Installing New Hardware

Gone are the days of clearing airport security without setting off the metal detector...or are they? Apparently not all surgical hardware sets off those machines, but it's hard for me to believe that the titanium plate and seven screws pictured above wouldn't sound the alarm! Regardless, I'm just happy to get the surgery over and start the long road to recovery...again.

The surgery went very smoothly, from my perspective. After donning a lovely dressing gown and blue hat, Dr. Craig Loucks autographed my right collarbone (a new protocol to prevent surgery on the wrong body part -- you can make out the "CL" in the photo at left), the anesthesiologist gave me a "three glasses of wine" cocktail (administered through the IV in my arm) and the nurse wheeled me off to the operating room.

I barely remember moving from the gurney to the operating table. Next thing I knew I was waking up in recovery (at left) feeling no pain (and no nausea!).

Apparently the surgery went well from Dr. Loucks viewpoint, as well, except for a 30 minute delay while waiting for the Fedex guy to deliver the bone graft material!

But even with that delay I headed home with my shiny new titanium collarbone about 5 hours after arriving at the hospital.

I've spent the past seven hours parked on my couch dozing on and off. So far the pain and discomfort has been considerably less than what I experienced after the initial break. I hope that holds true when I crawl into bed tonight!

Thanks for everyone's thoughts and prayers. Keep sending positive vibes my way. I'm hoping for a speedy recovery and looking forward to picking up my new bike later this month and getting back the road again to begin training for Ride the Rockies!

Daren

March Madness

Sitting at the airport in Kansas City waiting for my flight back to Denver after a week-long trip which took me to San Antonio and then to KC for the Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament. What a week! Actually, it has been a crazy seven weeks on the road -- Reno, Phoenix, Oklahoma City, Austin, Manhattan (KS), Dallas, San Antonio, and KC. [At left: Going for a run on San Antonio's famed Riverwalk]

I'm really looking forward to laying around this week recovering from my collarbone surgery tomorrow! As Jimmy Buffet sang, "I must confess, I could use some rest. I can't run at this pace for very long!" (from "Tryin' to Reason with Hurricane Season")

The past four days in KC have been a great way to lead into rehab...for my collarbone! My wife Leslie, brother Jon, cousins Wiley and Ryan, and college buddy Tom all met in KC to cheer on our beloved Kansas Jayhawks. Four days of basketball, beef and beer (not too mention several fine bottles of Chateau Montalena and Far Niente!). And, of course, KU won.

The new Sprint Center arena and Power and Light District (bars and restaurants) have definitely changed the appearance and attraction of downtown KC. [At left: Leslie, me, Ryan, Wiley and Jon enjoy a pre-game beverage in the Power and Light District]

There is still a lot work to be done to revitalize downtown KC, but the new arena and P&L District are a great start. For KC's sake, I hope the famous line from Field of Dreams -- If you build it...they will come -- proves true in this case.

The final game of the tourney between Kansas and Texas was well worth the price of admission (about $150 from scalpers on the street). It was one of the best games I have ever seen live. [At left: Ryan, Jon and Wiley at the Big 12 Championship Game]

KU coach Bill Self likened the game to the first half of the 1988 National Championship game played at KC's old Kemper Arena. Kansas and Oklahoma met in that classic battle between two Big 8 teams (and, of course, KU won!).

The first half of the '88 NCAA Championship game ended 50-50 as both teams scored at will. The 2008 Big 12 Championship game was played at a similar frenzied pace with both teams draining threes all afternoon (KU hit a Big 12 tournament record 15 and Texas hit 12 in 28 attempts). Texas led by one point at halftime and KU still trailed by one late in the game before closing with a 14-3 run to win by 10 (84-74).

The similarity between the two games was captured by KU coach Bill Self in the following interview with the Lawrence Journal-World...

“It is pretty corny, but at halftime I told the team in front of Danny (Manning, assistant coach) ... I said, ‘That’s probably as good a half of basketball played in Kansas City since the ’88 championship game,’” Self said of a 50-50 halftime score in KU’s 83-79 victory over Oklahoma on April 4, 1988, at Kemper Arena.

“I asked Danny, ‘What happened the second half of that game?’ He said the game slowed down and we guarded. That’s what happened today. We defended and rebounded the ball much better the second half and played about as complete a game as we’ve ever played.”

Is this a sign that KU will return to the NCAA Championship game this year in San Antonio? Who knows. But I do know this: as I head back to KC and prepare for surgery tomorrow I am looking forward to the start of the greatest sporting event on Earth.

Bring on March Madness!

Daren

Under the Knife

I know it sounds weak, but I'm actually starting to get a little nervous about going "under the knife" next week. It's just that I've never been put under nor had anyone cut into my skin with a knife. Don't get me wrong. I've been unconscious several times and cut into many times (with a door, window, hanging light fixture, chain link fence, rocks, a rear view mirror and even a knife)...but never on purpose.

Probably the closest I've come to being cut open with a surgeon's knife is when I worked in the meat department of Pence's IGA in Ottawa, Kansas, during college at Ottawa University. It was my first job in the meat business, foreshadowing a career that led me to the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. My job was to come in every afternoon and clean up the "cutting room" after the meat cutters had gone home. After washing all the knives and cutting boards in big sinks filled with a mixture of bleach and water, I would lay them out to dry.

On this particular day one of the knives (the largest one, of course) slipped from my hand and dropped straight down (point down, of course) slicing through the top of my boot, top of my foot, bottom of my foot, and bottom of my boot before hitting the concrete floor (at least it was sterile!). After pulling off my boot I learned what they mean when they say, "bleeding like a stuck pig."

Blood was spurting with every beat of my heart as I hobbled to the house phone, picked it up and announced to the entire store that I needed immediate help in the meat department. If I'd been thinking, I would have said, "Clean up on aisle 911," or something clever like that. But it worked nonetheless and it seemed like everyone working in the store came to my aid (something in my voice must have communicated the urgency!).

After being wheeled out of the store on a produce cart holding my foot as high above my heart as possible, I was transported to Ransom Memorial Hospital (affectionately known to students as "Rancid Memorial") where I received stitches in the top -- and bottom -- of my left foot. Somehow the knife had managed to slice cleanly through my foot without hitting either bone or tendon. I was lucky.

But I digress...

I had a pre-op appointment with Dr. Craig Loucks at Peak Orthopedics this afternoon. He went over plans for the surgery, which include cutting me open (we've been over that), putting the pieces of my collarbone back in place with a titanium plate and pins, and filling in the fracture with Bone Morphogenic Protein (BMP) to stimulate the formation of new bone at the site of the fracture. As Dr. Loucks described it, BMP is like silly putty with bone cells in it. Pretty cool stuff.

If all goes well I'll be riding on my new bike (on a stationary trainer) by mid-April and back out on the road by my 44th birthday (May 15). Wish me luck...or keep me in your prayers. Whatever works for you. I'll take the good vibes!

Daren