FOOSH - That's what the doctor at the mediclinic wrote on my form. I had to look it up when I got home - it stands for Fall Onto OutStretched Hand.
We had one last paraglider flight at Woodside (near Chilliwack) before heading home. I was happy that I finished with a good clean launch, a nice flight, and a good no-step landing.
On the way home, we decided to see if we could get in a flight at Revelstoke. We had a couple of flights here last summer and really enjoyed it - almost 6000 feet of vertical and beautiful scenery. At first it didn't look too promising since there were huge afternoon thunderstorms. But the next morning was nice and sunny and there were a whole bunch of pilots flying. Frustratingly, I botched my first launch attempt, and while I got off ok the second try it wasn't elegant. It was probably a combination of uneven sloping ground and nerves from the intimidating location and the audience.
I had a good flight and arrived with lots of altitude over the landing zone. My aging eyes have a hard time seeing windsocks from up high and it wasn't till I was quite low that I realized I couldn't see which way the windsock was blowing because it was hanging straight down. With no head wind to slow me down I misjudged the landing a little and overshot the end of the mown area, landing just past in tall grass and weeds. The landing was soft enough but I couldn't step forward in the tall grass and went forward onto my knees. It was no big deal since the grass was soft, but obviously I snagged my left thumb on something.
We finished driving home and got back to Saskatoon the next afternoon. My thumb was sore and swollen, but there wasn't much bruising so I didn't think it was too serious. But I looked it up online and it sounded like it should be checked out. (It's known as "skier's thumb", a common injury from falling with ski poles.) So I stopped at a mediclinic with x-ray facilities. Luckily it wasn't too busy. At first the doctor didn't think it was too bad, but then the x-rays showed a piece broken off the bone and displaced.
I saw the plastic surgeon on call the next morning after fasting in case they decided to operate. Thankfully that didn't happen since he figured the ligament wasn't too bad.
So now I have 6 weeks in a cast/splint hoping that it heals well. And then some work to regain strength and flexibility. At least it's my left hand (and I'm right-handed). Meanwhile, no paragliding or climbing for me for the next while :-( I'm kicking myself and feeling a little bummed out, but considering this relatively minor injury is the worst I've had in my life of adventures, I can't complain too much.
We had one last paraglider flight at Woodside (near Chilliwack) before heading home. I was happy that I finished with a good clean launch, a nice flight, and a good no-step landing.
On the way home, we decided to see if we could get in a flight at Revelstoke. We had a couple of flights here last summer and really enjoyed it - almost 6000 feet of vertical and beautiful scenery. At first it didn't look too promising since there were huge afternoon thunderstorms. But the next morning was nice and sunny and there were a whole bunch of pilots flying. Frustratingly, I botched my first launch attempt, and while I got off ok the second try it wasn't elegant. It was probably a combination of uneven sloping ground and nerves from the intimidating location and the audience.
I had a good flight and arrived with lots of altitude over the landing zone. My aging eyes have a hard time seeing windsocks from up high and it wasn't till I was quite low that I realized I couldn't see which way the windsock was blowing because it was hanging straight down. With no head wind to slow me down I misjudged the landing a little and overshot the end of the mown area, landing just past in tall grass and weeds. The landing was soft enough but I couldn't step forward in the tall grass and went forward onto my knees. It was no big deal since the grass was soft, but obviously I snagged my left thumb on something.
We finished driving home and got back to Saskatoon the next afternoon. My thumb was sore and swollen, but there wasn't much bruising so I didn't think it was too serious. But I looked it up online and it sounded like it should be checked out. (It's known as "skier's thumb", a common injury from falling with ski poles.) So I stopped at a mediclinic with x-ray facilities. Luckily it wasn't too busy. At first the doctor didn't think it was too bad, but then the x-rays showed a piece broken off the bone and displaced.
I saw the plastic surgeon on call the next morning after fasting in case they decided to operate. Thankfully that didn't happen since he figured the ligament wasn't too bad.
So now I have 6 weeks in a cast/splint hoping that it heals well. And then some work to regain strength and flexibility. At least it's my left hand (and I'm right-handed). Meanwhile, no paragliding or climbing for me for the next while :-( I'm kicking myself and feeling a little bummed out, but considering this relatively minor injury is the worst I've had in my life of adventures, I can't complain too much.
Ouch. You have my sympathy. I know what it's like to be "in recovery".
ReplyDeleteThanks Dave!
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about your injury, Andrew, because I know how active you like to be. But hey, you can still run! Yes, that Revelstoke scenery is amazing - you can see why we chose to live in the Koots.
ReplyDeleteThanks Catherine!
ReplyDelete