1st Race, 1st Trip to the ER

"tcmedara" wrote in message
news:%8hhd.2699$931.929@lakeread01...
The Boy Wonder and I decided to enter the 17th Annual Tidewater Mountain
Bike Challenge held today near Williamsburg VA. This was going to be his
first race, and only my second. He had aspirations of winning, I just
wanted to go for a ride on a new trail system. The 10 and under race was
set to go off at 0830, and mine was planned for an 0900 start once the
kids
cleared the course from their shortened race. Our plans quickly
changed...

Matthew started off well and I saw him tearing through the trees as they
looped back from the starting leg. After the kids passed our vantage
point,
we cut through the woods to position ourselves for their small downhill
tear
into the finish. As we stood waiting, I heard someone yelling that they
need a dad. Upon hearing my son's name, I turned and saw a guy running
through the woods carrying my 10 year old, clearly visible in his day-glo
yellow jersey. Man, what a horrible feeling that was.

Nah, you shouldn't feel bad. It's nothing that a little Halloween goodies
won't cure. You know that's part of growing up and all that. Besides,
aren't the kids courses very tame. Meaning, yes, they may injure themselves
but it's nearly impossible to seriously do so. The kid's courses around
here are this way. Infact, I don't think they could injure themselves even
if they tried. Boy Wonder's a tough little mountain biker it would seem.

It's entirely none of my business, but I bet the misses was quite
unentertained by this development, huh? Mom's always freak out about little
things like this. Hope she's not going to want to tag along to every mtn
bike race now. LOL. Just joking.

Dave

FYI: Iron's needed for new blood cells.

Pih Stof wrote:
Nah, you shouldn't feel bad. It's nothing that a little Halloween
goodies won't cure. You know that's part of growing up and all that.
Besides, aren't the kids courses very tame. Meaning, yes, they may
injure themselves but it's nearly impossible to seriously do so. The
kid's courses around here are this way. Infact, I don't think they
could injure themselves even if they tried. Boy Wonder's a tough
little mountain biker it would seem.

It's entirely none of my business, but I bet the misses was quite
unentertained by this development, huh? Mom's always freak out about
little things like this. Hope she's not going to want to tag along
to every mtn bike race now. LOL. Just joking.


I hope you are joking. Usually when people say that, they aren't joking but
they are hoping to get off the hook. What lame generalizations about moms
and women. I know more than a few guys who want to puke at the mere
mention of
blood. Some of the best trauma responders I know are women. ( as in taking
care of people who have been in hideously horrrible wrecks) If you are
sorry about your choice of mate, sorry, I can't fix that for you. I know
more women that are like me than I do prissy, fearful, overprotective
types.

I can't speak for the biking experience but my boys do plenty of other
things without their mom freaking out... including class 4 & 5 whitewater,
rock climbing, trail running, backpacking and expert level skiing.


yep, hook line and sinker...;-)
Penny S

small change wrote:
Pih Stof wrote:

Nah, you shouldn't feel bad. It's nothing that a little Halloween
goodies won't cure. You know that's part of growing up and all that.
Besides, aren't the kids courses very tame. Meaning, yes, they may
injure themselves but it's nearly impossible to seriously do so. The
kid's courses around here are this way. Infact, I don't think they
could injure themselves even if they tried. Boy Wonder's a tough
little mountain biker it would seem.

It's entirely none of my business, but I bet the misses was quite
unentertained by this development, huh? Mom's always freak out about
little things like this. Hope she's not going to want to tag along
to every mtn bike race now. LOL. Just joking.



I hope you are joking. Usually when people say that, they aren't joking but
they are hoping to get off the hook. What lame generalizations about moms
and women. I know more than a few guys who want to puke at the mere
mention of
blood. Some of the best trauma responders I know are women. ( as in taking
care of people who have been in hideously horrrible wrecks) If you are
sorry about your choice of mate, sorry, I can't fix that for you. I know
more women that are like me than I do prissy, fearful, overprotective
types.

I can't speak for the biking experience but my boys do plenty of other
things without their mom freaking out... including class 4 & 5 whitewater,
rock climbing, trail running, backpacking and expert level skiing.


yep, hook line and sinker...;-)
Penny S




I guessed he really got you "Pih Stof".

Round One: Penny Wins

Wow! You go girl!

--
o-o-o-o Ride-A-Lot (If I could do this marriage thing over again...)o-o-o-o
www.schnauzers.ws

tcmedara wrote:

snip

What a champ!

Make sure you show him all these replies :-)

-Bruce

tcmedara wrote:
The Boy Wonder and I decided to enter the 17th Annual Tidewater Mountain
Bike Challenge held today near Williamsburg VA. This was going to be his
first race, and only my second. He had aspirations of winning, I just
wanted to go for a ride on a new trail system. The 10 and under race was
set to go off at 0830, and mine was planned for an 0900 start once the kids
cleared the course from their shortened race. Our plans quickly changed...

Matthew started off well and I saw him tearing through the trees as they
looped back from the starting leg. After the kids passed our vantage point,
we cut through the woods to position ourselves for their small downhill tear
into the finish. As we stood waiting, I heard someone yelling that they
need a dad. Upon hearing my son's name, I turned and saw a guy running
through the woods carrying my 10 year old, clearly visible in his day-glo
yellow jersey. Man, what a horrible feeling that was.

