Modern Vespa

Yesterday afternoon when I was heading out for the 40-mile jaunt up to MotoStrada on the other side of Baltimore, I was "Flintstoning" my LX down my 60' sloping, loose gravel driveway as usual. Also as usual, I had to squeeze between my two cages (my late wife's old wheelchair van and my Mini Cooper S) to get out. Normally I park them so there is plenty of room to get through, but I must have been careless when I last parked the Mini a few days ago, as it was parked closer to the van than usual, and the front tires were cut hard to the right.

I was paying attention to my mirrors and handlebars getting past the mirrors on the cages, and didn't notice the fat front run-flat tire on the Mini sticking out a good 6 - 8 inches. I was sort of rocking my way through at about a walking pace, when I managed to mash my right calf between the protruding tire and the side of the scoot. It was moderately painful at the moment, and I probably uttered an expletive or two and carried on.

Last night when I got up from the computer to get ready for bed, my right calf hurt like hell and I realized it was swollen up to about one-and one-half times the size of the left one. I could hardly stand on it, and had to hop my way down the stairs. Despite a healthy dose of Alleve last evening and elevating my leg in the bed, I didn't get much sleep. Been icing it all morning, and the swelling has gone down a bit, but it's still painful and the dog didn't get her usual one-mile morning walk.

A minor injury, no doubt, but still a painful and inconveniencing one. It occurred to me that this might be something you lane-splitters in California and filterers across the pond ought to watch out for. I'm sure there are times you need to squeeze slowly through a tight space and keep your feet down. If one of the stopped cars has his wheels cut to the side in anticipation of changing lanes, it would be easy not to notice it while you are watching out for mirrors.

SILVER be careful because that type of injury can produce blood clots which can be fatal. Might not be a bad idea to see your DR. I don't think i'd like lane splitting with the huge mouse ears we have on the scooters. I'd get smaller ones. I did a shoulder ride because of traffic a few weeks ago and i too had to worry about hitting something. Glad you made it out relatively unscathed.

Heh. You have a Mini Cooper S too... 8) Hope you heal fast. I agree about seeing a doctor just to make sure you don't end up with any complications.

Silver, I hdd similar incident (in traffic) at the start of my scootering career. I got away with bruises. It's now one of the reasons I wear motorcycle boots.

Hope you feel better soon.

Hi Silver, thanks for the heads up - never thought about that scenario before. Hope you get well soon.

Thanks for the heads up on watching out while splitting, Dave. To be perfectly honest, I'm a pretty timid splitter. I'll do it if there is a *wide* berth for my scooter and I, but if I have even the slightest hesitation about the space (width) available between 2 stopped cars, I just stop at their rear bumper and hold. I don't want to smack anybody's mirrors (or my own), and if the space were tight enough that I felt I could only get through by Flintstoning, I'd just wait. That said, I often will squeeze through my own cars in the driveway, as you've done here, and I will keep in mind your story for times when my Mini might be out to get me!

Stay hydrated! Mashed muscle injuries can turn into Rhabdo.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhabdomyolysis
My cousin-in-law got it from injuries in Iraq, and he didn't stay properly hydrated. (army+desert and all) It's bad news.

Geez! You guys are scaring the crap outta me!

I'm still icing it, and it feels somewhat better, but I'll call the doc in the morning if things haven't improved significantly. And I just drank another big glass of water.

Really sorry to hear that Dave. I second the advice about seeing your doctor. As we are all "getting up there" ... something which seems relatively innocuous can go south pretty quickly and soft tissue damage is one of those things which can be deceptive.

Who's "getting up there"? I'm 26! Just ignore my limp and old man hips...

Dave-

Sincere wishes for quick and full healing.

Al

Did you exchange insurance information?
I know some annapolis type people are hell with insurance and golf balls.
As for taking you dog for a walk.... Did you ever see the Chevy Chase movie with the dog tied to the back of the wagon.....?
Heal quickly, we have to go for a ride soon, weather permiting.

And no rush on the ride either.. I know older people take longer to heal.

I'm with the "See the doc" crowd. Clots are dangerous.
Sincere wishes for speedy healing. And I'm up for a ride this month too.

Dave, although the differential diagnosis would include cellultis and DVT (deep vein thrombosis) the most likely thing would be soft tissue injury in the form of a contusion and hematoma in the calf. The mechanism of injury would suggest the resulting diagnosis. Since your calf muscle was badly squashed, your calf muscle would suffer from a contusion and if there were a few blood vessels that were damaged during this contusion, you might suffer from a hematoma which could explain the amount of swelling that you're having.

To set your mind at peace, go see your physician and ensure that nothing more serious has occurred. However, I would be surprised that you would have either a DVT or rhadomyoslysis from that amount of injury.

OK, OK... I'm convinced. I'm seeing the doc at 1:30.

SS because the calves are notorious for throwing blood clots. Your injury sounded severe enough to where they were markedly swollen. All those things send up red flags and since you (we) are 16 anymore it can be more of a problem Better safe than sorry. It's probably nothing but the DR needs your money so he can buy a vespa Good luck

'Nother health care practitioner here. I agree with what Benito said, odds are there is no clot, or rhabdo, but you're being wise to check it out.

