"Breaking my leg has been one of the worst and best experiences of my life."
I got into mountain biking 9 years ago and it quickly became a new favourite hobby of mine. I've always been active and enjoyed golf and weight training but cycling gives me the opportunity to switch off and pursue a different kind of fitness. Chasing strava koms, being faster than your mates up a climb and buying the latest bike tech are also things that I love about cycling
It was at the end of a long day at Bike Park Wales when I had a silly accident at the start of one of the runs and broke my femur. It was frustrating to have such a big injury from an insignificant moment.
I was taken to Merthr Tydfil Hospital where I stayed for 6 days. This was a very lonely part for me as I was so far away from family, all I wanted was to be at home with my wife, Liz. Luckily my brother Will lives in Bristol so he came to visit with my Nephew Jack but this was still a 3 hour round trip for him so for the most part I was on my own feeling down and desperate to get back to work and normality.
I was fortunate to get transferred back to QMC, so after 6 long days I finally got to see Liz again. Instantly I felt uplifted and ready to start the long recovery. Unfortunately I had picked up an infection which resulted in another operation and a couple of blood transfusions and a further 10 days at the QMC. It was hard to remain positive but I kept a video diary of my progress which helped immensely. If I felt like I wasn't making progress I looked back at the videos and could see how far I'd come. It was the simple movement of how high I could raise my leg that gave me a new challenge to focus on.
Going from being on my feet all day, always rushing round and being active to suddenly not being able to do everyday tasks was hard. There were times that I couldn't visualise getting better but then there were times I was highly focused, putting my all into recovering. Its easy to let yourself fall into a dark place and to lack motivation. Im fortunate to have supportive friends and family who without them I wouldn't of been able to keep upbeat. We all have our different ways of dealing with what life throws at us, for me having an honest and joking relationship with my friends really helps. We take the mick out of each other but by doing this it helps get things indirectly off our chests. We all know when it really matters we can count on each other.
My wife Liz was amazing too, she came daily to visit me in hospital. Her real work started when I got home though. A bedroom had been made up for me downstairs and every day food had been prepped, full of goodness to aid my swift recovery. Liz helped with my home physio and getting myself clean every day, all this whist working 6 days a week. Without this help I don't think I’d have been able to get back to partime work in 7 weeks. I love my job and getting back to normality seemed to somehow speed up my recovery. Exactly 4 months later on new years eve I went on a short bike ride, being extremely nervous is an understatement but positive thoughts and perseverance prevailed and here we are today, about to start a crazy challenge and devoting my time to pay back and help others.
I always believe that everything happens for a reason and try to take the positives out of all situations. The main thing to come from breaking my leg is to now be able to count Tony and his family as friends. The support I received from Tony I will forever be grateful for.
I found my passion again for weight training during my recovery. Focusing on regaining my strength and building the lost muscles back up in my legs and finding the importance of movement and physio.
Time, allowing myself more time to enjoy the things I do. I feel very lucky to of been able to recover from my injury without lasting effects (apart from a cool scar) and I want to make the most of it.
A big positive is being apart of this fantastic challenge, Peaky Minders. When Tony asked if I'd be interested in joining him on a charity bike ride I never imagined this is what he had planned. To be able to raise awareness for Mental Health in such a challenging way is fantastic. Excitement has been building from the start and now that we're nearly 3 weeks away I can't wait to get started. I have no doubt that it will be hard, it's going to be 12 long days but as a group its going to be filled with fun and determination.
Thank you to Tim for sharing his story
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