triage via tecumseh

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bryan

New member
Joined
Mar 2, 2004
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Location
southeastern, nh
i'd like to preface by saying this is not intended (as one hiking friend once called this kind of post) to be a "whine report". just figured i would share a bad experience here as i would a good one. it's also a great example of how anything can happen to any us at anytime, anywhere, no matter the experience or readiness. i'm still totally baffled by what happened.
i decided yesterday to take a nice short hike up tecumseh from tripoli road while it is still open. this is a trail i really enjoy and yesterday it had the added bonus of avoiding most of the cold winds that were whipping around. the hike up was uneventful to the summit as was most of the hike down. i enjoyed the filtered views over to osceola and scar ridge with all the leaves off the trees. footing was a bit tricky with the wet slippery leaves and i made note of this and was being cautious on the descent.
as i was heading down the final old road grade i took a fall. i actually can't remember exactly what happened. it was a relatively easy section of trail. did i slip on a root, a rock, some wet leaves? i just found myself on the ground and it was clear something wasn't right. i looked down at my left foot to see it cocked out at an angle to the left. this was, to say the least, disconcerting, but as i moved my leg it popped back in to the right. this was an aesthetic relief, but did nothing for the pain. at this point i knew i was within .5 miles of the trailhead so my first instinct was to try to walk and i went with it. i righted myself and found that, with significant pain, i was able to hobble, my foot not feeling as attached as it should to my leg. that was a long walk. adrenaline fueled for sure.
getting to the car was a relief and i took my boot of to assess the damage. i can best describe it as a big swollen mess. i was able to put the work boot i had in the car on it and with much pain (my car is a standard) headed to speare memorial.
the verdict was not good. words i did not know. a displaced bimalleolar fracture of the ankle that will most likely require surgery (i see an orthopedic doctor tommorow). i should know a lot more about what is going on after that appointment and until then i'm trying to ignore the worst case scenarios that keep popping up in my head.
i can't say enough good things about the folks at speare. if you every have the misfortune of an injury up north hopefully they'll take care of you as well as they did me. the one thing i did find amusing was when people tried to comfort me by saying things like "well at least the hiking season is almost over" suggesting i would have the winter to heal. i just kept thinking about how the whole reason i was out yesterday was to help keep myself in shape for what has become my favorite season. maybe if things go well i'll be able to catch the tail end of it.
until then i'll enjoy reading all of your reports.
be safe out there.

bryan
 
Bummer! Good luck with it.

The initial treatment for my broken femur (assessment, insertion of a nail (pin) and some screws) was done at Speare--I was happy with my treatment there.

Doug
 
Ouch, Bryan... best of luck for a speedy recovery.

For what it's worth, I would strongly agree with your and DougPaul's assessment of Speare -- we've lived back in the area for three years and have been to Speare for the usual complement of things you get with young kids, and a couple of scarier things that worked out well, and have always found the care to be outstanding and the caregivers to be genuinely concerned for our well-being. It's really a fine small hospital.

Keep us filled in on how it's going...
 
Sometimes these reports are very useful...they remind us all that is sometimes isn't the obvious that can hurt us...

I did my first "real" solo hike in Acadia two months ago...

Up precipice with no problems...down to Rte 3...Up Dorr...down to a little tote road. I figured heck, let's pick up the pace here and make up some time...its only a tote road, nice and flat, nothing I can fall or slip off of...no problem. Well...I guess I didn't figure that all those LEAVES can cover all those ROOTS...next thing I knew, my foot was caught UNDER a hidden root... and I was on my way down...hard; knees, hands...and then (due to momentum and my badly weighted day pack)...FACE. I was glad that no one was there to see it (I think it looked like a cartoon rolly polly falling over) but, looking back at what COULD have happened...it probably would have been better if there had been someone there...I was about 2 miles from the loop road and a LONG way from my car.

Fortunately, I came away with nothging more than: a bruised face, badly bruised knee, badly scrapped other knee, and a right hand that looked like I'd tried to use a cheese grater on it. :eek:
 
Bryan, I am so sorry to hear about your injury. Wishing you a rapid recovery. I hope all goes well with the orthopedic doctor. Please do be sure keep us updated on your progress... (hug).
 
Too bad about your injury. Tough fracture. I wish you the best of luck in your recovery. Lucky for all of us that miss entire seasons in the mountains, they are still there when the seasons repeat themselves.
Be patient. You will be out there before you know it.
Sandy
 
Sorry to hear about the ankle, good luck with the recovery. I've taken a few falls but have been lucky so far.

I'm curious, in regards to previous NH rescue threads. Were you concerned about doing further damage to the ankle by hiking out on your own? Did you consider staying put and getting help? It sounds like it was extremely painful.:eek:
 
Damn!
Sorry to hear it.Lucky you were close to the trailhead.Hopefully we'll have a long, snowy winter.
 
holy crap! i probably woulda passed out seeing my ankle at a different angle nevermind trying to twist it back. whew!
 
I'm curious, in regards to previous NH rescue threads. Were you concerned about doing further damage to the ankle by hiking out on your own? Did you consider staying put and getting help? It sounds like it was extremely painful.:eek:

i did consider staying put, but when i tested it out and found it was possible to move decided it would be a good idea. hard to know if that was the right call or not.
the doctor in the hospital joked about why i didn't just "use my cell phone like all the other hikers" and my response, also in jest, was something like "and get torn apart on all the online posting boards?...now way". in this case i'd say it would have been a pretty legit rescue, but i'm glad that didn't have to happen.
doug and drew- speare would have been a great place to follow up with an orthopedist, but living down more near the seacoast i'm going to go through access sports medicine who have a great track record from what i've heard.

thanks all for the kind responses.

bryan
 
Bryan,

This is really bad news. I was looking forward to a few good hikes with you during the "off season" (winter).

Hopefully the repairs are minor and the healing is quick.

Please keep us posted on your progress.

Under the current circumstances is there a chance I could keep up with you on the trail? :rolleyes:

Keep smiling! ;)
 
Sorry to hear about your accident. Hang in there and you'll be back before you know it!
 
Sorry to hear you're paying your dues just like most of us do at one time or another. One thing about the hospitals that are located near mountains, they are great at treating trauma. I had an excellent experience at Franklin Memorial in Farmington Maine.

One thing about hikers, they are so motivated to get back into it, physical therapists love us!

I've learned that it is often a bad idea to remove your boot after an injury until you are safely out of the woods. I was once able to hike out 3 miles on a sprained ankle with minimal pain, but when I took the boot off at the trailhead, it ballooned up immediately.
 
Boot

Oh yeah hockey players leave the boot on until the games over. When it comes off it swells like a balloon. Next day you don't get the skate back on.

Real sorry about your injury. It could happen to anyone of us at any time. Glad to see you were able to skate off the ice on your own. :)

Good luck, it will heal. Speedy recovery. I've had good luck with Dr. Bear at Exeter Ortho if Access SM doesn't work out for you.

KDT
 
Bryan,

So sorry to hear about your injury! I hope you are doing well and that your ankle heals quickly. Thanks for sharing your story with us.
 
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