I guess they can't all be like a certain Dr. who won his.

But, seriously, Dave. I'm glad you weren't hurt worse. I have to do the same thing when I leave for work each morning. Wiggling between the pulled-in car and the backed-in pickup. Flintstoning/duck-walking the whole way trying to get mirrors to clear mirrors. I've thought several times about the possibility of doing what you did since my pickup tires are usually turned hard to the left. Occasionally I just avoid the whole thing and go through the grass to the street if they seem to be too close. I'll be even more careful in the future after hearing about your mishap.
Here's hoping you heal soon and without complications.

I just got back from the hospital an hour ago. When I went to see the doctor at 1:30, he poked and prodded me and made worried noises. Then he called in one of the other doctors to bounce his worries off him. He got on the phone, set up some blood tests, and immediately sent me downstairs to the vein center for an ultrasound study.

Yep, the diagnosis was acute deep vein thrombosis (a blood clot in a deep vein), extending above the knee. They sent me straight to the emergency room, where they drew blood to check for rhabdo and got me set up for treatment. They treated me like I was a walking (er... limping) time bomb. These kinds of clots can shed chunks that travel to the lungs and cause deadly pulmonary embolisms.

I am sincerely thankful for all of you who insisted that I see the doctor. You may have saved my life. Without your urging, I probably would have tried to tough it out on my own.

Got sent home with self-injectable Lovenox (oh joy!) and oral warfarin (both being blood thinners and the latter diluted rat poison), and a long list of dos and don'ts. Oh well... much better than the alternative!

Thanks again, everybody, and don't be an idiot like me and treat what seemed to be minor trauma too lightly!

Glad they caught the DVT. I suffered from one myself in my left leg. Actually, I walked around on it for 9 days before I got it diagnosed. Ironically, I was running a clinical trial looking a DVT prevention in hospitalized patients. You think I would have known better. Mine was not due to trauma, BTW, but the Pill. Sucks being female. Be sure to keep it elevated, and put on a compression stocking if you've been prescribed one. I developed a complication called post thrombotic syndrome in the leg, and now it swells up unless I wear a special stocking. Basically, I permanently scarred the little valves inside the vein and now fluid pools if I am siting for long periods.

Lovenox sucks, but you usually only have to do it for a week or less. What I hated were the constant PT/PTT/INR labs they had to draw. My arms bruised easy thanks to the thinner, so I was not a happy camper. You'll likely be on warfarin for about 6 months. Just stay away from high vitamin K containing foods, like kale, spinach and green tea.

Oh, as an FYI, you may want to get a work up to see if you're a carrier for Factor V Leiden, which is a very common genetic mutation, making you a 'super clotter' if you get two copies of the gene. Useful info to have if you ever need to go in for surgery.

Wise ass!

Yeah, the guy who parked my cars in my driveway was a golfer without insurance.

Just be glad it didn't happen when I was setting out for a ride with you, or you may have wound up having to give me mouth-to-mouth!

Eww... the mental image

SS i'm glad you went and when you mentioned swelling it was a bad sign That's why i wrote what i did. Blood clots in the calves are a real danger especially as we get "cough" older. Get better soon and i'll send you my bill

Wow. So glad to read that you followed everyone's advice and got checked out.

Enjoy that blood thinner cocktail

SS, I am just seeing this now, and my jaw is still wide open. Boy, I'm glad you got yourself treated in time. I would have also tried to tough it, had no idea of the possible implications.

My wishes for a quick recovery and a complete healing!

I had a doctors appt over at the AA Med Center today at 1:45. I probably walked right by you. lol

Ok these rides sound pretty interesting.. How do I get in on these, to watch of course...

Glad you got checked out. Take it easy for sure and heal fast!

Big props to you guys for calling it out. Definitely not your typical reaction to a seemingly innocuous bumper tussle!

Glad you are going to be OK.
As for mouth to mouth... Maybe....
I think you had better odds of getting bungeed to my top case and dragged to see my DR.
Dr Jack Kevorkian, I have his card somewhere, him and his partner Suess.
Next time I will get you their card, promise.
Take a few days off and build your instruments and relax...
I can ride your LXV back from Baltimore if you need me to.

SS - I'm extremely relieved that was caught in time. Heal quickly and well. We'll ride again when you're able. Give Mark a call and explain what happened - I doubt he'll rush you out the door.

This is the kind of concern and love that makes this forum great,
Yeah sometimes we argue like kids but when one of us needs help or is hurt the forum rallies to their defense.

Glad you listened to the advice and saw the Doc, heal well and fast.

Good thing you got it checked out. It is always hard to make a diagnosis over the phone or on the internet. Nothing yet can beat the power of a physical examination to confirm your suspicions or alter your diagnosis.

Fortunately DVT's are very treatable. The injectable low molecular weight heparins are really convenient and with these you are able to avoid hospitalization. We used to have to hospitalize people while getting their blood tested for the target INR. Now with the LMW heparins we can avoid that, then switch you over to oral coumadin to keep your blood from clotting and the thrombus from extending.