I immediately took hold of him and saw a gash in his right thigh. I could
see little blobs of yellowish fat surrounding the wound sticking up through
his biking shorts. It wasn't too bloody, but you could see where a good
amount had run down his leg and into his sock. We left his bike on the
course (a neighbor recovered it for us) and headed for the ER. I wondered
if I was overreacting until we got to the hospital and they pulled the
shorts off. The compression from the lycra had helped stem the blood, but
it immediately started oozing again once they got the shorts down. And it
looked pretty nasty in there too. The small slit in the shorts had hidden
about a two inch by half inch gouge out of the Boy Wonder's right thigh. He
managed to get all the way through the skin and expose the muscle tissue
beneath. Ouch!. He never shed a tear through the rest of the process,
though he had to grit his teeth pretty hard when they put in the lydocain.
Bottom line: they cleaned him out, stitched him up and we were home just
after noon. He took it easy for the rest of the day, but managed to get
some trick-or-treating in this evening. What a champ.

I asked him what happened: "I don't know, I was just going down hill and
then I crashed.....I was goin' pretty fast. I got up to keep riding, but
L.S. (his friend) started yelling at me to stop! I looked down at my leg
and then I knew I needed help from a grown-up. I think my bike's okay
though" Too good!

On the way to the hospital, I asked him how he felt, worried primarily about
his leg. He said, "Well, I'm bummed out I didn't get to finish. I was in
fifth place and was gonna catch the kid in fourth. He had to push his bike
up the hill, but I didn't so I woulda caught him."

Even better, he told me he was sorry he crashed because it kept me from
doing my race. I was so proud I could hardly stand it. Here's a kid with
minor trauma and blood all over himself lamenting how neither of us got to
finish our ride. This kid's hooked for life I'm thinkin' He really cheered
up when the doc told him he'd have a cool scar.

Tom

Way to go for Boy Wonder and you Tom! Sounds like you both handled this
like pros. Stitches happen, mountain biking or not (at least for my son
and I :-)

Shawn

"tcmedara" wrote in message news:%8hhd.2699$931.929@lakeread01...
The Boy Wonder and I decided to enter the 17th Annual Tidewater Mountain
Bike Challenge held today near Williamsburg VA.

snip

This kid's hooked for life I'm thinkin' He really cheered
up when the doc told him he'd have a cool scar.

Tom

Scars are tatoos with better stories...

Sounds as if it won't be too long before Boy Wonder is givin' Dad a
run for his money on the trails. heh heh : )

Glad to hear he's doin well.

Nate

jack wrote:
"tcmedara" wrote in message
news:%8hhd.2699$931.929@lakeread01...
He really cheered
up when the doc told him he'd have a cool scar.


He's probably to young to care but tell him chicks dig scars.

I told him that in front of the three female med techs that were cleaning
out the wound. Considering that he was clothed in nothing more than a
hospital gown and wasn't feeling very jovial, he failed to see the humor at
the time. Maybe in a few years....

Tom

terminaut wrote:
tcmedarawrote:

Upon hearing my son's name, I turned and saw a guy running
through the woods carrying my 10 year old, clearly visible
in his day-glo yellow jersey. Man, what a horrible feeling that
was.


Times like such as those don't you wish you could have stood in for
his injury? As a new parent I'm constantly wondering how I'm going to
cope if my kiddo ever gets hurt.

Glad that it's not such a major injury and he sounds like a great kid.

Been through a few scares in the past, but this was the first that needed a
trip to the ER. I'll go to great lengths to avoid sitting for hours among
the kids with sniffles and people with tummy aches that don't wanna go to
work the next day. Unfortunately it was immediately apparent that this
needed some medical expertise in short order.

The worst part was not knowing what was going on when I saw the guy carrying
my kid out of the woods. Fear mixed with uncertainty is a potent mix. Once
I saw the wound I realized it needed treatment, but wasn't a crisis. That
makes all the difference. You still feel bad, but the worry is taken out of
the equation.

Thanks for the kind words.

Tom

Pih Stof wrote:

Nah, you shouldn't feel bad. It's nothing that a little Halloween
goodies won't cure. You know that's part of growing up and all that.

You can't help but feel bad when something like that happens. Anytime your
kid gets hurt, you feel bad. You have to accept it, but you still feel it.

Besides, aren't the kids courses very tame. Meaning, yes, they may
injure themselves but it's nearly impossible to seriously do so.

There's no way to make them completely tame. It was easier than the main
course, but was still up and down over twisty rooty singletrack through the
woods. Speed, roots, trees, and 30 lbs of metal can be a hazard no matter
how tame the course is. I'm thankful there were folks out on the course and
glad it wasn't any worse. The potential is always there.

The
kid's courses around here are this way. Infact, I don't think they
could injure themselves even if they tried. Boy Wonder's a tough
little mountain biker it would seem.

It's entirely none of my business, but I bet the misses was quite
unentertained by this development, huh? Mom's always freak out about
little things like this. Hope she's not going to want to tag along
to every mtn bike race now. LOL. Just joking.

The Mrs is pretty level-headed. She was obviously concerned, but isn't the
type to be overprotective at all. She supports my biking habit and is happy
to have the BW get out with me. Thankfully she's not the "freak out" type.

Tom

Bruce Edge wrote:
tcmedara wrote:

snip

What a champ!

Make sure you show him all these replies :-)

-Bruce

He sat and read over my shoulder through every one.

Tom