On the  26th of November 2017 while mountain biking on one of my regular tracks here in Wanaka and Hawea area, the Dean’s bank mountain bike track, I had a crash. I have no recollection of any of this the only thing the vague memory of is the onlookers who were first on the scene to pick up myself and call emergency services and my wife Cherie for help. Much of this blog is pieced together from info provided to me by the witnesses and people around me during recovery.

What happened on the day was in the final minutes of what would have been a good  (up until that point) 2 hour MTB ride, where I was to be meeting my wife Cherie and our three boys for a swim….. I was coming down this hill with a series of small drops and a jump at the bottom, This jump, is a jump I have ridden and flown over many many times successfully. On this day what has happened is a rock and small bit of erosion to the roll/ramp of the jump and an exposed rock that  ‘donkey kicked’ my back wheel into the air as I hit this at what would have been a pretty quick pace. I have flown through the air (from what the first on the scene witnesses have reported) and landed incredibly heavily on the front wheel throwing me over the handlebars to take the full impact on my head. The  first impact on the head and a bounce  into a second impact on my head again which subsequently removed the helmet from my head due to the huge impact and forces generated when you ‘bulldoze your head into the dirt with the full mass of the body and speed momentum driving it along. My helmet most certainly did it’s job in keeping me alive as without it the outcome would have been a whole lot different.

As a result of this impact I was knocked unconscious for just short of one minute – resulting in a classification from the Doctor and physios as a grade 2 (moderate/severe) concussion, a very broken nose, moderate to severe ‘whiplash’ injury to my neck and a couple of minor grazes to the face and legs.

So as I complete working away on this blog it has now just over 6 weeks and thanks to the help of google voice to text and some patient and limited screen time I can piece these words together clearly. I am still suffering from very low and short levels of energy and concentration spans, eye trouble with reading screen/text and a few common symptoms of post concussion trauma which are all healing very slowly but surely.

The next steps for the recovery is to have a vision assessment, balance check and a plan of getting back to the busy cognitive demands of classroom teaching for the start of the new school year. In terms of races and events the plan is to build back into a few levels of physical stress and training, currently this is based around daily wind trainer spin sessions increasing in volume and intensity, daily lake swimming and walking, this should progress back onto the bike and running and some kayaking in the coming weeks based on a plan set out by the health professionals. So “see you out there” moments will be back in action and built up a few key events in the coming months as the body allows.

Looking back on what has happened I am incredibly lucky that the injuries I sustained are all going to repair fine with time, patience and following a good routine of rehab and recovery advise.I am receiving  fantastic treatment from Lisa the physiotherapist at Wanaka Physiotherapy who is working on all elements of my injuries to the head, neck, vision and balance/inner ear. One of my largest challenges were in week 5 post accident with a sustained period of 4 days of constant nausea which were a result of upset inner ear crystals that the physio identified and then manipulated and moved back to their correct place resulting in balance improvements and the nausea gone!

I’m incredibly grateful for obviously the support and help from my wife Cherie and our three little boys. I am working towards being back to the best version of myself that i can be as soon as possible.

I’m also very grateful for the people that were first there on the scene to assist in calling for help and looking after me.

The helmet I was wearing during this ride and crash was a top quality Bell helmet, it is now retired and set to be placed as a wall souvenir in the garage as it sustained internal splits and damage – the helmet has done its job as well as it could have in this instance and thanks to the awesome crew at Torpedo7 I will be fully protected on my future adventures and events on the bike with my fantastic new helmet replacement they are sorting me out with, I am very grateful for this support and look forward to reviewing the importance and features of a good helmet in the near future when I have this on my head for a ride. Thanks T7! The ‘See You Out There’ adventure will be back in full swing again soon all going well!

A couple of last notes and things I have learned from this event/crash…

1. Seeking the advice of a specialist physio for Head and neck injury has been pivotal in ensuring a progressive recovery and rehabilitation – The team at Wanaka Physiotherapy have been fantastic.
2. Injuries to the head although not visible once the scrapes and bruises disappear, they last a lot longer than you would ever imagine. I would of perhaps preferred to have broken a bone in my arm or leg than have a moderate/severe concussion to deal with, but the way life plays out is you often do not get a choice in many events and things that happen to you and have to deal with them the way they are presented to you in the most positive and open minded way in which you can.

Author – Andrew Sloan, Torpedo7 Athlete