to accomodate you then i think that if it were me i would stop riding cause if i did and kept having to have surgeries and my loved ones had to continue to be caregivers due to my choices and risky lifestyle then i think it would be extremely selfish and selfcentered of me to put my family through that drama. i know that my wife wouldnt put up with that stuff and ive seen other guys wifes leave them - understandbly so if the dude kept getting hurt and only thinking of their addiction, its no different than a alcoholic or addict that keeps hurting the family with poor choices and their life becoming unmanageable. another question you might want to ask yourself - does your riding or injuries from riding make your life and others unmanagaable?

[ydduit]

Yes, i do have a family. A loving wife and three wonderful Boys...All of whom either ride or have expressed a strong desire to ride (when big enough) with Dad.

Ironically enough, my Wife is the Director of an in-patient addictions facility:bonk:?

None of my previous injuries have been related to my riding...however, I can assume that riding is not helping them...

I will have these problems and pains with or without riding. Riding only increases my discomfort for a short (3-4 days) period of time.

When my wife and i got together she new I was damaged and she accepted that. We have a great relationship and she loves riding (streetbikes, although she has expressed a desire for a dirt bike) as much as I.

I am not burdensome on my family...I rely on no one! I work 40+ hours a week and drive 135+ miles everyday back and forth to work. I do not let my disabilities keep me down...(only slow me down from time to time...)

??:lol:?:)

[GreenHornet450]

Look at Doug Henry...A parapalegic from a Supermoto accident & he finished 3rd place in SNOWCROSS. He was strapped onto the Sled. So are you CRAZY... HELL NO!!!!!!