There were different trails we could ride on and some were more tricky than others. I had a great time but unfortunately, I went a bit too fast down one of the slopes and lost control of my bike as it took off over a mound (see below). I was thrown off my bike as it landed which was very, very painful - I had not experienced that much pain in a long time! Luckily, I was wearing my helmet because it actually cracked down the side from the impact of my fall but it stopped me from hurting my head.
top: the moment just as I was thrown off my bike
bottom: the moment after
I went to the hospital and had an ultrasound because I had a lot of pain in my stomach and the doctors were worried that I had damaged one of my internal organs. Ultrasounds show an image of your insides and are usually used to show babies inside their mother's stomach. I also had some X-rays on my left knee and left arm as they hurt so much I could barely move them!
The doctors found out that I had fractured my radius, which is one of the bones in your forearm and luckily, I only suffered from severe bruising on my knee and stomach. The fracture occurred when I put my arm down to try and break my fall when I fell off my bike.
My arm is now in a cast to allow the bone to heal, which should take about 6 weeks. It has been a painful experience but I am lucky because it could have been a lot worse! It seems injuries are quite common - I bumped into another guy who was staying at my hostel who had exactly the same injury from mountain biking as me:
It is very inconvenient having only one arm that I can use but at least it was my left arm- typing this blog post has taken ages with one hand! I am also annoyed because I am now on the South Island in a place called Queenstown and everywhere you go there are adverts for amazing activities like rafting, bungy jumping, sky diving, canyon swings etc. but I won't be able to do them until I have recovered :( Hopefully, as soon as I am better, I can book some cool things to do and show you some of videos!
Oh Mr Dienn! Hope you are being looked after well and your arm is healing.
ReplyDeleteYou must be fed up to be in the adrenalin capital of NZ and just be watching the fun.
We'll post some get well messages from Strand asap - Take care
Dear Mr Dienn,
ReplyDeleteWe hope you are enjoying your adventure even though you have a broken arm. We are writing to you because at the moment, we are having an adventure ourselves. In Year 3 we have become Arctic explorers! So far we have travelled 900 miles north of London to a place in Norway called Trondheim. From there, we then caught a train (the real Polar Express!) for 8 hours travelling north towards the Arctic Circle. We saw such incredible things on our journey and are recording them all in our explorer's diary as we go. Very soon we will be crossing the Arctic Circle and hoping to see the Northern Lights.
Please write back to us soon.
From 3K
Dear 3k,
DeleteThank you for telling me all about the first part of your Arctic adventure. It sounds incredibly exciting! As I am an explorer too, I know how important it is to recount what you have done as your journey continues so that you can share with others what you have done. I would really like to hear more! What happened to you after your 8 hour train journey? Please include as much detail as possible so that I can imagine it for myself. I would also like to know how you felt. Have you now finally crossed the Arctic Circle? What did that feel like?
Best of luck in your exploration. I look forward to receiving your letters.
Yours Sincerely,
Mr Dienn