Rehab Update

It's been 8 months since I took flight at Buttonwillow and destroyed my elbow upon re-entry. The initial surgery did a good job of repairing the fractures, but as it turns out, I tend toward a condition called heterotopic ossification. In a nutshell, that means I started growing bone in places it wasn't originally. Eventually, it complicated my rehab and left me unable to move my elbow. I walked around with a permanent crook in my arm for about 6 months.

Once my original fractures healed, we scheduled follow-up surgery for 11/6 to chip away the extra bone and restore movement. I had a low-dose radiation treatment and some medication to keep the extra bone from growing back. The surgery was quite successful, and after a short stint back in the hospital, I'm back at home rehabbing and once again able to move my arm.

It'll be a few more weeks of confined movement of the joint, then a lot of physical therapy and exercise to restore strength to my atrophied spaghetti arm. But prospects are good for a very good recovery.

In the meantime, the AFM season rolled on without me, and my friend Dave Raff won a few races and took the 650 Twins Production championship. My former teammates in the endurance race missed a podium finish by 1 lap, and Dave Canzano built up some good karma by turnworking a couple rounds. If I'm unable or unwilling to ride next year, that will be my means of return to the world of competitive moto-craziness. I still consider the turnworkers and trackside medics the unsung heroes of the sport.

Stay tuned for the continued adventures of #859.

Cheers...